by Lauren Muney
Photo credits as marked... videos by Lauren Muney with a Canon Powershot A700 digital pocket camera. All video are in the Quicktime format. For free Quicktime software, visit the Quicktime download page.
I ran in cowboy boots along a Maryland state highway next to a small, well-muscled man pushing a baby stroller full of food while running. He had a big smile on his face and a small cluster of young men who, as I did, found this hero by way of a satellite update.
Before anyone dares think this is pretty fantastic (or even crazy!), it's important to note that this man just completed 50 marathons in 50 days... yes, that's 26.2 miles every day for 50 consecutive days. (Photo, left, from Runner's World website)
Dean is tired, so Dean is running home across the United States to his family. Yup... that's what I would do were I that tired.
I am a huge Dean fan, and have been since I read his book
"Ultramarathon Man" over a year ago. I'm not a runner but I still shouted with glee (yes, out loud, even when alone) to the adventures in his book: running the Western States 100 (and its qualifying race, where he was so underconditioned that he threw up in his car after running), running with a pizza and cheesecake in his hands, running the most savage race on Earth, and even running a 200-mile relay race as his "team" 's only competitor.
Dean Karnazes, the man who just finished 50 marathons, was running home to his family ---on small roads which snake the United States. And he's inviting others to join him "for a mile or a marathon". He's pushing the stroller full of his 'baby': the 5,000-6,000 calories per day that Dean needs to keep his energy and muscle on the long miles ahead.
So one of my heroes was running across my own state, and I just knew I had to seek him. I quickly made Dean some peanut-butter-and-honey sandwiches (his favorite, as his book stated) and jumped into my car, driving quickly through early rush-hour traffic. I felt like I was storm-chasing: people who only have a few moments to catch a tornado before it's gone. All I had to guide me was a previous satellite position from the 'Dean Tool' (satellite position of Dean's location while running) on Runner's World website... and I sped through the small towns in my little Honda.
After I traveled west down the road past barns and farms, I saw a small quiet group of runners, one of whom was pushing a baby stroller. I had found who I was looking for... no fancy bus, no entourage: just one man with a few extra people for a few miles.
Here was a man who sleeps only 4 hours a night, who has a wife, two kids, and up until recently, a full-time high-powered day job - all while running very long distances in one 'sitting' (pardon the pun) under very grueling conditions. Recently, he's traded his suit for designing athletic equipment, promoting his sponsors, and speaking engagements. He's been featured in major media. He's written a best-selling book. What type of man would I encounter happily running for hundreds of miles on a country highway just before Thanksgiving, 2006? (Blurry photo: Dean with stroller of food, running on Rt. 26 west of Eldersburg, MD: 11/14/06)
Dean is a small, compact man with an incredible musculature. Most people notice that many runners seem very thin and possibly weak: Dean looks neither "thin" nor weak! Intaking up to 7,000 calories on his most voracious days, Dean's physique could rival a lean bodybuilder. He is deeply tanned on his adventure of 50 marathons (and more), with his short hair growing longer and bleached from his hours in the sun. Dean is a powerhouse of energy and joy, keeping up conversation with the young runners who join him on the twilight highway until they decide to turn back - back to their own beds while Dean continues to run west towards home.
Dean couldn't have been nicer, more genial, happy, or more gracious. He was honestly touched when people came to find him, and when they ran with him. I arrived in a long skirt and cowboy boots, dashing out of a seminar because I knew it was the only time I had to catch him; yet Dean said, "Where are your sneakers? You could run with us!"
So I ran along rural Maryland State 26 heading west from Eldersburg towards Frederick, in those cowboy boots, next to one of my heroes and several fun-loving young men who wanted to be part of history also. Dean Karnazes, internationally known athlete, author, and fitness enthusiast, invited anyone to find him running along the road via his satellite link --- and come run with him on the roads across America.
If you listen carefully to the video, Dean says (noting the runners running with him), "It's like a roadside party".
