Friday, November 10, 2006

Dean Karnazes IS Forrest Gump!

Dean Karnazes has decided to jog home after his last marathon. Good way to cool down? Sure, unless of course your last marathon was in New York, and your home is in San Francisco.

Yup, that's right. Krazy Karno has decided to cap off his 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days by running across the country to get home. He really IS Forrest Gump! He's made it to Philadelphia, PA so far (you can track his progress on the Runner's World site here). I wish him the best of luck - it's going to get damn cold in the Rockies, that's for sure.

Below is the YouTube link to the Epilogue of his 50-50-50 adventure. I know not all ultrarunners like his self-promotion, but he's clearly inspiring a lot of people to run. I've met a lot of first-time ultrarunners who signed up because of his book, and I know some of them will stick with it forever. Totally cool.

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10 comments:

  1. Anonymous11/11/2006 08:10:00 AM

    Scott,

    Im one of those ultrarunners who was inspired by his book last year. People can take his promotion however they want, but there's no denying that its getting people off the couch. To me, thats a pretty good thing.

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  2. Anonymous11/11/2006 10:21:00 AM

    Thanks for sharing this. I signed up a month ago to run my first marathon in Februaury. I've been following Karnazes a bit and am always pretty floored by his observations and sense of humility that he exudes when he's talking about other runner. Thanks again.

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  3. eets11/11/2006 10:00:00 PM

    I had gotten burned out on running after competing in college. I read his book and connected. I immediately got back out in the woods and within a couple months I went on a 33 miler in Bull of the Woods wilderness in Oregon. Got an overuse injury, but I've refound my passion. That's a positive influence...

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  4. Anonymous11/13/2006 02:27:00 AM

    I was feeling Dean needed to do something extra since the less experienced Sam Thompson did the 50-50 thing when it was hotter, and without sponsorship. This is tagged-on cross-country stunt is way cool. I hope (and am sure) he will have a lot of fun.

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  5. Anonymous11/13/2006 07:08:00 AM

    The swedish ultrarunner (multiple sparthalon wins) and adventurer Rune Larsson crossed the USA with a baby stroller without support in 2004 - from San Diego to Sandy Hook, NJ. He covered the 3100 miles in 82 days. You can read about his findings at http://www.loparlarsson.se/How%20run%20a%20continent.htm . BTW in 2001 he rowed over the Atlantic ocean.

    Greetings from a rainy and freezing Gothenburg
    //Fredde

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  6. Anonymous11/13/2006 11:51:00 AM

    Add me to the list of people who read Dean's book and have since run ultras. (yes, note the plural) ;)

    I agree wholeheartedly with Travis. He's getting people off the couch, and so what if he's getting publicity for that?

    Go Dean! You're an inspiration to us all.

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  7. Scott Dunlap11/13/2006 12:37:00 PM

    Thanks everyone for leaving comments. I forward all of these to Dean, and he reads every single one (although I'm not sure how he's doing it now!). Frederico, I appreciat the link to Rune - what a crazy man.

    And thank you, Ryan! I'm glad to hear the blog got you out in nature, where you will find endless inspiration. Keep it up!

    SD

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  8. Anonymous11/14/2006 11:27:00 AM

    Hey Scott -

    Keep up the good work with the blog. I continue to check it regularly.

    I had a chance to run with Dean in New Jersey (#49) and had a fantastic time. Several other runners commented that it was a blast to run a low-key 26.2-miler at such a pace where you could chat it up with everybody. This is the second time this year when I've run a slow, easy-going marathon as a chance to soak in surroundings and enjoy camaraderie (I ran SF with my wife in July). I highly recommend it.

    Keep up the great work. I may or may not see you at Quad. I've been nursing a bad calf injury.

    - Garett

    P.S. Full disclosure: I work for The North Face, which sponsors Dean.

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  9. Anonymous11/15/2006 07:10:00 PM

    I think it's cool what Dean has accomplished but he has NOTHING on Terry Fox. Terry Fox fighting cancer ran a marathon everyday for 143 days with a artificial leg . Someone needs to make a proper documentary on this legend... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Fox

    I think about Terry during every ultra when the pain is bad.

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  10. Anonymous6/11/2007 12:41:00 PM

    Here is another guy from Sweden who will cross the continent:

    http://suneson.se/index.php

    Greetings,
    Federico "UltraFredde" Hernandez

    ReplyDelete

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