LAUGHING IN THE FACE OF KRYPTONITE
“The human body has limitations. The human spirit is boundless.” DEAN KARNAZES
Dean Karnazes is a myth. Or at least it seems that way. His achievements are so staggering that we find them hard to believe. The Telegraph has likened him to a comic book hero. That doesn’t surprise me much; anyone who can run 135 miles through Death Valley in 120 degree heat usually doesn’t bother: they just fly. In tights.
Aside from the costume, Karmazes really is the closest living thing to a superhero. His one weakness, he says, is that, like his Marvel brothers, he thinks he can do anything, that he can’t be beaten, that his desire to push himself to such ridiculous levels might one day bring him down. To me, that seems unlikely: I doubt Mother Nature herself could fashion strength enough to dent this man’s dogged persistence.
Last year, Karnazes ran 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days, finishing with the New York marathon which he duly completed in three hours thirty seconds. He carved a trail across the country and, much like Forrest Gump, garnered loyal disciples along the way - none of whom could stay with him for long, of course. But he got people running. And so the Americans love him for the same reasons they love Anthony Robbins - because he inspires them. They love nothing more than a group high five after a rousing “who’s with me” kind of speech before they settle back in for an afternoon with Jerry Springer and a bag of crisps, perhaps washed down with a litre of sprite. But Karnazes isn’t selling the latest ‘seven steps to success’ guide for those who failed to find it with eight. He inspires simply by doing what he does. By running. And running. And running.
He ran when he was young, too, but it was only after one night sat drunk in a San Francisco bar that he started to run for real. Resisting the urge to vomit, he staggered home that night, took off his trousers, put on a pair of old trainers, and started to run. He didn’t stop all night. In the morning he reached a payphone 30 miles from where he’d set off, called his wife who came to pick him up, and promptly passed out in the back of the car. Karnazes believes he changed that night, that he realised then and there that his body contained limits that he’d never truly explored. What were those limits and how far could he go? These are the kind of questions that now drive Karnazes’ extraordinary existence.
So how does he do it, how can a man run 350 miles straight in three days without sleep? Well, when not competing, his diet is rigorous: grilled salmon five nights a week and no processed or fried foods. Fruit is largely avoided because it contains too much sugar. Come raceday, though, the adage is simple: “The more fat the better”. Fat contains twice as many calories per gram as carbohydrates do, so that means pizza, cheesecake, eclairs, cookies and chocolate. He carries a cellphone on each long run so he can order pizza to pick up further down the road. He also sleeps far less than your average mortal, averaging four hours a night compared to most people’s eight. And make no mistake about it, if you want to be a superhero too then you need to train - hard. Karnazes has done it for so long now that he can wake up on any given day and go out and run a marathon as we might a 3k jog round the block. He has grown accustomed to pain. It makes him happy. And I bet you know exactly what he means. We all know that even the slightest piece of exercise can soothe the soul. It might tire our bodies but it motivates the mind. As Karnazes says, “There is magic in misery”.
But imagine that misery! Imagine the pain. Imagine what it feels like 250 miles in when all you can think of is the 100 that remain. And imagine not being afraid of it all. That’s what it feels like to be a superhero. Or Dean Karnazes.
“He who fears being conquered is sure of defeat.” NAPOLEON
Dean Karnazes is a myth. Or at least it seems that way. His achievements are so staggering that we find them hard to believe. The Telegraph has likened him to a comic book hero. That doesn’t surprise me much; anyone who can run 135 miles through Death Valley in 120 degree heat usually doesn’t bother: they just fly. In tights.
Aside from the costume, Karmazes really is the closest living thing to a superhero. His one weakness, he says, is that, like his Marvel brothers, he thinks he can do anything, that he can’t be beaten, that his desire to push himself to such ridiculous levels might one day bring him down. To me, that seems unlikely: I doubt Mother Nature herself could fashion strength enough to dent this man’s dogged persistence.
Last year, Karnazes ran 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days, finishing with the New York marathon which he duly completed in three hours thirty seconds. He carved a trail across the country and, much like Forrest Gump, garnered loyal disciples along the way - none of whom could stay with him for long, of course. But he got people running. And so the Americans love him for the same reasons they love Anthony Robbins - because he inspires them. They love nothing more than a group high five after a rousing “who’s with me” kind of speech before they settle back in for an afternoon with Jerry Springer and a bag of crisps, perhaps washed down with a litre of sprite. But Karnazes isn’t selling the latest ‘seven steps to success’ guide for those who failed to find it with eight. He inspires simply by doing what he does. By running. And running. And running.
He ran when he was young, too, but it was only after one night sat drunk in a San Francisco bar that he started to run for real. Resisting the urge to vomit, he staggered home that night, took off his trousers, put on a pair of old trainers, and started to run. He didn’t stop all night. In the morning he reached a payphone 30 miles from where he’d set off, called his wife who came to pick him up, and promptly passed out in the back of the car. Karnazes believes he changed that night, that he realised then and there that his body contained limits that he’d never truly explored. What were those limits and how far could he go? These are the kind of questions that now drive Karnazes’ extraordinary existence.
So how does he do it, how can a man run 350 miles straight in three days without sleep? Well, when not competing, his diet is rigorous: grilled salmon five nights a week and no processed or fried foods. Fruit is largely avoided because it contains too much sugar. Come raceday, though, the adage is simple: “The more fat the better”. Fat contains twice as many calories per gram as carbohydrates do, so that means pizza, cheesecake, eclairs, cookies and chocolate. He carries a cellphone on each long run so he can order pizza to pick up further down the road. He also sleeps far less than your average mortal, averaging four hours a night compared to most people’s eight. And make no mistake about it, if you want to be a superhero too then you need to train - hard. Karnazes has done it for so long now that he can wake up on any given day and go out and run a marathon as we might a 3k jog round the block. He has grown accustomed to pain. It makes him happy. And I bet you know exactly what he means. We all know that even the slightest piece of exercise can soothe the soul. It might tire our bodies but it motivates the mind. As Karnazes says, “There is magic in misery”.
But imagine that misery! Imagine the pain. Imagine what it feels like 250 miles in when all you can think of is the 100 that remain. And imagine not being afraid of it all. That’s what it feels like to be a superhero. Or Dean Karnazes.
“He who fears being conquered is sure of defeat.” NAPOLEON
I have an image of a plump machinist from michigan now ordering a large Dominos Supreme to fuel his walk to work. "Honey, Dean does it - I'm slimmin!"
This guy is unbelievable, it makes you wonder what we are actually capable of achieving once we break through the barrier.
50 marathons in 50 days. That is INSANE.
But you can see his willy.