DVD-Ultramarathon Man:50 Marathons, 50 States, 50 Days

You want to hate Dean Karnazes, but it is impossible. He is not popular among ultrarunners because he is seen as a marketing tool instead of an athlete. But this seems to be more envy than anything else. Karno is the most visible member of an obscure sport.

Ultramarathon Man is the chronicle of the Endurance 50. This is Karno's dream to run a marathon in 50 states back-to-back for 50 days. Naturally, there aren't that many races scheduled like that, so Karno recreates races held in those states by doing the same course. And he is not alone. In every race, Karnazes has a crew of runners and fans running the course with him. The feat is to promote awareness of fitness among the young and to combat obesity.

Is the Endurance 50 a phenomenal feat? I don't think so. I'm old fashioned and think winning a marathon is way more phenomenal than finishing one. But Karno makes no pretense to be an elite athlete. He says he is slow. He can't run fast, but he can run very far. Much of the hatred for Karnazes comes from people who think he gets undeserved attention that belongs to the real athletes. They accuse him of being a narcissist egomaniac. But it just ain't so.

Karno has an enthusiasm for life, and you become infected with it watching this DVD. He is a humble guy, but he is passionate about his pursuits. Karno cares less about promoting himself than he does a lifestyle and a journey of self-discovery through these crucibles of endurance. He is damn likable, and he cares very much about other people. And when he pushes his former training partner stricken by Lou Gehrig's in a wheelchair on the racecourse, you can't help but be moved. Karno has class.

For me, the most amazing thing about Karno is that he does it all on four hours of sleep each night. He trained himself over a month to achieve this feat. Naturally, I want to try it, too. I sleep 6 now, but I could get a lot done with an extra two hours of waking time.

As for the Endurance 50, Karno succeeds. He also succeeds in winning over viewers as fans. The dirty secret about Karnazes is that he is an average guy. He just turned things up a few notches on his life when he turned 30, and it has been a glorious ride.

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