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Dean Karnazes (b. Constantine Karnazes August 23, 1962) (pronounced car-NAH-sis), is a Greek-American ultramarathon runner, and author of Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All Night Runner which details ultra endurance running for the general public.[1][2]
Karnazes grew up in Los Angeles, where he began running home from kindergarten; he took up running so that he wouldn’t have to burden his mother with rides home from school every day.
At first, Karnazes ran direct routes from school to his home. Later, he began to run diversionary routes that would extend his run and take him into uncharted territory.[2] By third grade he was participating in and organizing short running events with other kids. As Karnazes grew older, he began testing his limits: by age eleven he had hiked rim-to-rim across the Grand Canyon and had climbed Mount Whitney, the highest mountain in the contiguous United States; for his 12th birthday, he cycled the 40 miles to his grandparents' home for fun, without first telling his parents.
In junior high, Karnazes met Jack McTavish, a track coach who became Karnazes’ mentor and introduced him to the appeal of long-distance running. McTavish's basic running instructions were simple: "Go out hard and finish harder." Using this motto as a basis, that season Karnazes won the one-mile California State Long-Distance Championship held on the Mount SAC track. At the end of the race, coach McTavish commented: "Good work son, how'd it feel?" To this Karnazes replied: "Well, going out hard was the right thing to do. It felt pretty good." The coach replied:『If it felt good, you didn’t push hard enough. It’s supposed to hurt like hell.』A week after the race, Karnazes' father's job was transferred to San Clemente. These were the last comments the coach ever said to Karnazes, who has stated that he lives by these words to this day.[2]
In 1976, as a high school freshman, Karnazes joined the cross country team under Benner Cummings. Cummings’ running theory was that running is about finding your inner peace; his motto was "run with your heart." That season, Karnazes was awarded "Most Inspirational" team member. Karnazes also ran his first full marathon that year, a fundraiser for underprivileged children, finishing in just under six hours and raising a dollar a lap from his sponsors. While most students ran only 10-15 laps around the track, he ran 105.
Karnazes was not compatible with his high school track coach and stopped running for fifteen years.[2] He resumed running on his 30th birthday with an impromptu all-night, soul-searching, 30-mile trek in his underwear and old lawn-mowing shoes.
In 2004, Karnazes was named one of GQ's "Best Bodies of the Year".
In 1995, Karnazes founded Energy Well Natural Foods in San Francisco and he remains president of the company, now called Good Health Natural Foods.[3] He holds graduate degrees in Science and Business. Karnazes resides in San Francisco, California, with his wife, Julie, and two children, Alexandria and Nicholas.[4] Karnazes is also a regular columnist for Men's Health.[2]
DEAN KARNAZES
TIME magazine bills him as one of the “Top 100 Most Influential People in the World,” because he’s expanded the limits of human endurance and, along the way, inspired others to be the best that they can be. His extraordinary endurance is legendary. Men’s Fitness says he “might just be the fittest man on the planet.” For example, he ran a 135-miles nonstop across Death Valley in 120-degree temperatures, and a marathon to the South Pole in negative 40 degrees. Topping those feats, in 2006, he ran 50 marathons, in all 50 US states, in 50 consecutive days, finishing with the NY City Marathon, which he completed in three hours flat.
SELECT CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
NOTEWORTHY DISTINCTIONS & AWARDS
SOME SELECT QUOTES
“MAKES THE EXTRAORDINARY LOOK EASY.” ~GQ
“IRON MAN DEAN KARNAZES IS NO MERE MORTAL.” ~TIME
“THE INDEFATIGABLE MAN.” ~Esquire
“RUNNING WITH KARNAZES IS LIKE SETTING UP ONE’S EASEL NEXT TO MONET OR PICASSO.” ~New York Times
“AMERICA’S GREATEST RUNNER.” ~Outside
“THE PERFECT HUMAN.” ~Wired
“ULTRARUNNING LEGEND.” ~Men’s Journal
“THE ULTIMATE ULTRARUNNING SPECIMEN.” ~Runner’s World
“HE HAS NOT ONLY PUSHED THE ENVELOPE BUT BLASTED IT TO BITS.” ~The Philadelphia Inquirer
“DEAN DISMISSES BOUNDARIES. HE MAKES EVERYTHING SEEM POSSIBLE.” ~The Washington Post
The North Face Endurance 50, also known as the 50/50/50, was fifty marathons in fifty states in fifty consecutive days, beginning with the Lewis and Clark Marathon in St. Louis on September 17, 2006, and finishing with the New York City Marathon on November 5. Eight of the fifty races were official marathons. Since marathon races are typically held only on Saturdays and Sundays, on the other days Karnazes ran the courses of prominent and established marathons using the help of the Race Director and staff of that event to officially run their sanctioned and certified course, but on a different day than the “live” event. (For example, as part of the Endurance 50, Karnazes ran the official course of the Boston Marathon, but not the race itself, which is held in mid-April.)