His impact may be hard to describe, possibly because he seemed like an everyman who simply is so aware of others, of his surroundings, and of the importance of living to the fullest. He also seems to breathe through intense situations without superheroism, yet allows the impact of these events to mold him. "Superstars" of the media travel with entourages and request special treatment: Dean Karnazes seems to ask the world only for the chance to run through, changed by the world instead of asking the world to bend for him.
In the last few days, I've been deeply surrounded by the musing, "What is integrity?":
Integrity is not a standard measurement: defined as "firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values", integrity doesn't quite explain exactly what those values are. However, we seem to feel an integrity-ful person when we meet him or her. We feel safe in the presence of that person. We are changed, simply after the encounter. Dean Karnazes seems like one of these integrity-filled people; he simply exudes a passion for compassion, and this intangible seems to grow the best in others.
Dean had one of the nice young men take picture of the two of us, using Dean's own camera phone: showing one of the peanut-butter-and-honey sandwiches I brought him! (Photo courtesy of Dean Karnazes' own blog)
I offer another vision or long-distance runners: maybe they are the most sane of all of us. There's no illusion. Every block, mile, rock, tree is real - and sometimes the running hurts - but they can persevere. Every moment is precious: traveling across America to meet the people and see the small towns is one of the most integrating experiences that a human could create - so be it: Dean Karnazes does it on foot. He's fit enough, he has a team of people watching over him from afar like we all should, and he's filled with the love of family, friends --even unknown new 'family and friends'. He's simply promoting health, exercise, and adventure - and he does it while raising money for children's health charities.
Dean also watches the world from the roads and trails, and gives us a chance to experience it also - from his eyes.
I can't imagine what's so crazy about this; in my mind, a sedentary lifestyle in front of a television everyday seems far more intolerable. Dean is out on the roads, in the towns and cities, helping us "see" ---as we help him understand, whereupon he turns the world back to us as a mirror.
They embrace whatever they confront, every moment of every day. Maybe 'ground level' is a wonderful place for all of us to meet life.
Buy his book, support his sponsors - anything you can do may keep him inspiring and helping others for many gregarious years to come.
Steve Grey, the nice young man who took the picture of Dean and I, wrote me:
"Long after everyone else had fallen off and headed in, and the sun set on us, Dean and I ran alone along Rt 26, and for quite some time we didn't talk. We just enjoyed a nice run. When we did speak, to listen to him and his whole outlook on life in general was amazing. For the longest time during my training for my first ultramarthon, the JFK 50-miler this weekend, I was not quite sure that I'd be able to pull it off. Now, after spending the day with the Ultimate Ultramarathon Man himself, I am not only confident that I will finish, I am now confident that I will finish with a good time under my belt. This weekend ...I will be taking along the memories of our run yesterday out onto the trail with me and I am sure that they will push me along to the finish."
(all photos by Lauren Muney; these are parts of America that Dean ran past, on MD State Rt 180)
Addendum: Dean announced in his blog that the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association of America has volunteered an RV to assist him. Dean's own father, "Popou" as Dean calls him, flew out from the west coast as the driver; he followed his son across the United States at the 'speed of life'.
I returned to the road to seek Dean. I once again drove to find him, using the satellite feed (and someone on a computer giving me Dean Updates via cell phone)... I found Dean on Rt 180 West from Frederick MD towards Harper's Ferry, WVA. (His father was never too far away).
This time, I brought my sneakers.
Quel embarrassment: I'm not a runner. After running a little bit, I had to stop running, and said, "I'm so sorry for stopping... I'm not a runner".
This time, my 'visit' was to thank him for his inspiration -- yet he only spoke about how others inspire him. Dean discussed his love of simply running, and how the marketing wasn't a big draw for him. He simply loved to run, and he simply loves to let others benefit in any way possible from his passion. Although we didn't speak about money, I assumed he meant the money he has raised for children's charities from his running.
