Racing and travel seemed to have roared back to life in 2022, both domestically and internationally. Some have called the uptick a post-pandemic surge, while others have cautioned that the pandemic still lingers. Whateve...
Articles by Dean Karnazes
Walt Stack, age 75, runs the Four Peaks Fifty and was featured in the 1983 May issue of UltraRunning Magazine. Steve Cupps Toward the end, some thought Walt Stack might be losing his mind. Th...
Amelia Earhart said it well: “Adventure is worthwhile in itself.” Most ultramarathon distance runs take place on a race course that provides the forum, with a set route and distance. Each ultramarathon is an adventure...
If I hadn’t tried them myself, I never would have believed it. Though I guess with the advent of e-assist bicycles, scooters, skateboards and even stand up paddleboards, it was just a matter of time until someone adap...
If you’ve ever wondered whether there’s an ultrarunning scene in South America, let me assure you there is — it’s wonderfully vibrant and full of life. Having just returned from racing in Argentin...
As if we’re not divided enough these days, another growing chasm of separation is beginning to widen. America is the most age-segregated country on Earth. Nowhere else do people live such separated existences. Growin...
Ultrarunners are notoriously prolific. We run on every imaginable terrain—mountains, deserts, snowfields, marshes, grasslands—on all continents. Any landscape that’s accessible is runnable. Been there, run...
What could tidal rhythms, a wooden ball and a cable car possibly have to do with training for an ultra? More than you would think. Turning any activity into a game can make it more enjoyable and help prevent boredom a...
Shan Riggs’ 5K run was abruptly interrupted by the sight of an enormous lizard scurrying up a nearby tree, a creature unlike anything he’d seen in Connecticut. It was as long as a park bench, muscular and thick – lik...
It might surprise you to learn that the first marathon was actually an ultramarathon. And the first marathoner was actually an ultramarathoner. Many are familiar with the legendary tale of a Greek runner setting off a...
Certain sporting arenas across the globe have taken on almost mythical proportions. Tennis has Wimbledon, golf has Augusta, baseball has Yankee Stadium and football has Lambeau Field. Though I would argue – as impartiall...
“What should we give the guy?” It was a question on a lot of people’s minds. The year was 1974 and Gordy Ainsleigh had just completed a grueling 100-mile horse race called the Tevis Cup. The only differ...
If you know your trail running history, you know the Dipsea Race is widely considered the nation’s oldest trail run. Beginning in 1905, the 7.5-mile trek starts in the bucolic town of Mill Valley, CA, located about 15...
Besides being an ultrarunner, I’m also a surfer. Even though I don’t get in the water nearly as much as I once did, I still identify as a surfer. And that’s because surfing is more than just a...
If you’re like me, you typically choose several “A” races throughout the year. Once those have been earmarked, you then build specific training blocks to arrive at these races in peak condition. Of course, you might a...
On the night of my 30th birthday, I set a world record: I ran 30 continuous miles. I knew a marathon was 26.2 miles, and it was common knowledge that the marathon was the outermost zenith of human endurance. I’d gone...
“Bob, it’s minus-35 degrees.” His idea was cockamamie enough, even in ideal running conditions, but in this frozen and vast polar plateau, it was beyond ludicrous. The ramifications were unthinkable. Still. As the pa...
Running has been a steadfast tread on the path my life has travelled since discovering track in junior high. In high school I became a devoted disciple of the sport, falling in love with the year-round cycle of cross cou...
What if there was a race that had no end? And what if the starting time was equally uncertain? And what if deception and false hope were thrown into the mix? You might be told the race will likely start sometime tomorrow...