“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...
Articles by Dean Karnazes
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...
We’ve all read the clichés in the headlines: the COVID crisis is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. As the weeks and months go by, it now seems more like an ultramarathon. As such, I’ve found myself drawing upon some of thos...
This year marked the 25th anniversary of the Miwok 100K. I’ve run the race on several occasions over the years and it remains one of my local favorites, with the course being set in my backyard in Marin County. Wanting t...
My brother Kraig is a history buff. I was the runner in the family and he was the studious one. So when he came to me with a history- related running escapade, I was keen to hear his idea. He explained that there are 21...
In 1993, the year I ran my first ultra, 3,297 individuals finished an ultramarathon in North America. By 2019, the number had ballooned to 127,269. Yes, the sport has grown – phenomenally so. And, by most analyst predica...
With all the attention focused on training and fueling in this issue, I thought it important to examine a sometimes overlooked byproduct of our athletic pursuits, tooth decay. Being married to a dentist, I’m well aware o...
Winter brings cooler temperatures and shorter days. As the seasons shift, running outdoors becomes more of a production. Layers must be added and headlamps charged. Some runners move into the gym for their training while...
Ultrarunning has the power to transform, and so does a good book. Many ultrarunners take up the sport as a means to slay demons or deal with hardship and loss. Some have written stories about their journey, and many of t...
As an ultramarathoner, I’m always open to new challenges. One of our closest endurance brethren is cycling and I’ve done a few “ultra” cycling events, such as a century bike ride, a double century and even a 24-hour moun...
Founded in 1999, Running USA is the largest running industry association in the country. Originally created to improve the status of road racing in the United States, the organization has broadened to offer a variety of...
The 200-miler is becoming the new marathon. Well, maybe not that commonplace, but you get my point. In the old days before iPhones, finding a 200-mile ultramarathon was practically unheard of. There was Badwater (135-mil...
The situation seemed hopeless. At the 80-mile mark of the Wasatch Front 100 there was nothing left, the tank was empty, I’d expended everything on the course and there were no reserves left to draw from. The thought of c...
In this issue we’ve talked a lot about iconic trails and places that many of us are familiar with. But perhaps the most historic running route of all time is the original marathon. For starters, the very first marathon w...