We ran (and walked, sometimes, for me) along this tiny road with no shoulders. The cars came whizzing by at breakneck paces, some leaving us a wide berth and some cars not caring at all that we were there. The close proximity to these cars caused me to reflect on the intensity of Deam's undertaking; on most of his miles will be run on small roads, in breathing distance of cars and chickens and every person on these backroads of America.
After a little while I realized that my lack of running prowess was holding Dean back, so I waved goodbye so he could continue unfettered.
Soon I found his father again in the RV, carefully scrutinizing the maps and plotting travel routes. We chatted. "What Dean doesn't mention much," his father said, "...is that he still raced intense 100-mile races even before the Endurance 50 this fall; and then undertook the 50 marathons in 50 days... We are even flying to the 24-hr National Championship race in Dallas this week, then returning to where we left off so 
Dean can continue running across the country. Most of those runners would have been resting and tapering for the 24-hour race, but Dean has been running straight through the Endurance 50, then running across the country, then doing the 24-hr race, then returning to his cross-country run."
I shook my head, amazed and honored to have met the father and his son, and seen such shoes hit the pavement so many times they have left no evidence -- and yet left an indelible mark in the world.
--- Dean comments on our meeting in his blog... ( thanks Dean, what a cool surprise!)
--- My meeting with Dean apparently made his online Interesting Moment of the Day, courtesy of the Dean's Run Across America stats!
Date: November 15, 2006
Starting Location: Frederick, MD
Finishing Location: Charles Town, WV
Miles Run: 34.81 in 7:07 hours
Pace Rate: 12:16 min/mile
Interesting Moment Of The Day: At about mile twenty, Dean was met by one hot lady--literally. His new friend Lauren is a fire eater, a daring adventurist who swallows flaming swords. She apparently makes a mean peanut butter and honey sandwich as well."
Dean Karnazes: Ultramarathon Man website
Dean's Run Home blog
Where's Dean? (Runner's World satellite updates: 'The Dean Tool')
North Face's Endurance 50 (website of Dean's 50 marathons in 50 days)
Endurance Is :(Dean's endurance 50 blog + videos from the Endurance 50 marathons... documentary due in 2007)
Endurance 50 Videos (Courtesy of JourneyFilm, the makers of Dean's Endurance 50 documentary)
UltraMarathon Man book - you don't need to be a runner to enjoy this true-life tale of a man confronting himself and the earth
50/50: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathons in 50 Days -- and How You Too Can Achieve Super Endurance! Dean's new book about his 50-marathon feat
Runner's World profile of Dean Karnazes
"Karnazes faces the hard truth of life's fragility. 'Your game can be up at any moment. I felt I needed to pursue whatever my heart told me to pursue.' "
Another man's wonderful account of meeting Dean at the Ultracentric 24-hr race
but I am a cross-country-adventure fan. My favorite book is the drive-across-country-in-a-van book, "Blue Highways", I've read "Jupiter's Travels" (another true story about a man circumventing the globe on a motorcycle) and, although Dean said to me, "You're crazy [for seeking me out]", he doesn't know the least bit of my own adventures. And he doesn't need to know; Dean's got enough of his own.
Because of your descriptions, I look to embrace similar adventures. Because you described the whole-soul relief you felt from volunteers at race aid stations, I volunteered at race aid stations to help others as you have been helped. Your book and your adventures have opened new chapters in my life, as you have done for so many other people.
I'll repeat again: I wasn't a runner... but recently I started running a few weeks ago, thanks to inspiration from people like Dean and infectious enthusiasm from runners, triathletes, and endurance athletes everywhere.
I also want life from ground level - as they have found.
The father and son team of 65-year-old Dick with his teammate, his son Rick: Dick pushes or pulls Rick in a custom-designed chair or in a boat, as they swim, bike, and/or run in marathons, triathlons, and even the grueling Ironman triathlons. You see, Rick has cerebral palsy, and can't walk or talk - yet they are Ironman finishers several times over, thanks to the tremendous strength, dedication, and endurance of father Dick. They are my other true heroes.
Midwestern working mom writes her blog of her physical and spiritual journeys to become an Ironman, as she bursts "Through th3 wall"