Many thought running 50 marathons in a row, and traveling to all 50 US states, would be physically impossible. Karnazes finished the final marathon, the NYC Marathon on the official race day, in 3:00 hours.
After finishing the Endurance 50, Karnazes decided to run home to San Francisco from New York City. He was expected to finish the trip in January 2007. However Karnazes chose to end this trek on December 15, 2006, in St. Charles, Missouri, to spend more time with his family.[5]
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TIME magazine named Dean Karnazes as one of the “Top 100 Most Influential People in the World.” Men’s Fitness hailed him as the fittest man on the planet. An internationally recognized endurance athlete and bestselling author, Dean has pushed his body and mind to inconceivable limits. Among his many accomplishments, he has run 350 continuous miles, foregoing sleep for three nights. He’s run across Death Valley in 120 degree temperatures, and he’s run a marathon to the South Pole in negative 40 degrees. On ten different occasions, he’s run a 200-mile relay race solo, racing alongside teams of twelve. Dean has swum the San Francisco Bay, scaled mountains, bike raced for 24-hours straight, and surfed the gigantic waves off the coast of Hawaii and California. His long list of competitive achievements include winning the world’s toughest footrace, the Badwater Ultramarathon, running 135 miles nonstop across Death Valley during the middle of summer.
His most recent endeavor was running 50 marathons, in all 50 US states, in 50 consecutive days, finishing with the NYC Marathon, which he ran in three hours flat. Nobody thought this would be humanly possible prior to Karnazes historic undertaking.
Dean and his incredible adventures have been featured on 60 Minutes, The Late Show with David Letterman, CBS News, CNN, ESPN, The Howard Stern Show, NPR’s Morning Edition, the BBC, and many others. He has appeared on the cover of Runner’s World and Outside, and been featured in TIME, Newsweek, People, GQ, The New York Times, USA TODAY, The Washington Post, Men’s Journal, Forbes, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, and the London Telegraph, to mention a few. He is a monthly columnist for Men’s Health, the largest Men’s publication in the world.
His first book, Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner, was a National Bestseller and the #7 selling sports book worldwide. His most recent work, 50/50 – How to Achieve Super Endurance, has received widespread acclaim as a story of both inspiration and aspiration, “His writing offers that rare peek into the mindset and motivation of an extreme athlete,” writes book critic Linda M. Castellitto in her gleaming review of 50/50.
Always wanting to do more, to give more, to help others in need, Dean has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity through his running and sports career. He has participated in the Leukemia Society of America’s “Team-In-Training” and “Man of the Year” programs, has raised money for the Special Olympics and has selflessly contributed his time and energy to numerous youth fitness programs and environmental causes. For his tireless efforts, Dean was awarded the prestigious 2008 Community Leadership Award by the President’s Council on Physical Fitness & Sports.
Beyond being a celebrated endurance athlete, philanthropist, and bestselling author, Dean is an accomplished businessman with a notable professional career working for several Fortune 500 companies and startups alike. A graduate of the McLaren School of Business & Management, he is uniquely able to demonstrate how the lessons learned from athletics can be applied to business, and he is able to convey, with authenticity, the many insights he has gleaned along the way as an athlete and business professional.
Dean is a sought after speaker who has captivated and inspired audiences across the country with his stories of persistence and perseverance. His dynamic, engaging and rousing presentations focus on going beyond perceived limitations to be the best that you can be. He talks about unlocking an inner strength to achieve extraordinary results. His real-life examples explore the topics of: dealing with adversity, overcoming obstacles, setting and reaching lofty goals, the importance of teamwork, even in solo endeavors, and excelling in a competitive, and often confusing, world. In his presentations, he examines and discusses the essential ingredients necessary for high-achievement and developing the ability to prevail and preserve against staggering odds.
Dean is believable, because his achievements and accomplishments are real, and he delivers his message with the insight and candor that only an individual who has lived through such experiences can. His tales of endurance and perseverance are often comical, sometimes tear-jerking, and always thought-provoking and entertaining. His roster of clients include: Nike, Google, Sony, PepsiCo, Wells Fargo, Apple Computer, Merck, Toyota, Starbucks, Facebook, Stanford University, Yale, JP Morgan Chase, and a host of others.
