Dean Karnazes: Discipline, Commitment, and Being Present

The Sonya Looney Show

Dean Karnazes, aka the UltraMarathonMan, is an extraordinary human. If you have ever followed ultrarunning, no doubt you've heard of some of his adventures. He's been named one of the "Top 100 Most Influential People in the World" by Time Magazine,

He has taken on many unthinkable feats like running 50 marathons, in all 50 US states, in 50 consecutive days finishing with the NYC Marathon where...get this... he ran a sub 3-hour marathon for his 50th marathon in a row. He has run 350 continuous miles, foregoing sleep for three nights. He’s run across the Sahara Desert in 120-degree temperatures, and he’s run a marathon to the South Pole in negative 40 degrees. 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. He has raced and competed on all seven continents of the planet, twice over.

Despite his many accomplishments, awards and distinctions, he remains most proud of his ongoing contributions of time and funding to programs aimed at getting children and youth outdoors and active. He has raised millions of dollars for charity and was awarded the prestigious Community Leadership Award by the President’s Council on Physical Fitness & Sports.

Dean is a humble, down-to-earth guy with amazing stories (seriously, listen to him on the many podcasts he has done- you'll hear something different every time like eating with a fork and knife off a plate running down the road, fans pulling up next to him while he was running at 2 AM in the middle of nowhere on a backroad to autograph a book, and so many more).

He is a NYT Bestselling Author and his 5th book, A Runner's High, just hit the stands. I read this book and it's beautifully written, entertaining, and a tale of how to manage expectations, goalsetting as you age (he is 58) and so much more.

"I think because we ultimately prove to ourselves that we are better than we thought we were and we can go farther than we thought we could. I think endurance sports are very quantifiable. You may think it’s impossible to run a marathon. And I tell people that’s why you need to go run a marathon. And when you finish the marathon you prove to yourself that nothing is impossible and that’s the power in what we are doing."

Dean Karnazes

You'll hear themes of discipline, commitment, being present, and vulnerability weaved into the thread of this podcast.

Topics Discussed in the Podcast

• Dean's writing process
• Putting yourself out there
• masculinity and vulnerability
• aging and expectations as an athlete
• overthinking in a race vs. being present
• dealing with extremes
• the goal of winning vs. the goal of adventure
• dealing with self-doubt and inadequacy
• talking to kids about eating and exercise
• why endurance sports build our identity
• how not to quit
• his future dreams and goals

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Listen Now: Dean Karnazes

Links

• Get the book: A Runner's High
• Visit Dean's website
• Dean Karnazes Instagram

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