Today I tracked Dean Karnazes, The “Ultramarathon Man”, via satellite from Runnersworld website to find him as he runs across the United States: from NYC to San Francisco. He is doing this after running the NYC marathon, as the last race of his “Endurance 50”: 50 marathons in 50 days.
Dean has been a hero of mine since I read his book over a year ago. I was entranced by his tales of races, yet he seemed so down to earth - even to the point of not telling his work-mates that he just ran 100 miles over his weekend (or 200 or 300), but attending work in a coat and tie without mentioning his adventures. He seems devoted to his family yet still pushing for more adventure and the limits of the human body.
So, when I discovered that he was running across the USA – and he was going to pass within an hour of my own house, I couldn’t resist going to see him. I dashed out of a business seminar so I could chase him down… and this web page gives you the details and even the video of who I found. No bus. No ‘staff’. Just one man, a stroller of food, and a few tagalong runners for a few miles.
I was really impressed. For any naysayers, go get stuffed – this man may have taken advantage of sponsorship offers, but he’s so down to earth, so nice, so genuinely kind, that I would call him a role model that anyone could be proud about. I am honored that he even asked me (and all his visitors) to sign the canvas hood of the stroller.
That’s awesome! Been checking out his blog that he’s keeping as he makes his way home. It definitely gives some great insights into what makes him tick. I’ve always admired his accomplishments, but after reading a few days’ worth of entries, he’s one guy I’d like to meet and share a few miles with. Glad you got a chance to meet him - it sounds like your meeting confirmed my thoughts on the guy.
My husband and I were talking about Dean the day after the NYC marathon. He said, I wonder what a guy does after running 50 marathons in 50 days? Go running? So being the internet search queen that I am, I looked Dean up and found, sure enough, apparently a guy does go running after 50 marathons in 50 days. I found the website tracking his run back to the west coast and saw that he had passed within a few miles of my house about 5 hours before I looked him up. If I had seen it sooner I would have gone on a quest for Dean, too, to meet him. I also read his book and have been itching to do an ultra ever since. Cool story that you met him! I was wondering if there was anyone running with him or not. I doubt I could run even a few miles with him at his pace.
"If you want his phone number let me know…but I have to warn you, he’s happily married…so no stalking. "
No stalking, don’t worry - LOL. I am so happy he’s happily married!
I’m rushing to try to find him again today. He’s now about an hour west of me so maybe I can find him again. Hopefully he won’t veer too much from his previous satellite-informed road bec I’ll be drivcing without satellite feed
If you know him just make sure he gets to my webpage to see the videos. I updated the story after I had a long chance to think… that’s why I want to try to find him again, to tell him what I got from his book and what I think he’s goiving to the world. I’m really philosophical in a truly gay (happy) manner
Yup… I’ve read people say awful things about him, and I’ve heard people say that people have said bad things about him: I’ve heard that it’s ultramarathoners saying he’s ‘sold out’.
Well, I discovered that Dean wasn’t too far away today (about an hour before rush-hour traffic) so I went to go run with him. He was alone on a tiny road (no shoulders on the road, ick!) so we had a chance to talk. Turns out that he’s really just a nice guy who likes to run, and he likes helping raise money for charity. That’s it. He REALLY likes to run: he’s doing many 100-milers this summer even before the Endurance 50, and – get this— he’s leaving his across-the-US run this week to fly to Dallas for a 24-hr race and then he’ll fly BACK to where he left off, running across the country.
Wow.
I’m not sure exactly what’s up with the naysayers - why anyone would nay-say at all. He seems like just a guy who likes running. I doesn’t even seem like a guy “possessed” by running: he just likes it (loves it). And he touches people and they touch him. It seems really simple.
"Are his wife and daughter travelling with him? When does he expect to “get home”? "
2 kids, actually… and no, his wife and kids weren’t with him but his Dad just arrived with a donated RV from the RV’ing association. However, Dean said he was surprised they gave him such a big RV (he expected a tiny pop-up or something!), and he’s going to be on the road during Thanksgiving – maybe his family can join him for the holidays.
Dean’s Dad says that Dean isn’t gone from home for very long - the longest he’s been without the family was when he was in Antarctica (4 weeks), and that length was only because the weather was too bad to leave safely. Otherwise, the family spends time with him.
“If you run across him tell him Matt from The Relay says hi.”
I told him that a guy named Matt from San Francisco knows him, but that was before I read this shout-out. Send it to his blog; I’ll bet he;ll get it sometime…
“I doubt I could run even a few miles with him at his pace.”
I’m not a runner but I did run with him… he’s just jogging right now, so my guess is that you’d be able to keep up with him.
Keep watching him: he’s done more than the 50 marathons this year (plus several 100’s and others…) and now he’s about to do the Ultracentric 24-hr Run National Championship in Dallas (http://www.ultracentric.net/ ) and then fly back to wherever he left off of running across the USA.
I admire you for putting yourself out there and meeting this guy. I’m always reluctant to meet people who have achieved amazing things for fear that I won’t know what to say or that I’ll say something trite or stupid. That fear, though, gets in the way of meeting some of the world’s most interesting people.
“I admire you for putting yourself out there and meeting this guy. I’m always reluctant to meet people who have achieved amazing things for fear that I won’t know what to say or that I’ll say something trite or stupid.”
Well, I have balls of steel
Even worse… I can’t run. Yup. I only started running a couple of weeks ago (the right way). So was it balls of steel to meet him? Naw. It was balls of steel to RETURN TODAY on HILLIER roads (!), in sneakers, to run WITH him. Geez, how embarrassing to say, “Um, I gotta walk for a few minutes here, I’m not really a runner”.
Dean’s answer was, “You ARE a runner: you are out here running. That makes you a runner.”
So YES, the fear is ‘rational’ but it doesn’t have to claim a place in your life. You MAY say something trite or stupid, OR you may say something incredible and friendship-growing. Who knows?
There’s a nice young man who wrote me an email from after his run with Dean yesterday… I’ll quote it:
“…I, like you, am a huge Dean fan, and he has inspired me to do so much more than I ever thought was possible. This weekend, I am running my first UltraMarathon, the JFK 50 miler. I will be taking along the memories of our run yesterday out onto the trail with me and I am sure that they will push me along to the finish.”
He didn’t let his fear of meeting Dean deter him - he used it to inspire him for his biggest race this weekend (a very well-regarded ultra race here on the East Coast).
Follow your interests… who knows where they’ll take you; much farther than your fears!
