I read Dean Karnazes 50/50 and I rate it 3.5 out of 5. In case you don’t know, Karnazes is an amazing athlete who discovered during a midlife crisis that he is indeed a runner. Not just a 5km runner, he is the kind of fellow who packs his credit card and goes, often without a plan and 31 miles later, calls for pizza take out to be delivered to some street corner so he can eat on the run. This guy is an amazing human specimen. As with many runners, he had a dream. He wanted to run a marathon in every state with his family driving a RV and meeting up with him at various destinations.book-50-50I have to admit, this idea intrigues me. I love destination races, I love the variety of new routes and I love the concept of having a’crew’ to take care of things so the athlete can just run. It takes some real influential conversation to convince someone that driving behind them at 8 miles/hour will be fun. It also takes some convincing that living in a RV for 50 days driving from race to race will also be fun. The crew worries about food, first aid – have you ever seen a runners foot? At best it is ugly, at worse the skin hangs like rags from blisters gone bad. It isn’t pleasant ever. Then there is the moaning and groaning of muscles that seize up, not to mention the amount of food that needs to be consumed so the runner doesn’t lose so much weight that they can’t hold their body upright. Convincing someone to be the crew is a big deal. Particularly when you want to run a marathon every day for the summer.Karnazes’ wife Julie, was on it. She supports him in all his adventure so she was planning this trip. He went to find sponsors to help fund it. He was already sponsored by NorthFace and thought they would help him out. That was when the planning went sideways. NorthFace planed a 50/50 tour. 50 consecutive marathons in 50 States. First off, the travel is nuts, second, there isn’t time for proper muscle recovery, third, his family couldn’t come. His point was not so much the 50 marathons, but the holiday with his family.He goes on to explain details from every single race that include the good, the bad and the hideous. Karnazes appears super human. I enjoyed the beginning of the books and loved some of the details but his advice for beginning runners when starting out made me laugh. Run 18 minutes to start? HA! Listen pal, that is assuming new runners have a level of fitness that allows the to do that. most new runners are 40 and are getting in shape for the first time in their life. Is diet tips are kooky too. But the man understands the beauty of the Ultra. This reason alone is worth the read. He is simply amazing in his athletic ability. The guy ran 24 hours on a treadmill and didn’t slit his wrists! That alone is amazing! disclaimer (haha) I am not a runner. Not even an exerciser. So why would this interest me? Hard to explain, but Dean is a good writer for this genre. It is fascinating to me that the human body can even achieve these feats in the first place, but more fascinating to read about it from an inside perspective.It isn't all about the running, or even all about the physical aspect. Much of it is the people he meets, the stories he hears, and the beautiful scenery that he always enjoys. Lessons for all of us to learn there.and, like so many famous runners, he wasn't always a runner. 15 years earlier he had a desk job and couldn't run a mile. Now he runs 100's of miles. It's so weird! Truth is stranger than fiction, to me.
Do You like book 50 Marathons 50 Days (2008)?
Някак книгата и очакванията ми се разминаха. Зная, че е предназначена предимно за мотивация на бягащите, но към момента такава не ми липсва :)Открих няколко полезни съвета, които мисля да тествам, но като цяло мисля да си насоча вниманието към писанията на Tim Noakes.
—Megan
The endeavor described in the book is truly impressive and inspiring. I found the book well written, interesting, and enjoyable. Karnazes seems to be an amazing character and I became curious to read his previous book and ordered it in amazon right away. The advices provided though are quite elementary and I reckon everyone with a bit of running experience would be able to give you the same advices.
—bud
Loved this book. So motivating and inspired me to run my 1st marathon.
—ted
