Dean Karnazes "Ultra Marathon Man" movie...

Sounds like you may be reflecting on the movie with some of your own inhibitions. I think we all look at certain aspects of the story and reflect our own concerns into the particular situation however, we are not married to his wife/family or have his resources to be able to do what he does. YET on some levels we are worse than him in our own training methods.

I watched it a month or so ago.  I had a similar reaction, though of course his married life is his own business.  I do try to bear in mind that how people come across in the media can be affected an awful lot by the choices that the director, editor, producer, etc., make.

If you read his book.... He left the bar because a very attractive, also married woman was coming on to him very agressively and he was about to do something he would regret, so he snuck out of the back of the bar and began to walk home. When he got home, he reflected and realized something was missing in his life. He went and got a pair of old sneakers he had on the back porch, rolled his dress socks down, ran in his underwear and under shirt, took $20 and put in his shoes, and as he explains had socks filled with puss and blood from blister, and that run left him practically dibilitated for weeks. I love the story about the Taco Bell instance. Only he will know the real "Truth" behind all of your questions / scepticism, but several things are certain, he is an F'en beast of an endurance animal, when anyone gets in the public eye it is easy to find scrutiny and sceptics, the charity he mainly runs for is his own he founded, and lastly, the thing that I take away from Dean Karnazes, is the fact that the only limitations we have are the ones we put there ourselves. As for his family and wife, and the time spend away from each other, being with his wife since they were VERY young, I would imagine she understands how he is internally wired, and he understands her and would imagine they work hard at each other getting what they need, seeing as they have been happilly married for many years (A not-so-common feat in today's society). I believe he runs for other causes than just to keep his name in the "LimeLight", he serves as a beacon of hope for many, including me! OK, off my soapbox, I should probably see the movie sometime... Rock on bro!

I haven't seen the movie but I did read his two books.  What I got out of them was:

-He's unbelievably gited for endurance events.  How he stays free of injury is beyond me.

-I admire his business sense in being able to take advantage of his strength and interests and market them effectively with sponsors, his books, speaking engagements and the North Face races.

-I admire anyone who is charitably inclined.  I hope that his particular charity is successful.

-I like that he avoids driving for short trips and insteads runs to stores with backbacks.

-He stresses that his family does not suffer from the amount of time he is away, but I really question that.

-His 4-hours per night of sleep seems improbable based on his training volume.  How can he recover with 4 hours per night?  David Goggins says he does this, too, and I also question that.


Also, I understand from the ultra runners I know that he is pretty much looked down on from that community.  I think that's a bunch of sour grapes.  The ultra community has traditionally been very low key and he is not.  That shouldn't take away from his running ability and accomplishments.

I enjoyed the books, especially the first one.  I'll have to watch the movie - didn't know he had one.

I actually passed Karnazes in the Chicago marathon but I didn't realize it was him at the time.  Some shorter guy had 'Karnazes' on his shirt front and back and there was no media or anything around him...thought he was just a fan.  He ran the marathon and then ran it again as part of some VW media campaign.  Once was enough for me.

Hmm how much he sleeps, how much time he spends with his family and when he started running all seem like trivial quibbles. I'm sure the movie was edited to focus mostly on his racing, not on his home life. Don't hate the guy because he isn't the family man that you are or gets less sleep than you. Hate him for the same reason I do: Because he gets paid to do it!

Or just because he can do it.

Bryan,
My wife and I had the same take on this movie. There is a point where he says "I'm a better son than a father." I think there is in an underlying story that he's a selfish person, and not a great family man. Just like Charles Barkley, he's an athlete, not your role model.

I have read both books and seen the movie. I don't think it is fair to judge his family life based on your perceptions. I am sure there are MANY other pro athletes who spend as little, or less time with family. I can only hope that his wife and kids are as supposrtive as they appear in the videos.
Heck, there are probably many regular guys out there that spend less time with family.
As for Dean as a runner/athlete. I think he is gifted, and one of the top 15 or so IF he gives himself the time to train and focus. However, his focus has shifted from being an athlete to being a corporation. This has hurt his recent performances in many ultras (I say hurt as compared to his own performance in previous years).
As for his press presence-he was a successful marketing executive, he wants to have funs as a career, let him do his best. I don't think anyone says he is the best ultra runner, just the most well known.
Also, in my opinion, his second book, the one about 50 in 50, was not very good compared to the ultra-marathon man book. It lost some of the personality the first had.

Wow. You got all that from watching a 60-minute, edited, snippet into his life?

Yep.

It's a movie which he put out there, so having an opinion about the film or the man is fair game and an opinion is neither right or wrong, it's just yours. Personally, I wasn't that impressed with him. I am impressed by his physical accomplishments, but the rest of his self promotion fell flat for me and I wasn't inspired, I just thought he was odd. Again, just my opinion having seent he film only. I feel the same way about Goggins. Great accomplishment, thank you for your service, but not a roll model in my eyes.

Edited by bryancd 2010-01-20 11:19 AM

I'd need to perhaps find out more about his family life before I started judging someone's fitness as a father.

I wonder why they didn't include all the small things he does for his kids and family, like going to the store, or reading to them, or taking them to the doctor, going to church, or working on the house.  You know, the stuff that may show he is not selfish or a family man.


Oh, yeah, that stuff is BORING. 

I don't think I'm reading too deep into this. I believe this was actually one of the themes of the film.

I'm not sure if it was a theme, but it came across that way to my wife and I as well, Chad. Others might feel differently, but that was our experience watching it. When Dean made the comment at the end that runners are sometimes running away from something, Jamie yelled,"Yeah, his wife and kids!"

Edited by bryancd 2010-01-20 11:26 AM

Dean is a gifted athlete, but what he is really good at his MARKETING!  He is a business man 1st, runner 2nd.

Yeah, I think I'm just looking for an argument. Work had me all high-strung. I just came out of yoga and I'm much more low strung.

 he has to save something for the sequel..  

 I thought he took his family with him usually as his "crew"  they had a big RV they used.. It might have been for just one event though.

Considering he was not the first person to even do the 50 marathons in 50 days yet he is able to get the media attention for it and other "ultra" events  is a double edge sword.  Some will like it, citing it brings attention to the sport, others will hate it for the same reason.

As others have mention just his achievements as an ultra runner alone are not that specatular to those in that niche, to us and others it's amazing.   His ability to promote either himself or the ultra community is incredible.   He is one of those people that draw a reaction from people either good or bad. 

I'm a fan of David Goggins myself but I have a lot of respect mixed with a twinge of jealously for any/all of the ultra runners out the.  

For an ultra event by me, I had Tony Mangan as a house guest,, Now he was a complete butt head..

Regarding his sleep patterns- I'm sure ultra running totally jacks up your sleep patterns after you complete an ultra.  More specifically, a 100 miler.  I've known people that suffer from insomnia a few days/weeks after completing one.  With as many ultras he does and how many miles he has to run to train for them,  I'm sure that is how he gets away with so little sleep- his body is just all jacked up. I could be completely wrong, just my speculation.

But it was presented in the movie that it's his normal daily pattern. He said, "You spend 30 years of your life sleeping and I don't want to loose those 30 years" or something to that effect. He's selling his image and I'm not buying.

I'm only a couple chapters into the 50/50 book and don't really remember much about the first one.
I'm pretty sure he renewed his wedding vows with his wife before starting the 50/50(how many of you critics have done that?) and his kids were with him for part of the journey.
It's his job. Most people are away from their families while they work-only some more than others.
Are military people less family people than others because they may have to go away for long stints at a time?
I agree the guy comes off as egotistical, but judge not, lest.......