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Karnazes
By Caroline Sandry

Dean

ultra-marathon

Dean Karnazes aka Ultra-Marathon Man is an extraordinary human being, having run the deserts of the world, run 350 miles across Australia, swam the San Francisco Bay and ran across America!

CS: Not only did you finish, but you won that race! DK: I dont say I won . rather that I survived as the fastest! CS: So how did you turn it around from passing out one year to winning the next? DK: I learned to listen to my body a little better: I learned the tell-tale signs of dehydration and how to regulate my electrolyte intake versus just fluid. Theres no scientific measurement, but I could tune in to it better. CS: Tell us about the four deserts DK: I have run the four deserts of the world thats the Atacama, The Gobi, The Sahara and Antarctica. Many people dont realise that Antarctica is actually a cold desert. These races were 6 day self-supported races, so I had to carry my own gear. CS: How many Calories would you burn a day? DK: Roughly 7000-8000. The problem is that you cant take that much food on board, so it is more a question of managing your atrophy (muscle loss). If you carried enough food, you wouldnt be able to lift your pack. My strategy is to bulk up in advance knowing that I will lose muscle weight during the race. CS: How do you bulk up? DK: It is very strategic: I work with a trainer (former Navy Seal Officer). We have a body weight resistance routine of which one cycle is 20 25 minutes. It is designed as a whole body workout, challenging macro and micro muscles. I do 5 6 of the cycles per day (in fact Dean had just completed a run and this routine before we met, using a door frame as a finger pull up!) I also had my office built so that I work standing up! I never sit, I type and make calls standing and bounce up and down on my toes. You should try it! You feel great at the end of the day instead of feeling tired. In

met Karnazes on a typical drizzly London day and the first thing that struck me was his aura: This man literally glows! You would notice him from across the street - although not particularly tall or unusual looking, he stands out from the masses with a super-defined body, tight, glowing tanned skin, bright eyes and radiant health. If ever an advert for running was needed this man is it! CS: So, how did you become UltraMarathon man? Have you always been a runner? DK: I was always active and I loved to surf, but hadnt run for 15 years and was a bit out of shape cardiovascular-wise. The turning point came on my 30th birthday. (Karnazes is now 48 years old) I was out celebrating and drinking too much tequila, and I just decided to go for a little run!

CS: So after a spontaneous 30 miles, what came next? DK: Next, I ran a 50 mile race and within less than a year I had run a 100 mile race.

I stumbled out of a bar drunk, and decided to run 30 miles that night to celebrate my 30th birthday!
CS: You are remarkable in that your body can cope with such intensity. Is this something that has come from training or is it part of your uniqueness? DK: (laughs) I think its a combination of a training effect and its hereditary. CS: Tell us about Badwater - the 135 miles race across Death Valley DK: I have done Badwater nine times now. Its a crazy run! The first year I did it I collapsed! I had severe dehydration and nausea I passed out and couldnt complete the race, but I went back and finished it the following year.

CS: Was this the drunken tequila run that I have read about? DK: (laughing) Yes I stumbled out of a bar drunk, I will admit (!) and decided to run 30 miles that night to celebrate my 30th birthday! CS: So with no training and a few drinks inside you, you ran 30 miles? How did that feel? DK: I hated it! It was painful and horrible, but also magical - I got back some of that magic that I had felt running as a kid and I wanted to bring something intense and challenging back into my life.

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I live in California and I use my ElliptiGo up around mount tam near my home

CS: Do you have any tips for ultra-FIT readers who are planning on getting into Ultras? DK: Start from the ground up. Invest in a pair of really good shoes. If running on trails get specific shoes. Fit is really important, so try to get to a shop with specially trained staff to help you. For your first ultra, shift your paradigm. Dont focus on a time (like you might with a marathon) but instead focus on finishing. Some of these ultras have a DNF rate (did not finish) of 60-70% of the field. listen to everyone. Follow no-one. We are all different and unique, so experiment during your training (not the race) to see what works best for you. UF: Whats coming up next for you? DK: The Trans Rockies in August a 135 miles stage race over 6 days. (http://transrockies.com) UF

between e-mails and so on, I will perform 5 to 6 of these circuits. I also walk around barefoot as often as possible. CS: So what do you think about this new barefoot running craze? DK: Well, I think that is all over-hyped. Going back 20 years, our coach at school used to have us all running in the sand barefoot and then we would put our shoes on, run on the track back to a field, where again we would take our shoes off to run. I have always enjoyed running barefoot and do quite a lot of running in the soft sand (Dean lives in San Francisco). But, I dont think that we are engineered to run on pavements bare-foot. I see a lot of people running road marathons in bare-foot shoes such as Vibram five fingers and I dont think that is very good. CS: Do you monitor your heart rate on these long runs? DK: I used to, but now I know my body so well that I can pretty much peg where my heart rate is at any time within a couple of clicks. (Deans resting heart rate is 38 BPM). I try to keep it under 150 to lessen the risk of lactic acid production. Towards the final stages maybe it will get up to around 160, but I aim to stay around 120. I was in great shape for my recent run across America and during one of the stages in New Jersey, my heart rate stayed below 100 for 26.2 miles. In three and a half hours - it was not my fastest marathon - I didnt even sweat, which just shows how amazing the human body is. CS: You casually mention running across America that is amazing! Tell us more DK: I started in California and I finished 3000 miles later in New York. I ran 40-50 miles a day for 75 days without a break. There was no down time and it was tough conditionwise: running across Arizona was so hot, the Rockies obviously added the issue of altitude and then there was the humidity of the South that was hard. CS: How do you find the mental strength to push on when the body is feeling the strain? DK: One thing I find useful is to be in the

moment .. dont get ahead of yourself its so easy to end up thinking, Im only 5k in, how will I make the next 5k? But you should actually just stay present and think of each foot-strike. I believe that I am going to take my next footstep to the best of my ability and then the next footstep, and the next and so on. Just take baby-steps. Its kind of Zen-like. Another important factor is that I dont try to deny pain. At the start of a race I accept it will hurt like hell! Bring it on! Focus on the pain and dont try to get away from it, just focus on the hurt and it goes away! You have to push yourself to failure or you never find your edge. I have learnt a lot more from my failures than my successes. You only fail if you dont take away a lesson from it, so I tell people to fail huge! CS: What about diet do you have any race diet strategies or recovery foods? DK: It depends on the race: the duration, the temperature and the access to food along the way. My go-to foods are shot bloks (like a cube of jelly), my favourite is Margarita which has extra sodium. I find that coconut water is great for rehydration and is very replenishing. I love wild pacific Salmon. To me it is a miracle food. Its full of omega 3 fatty acids which are so anti-inflammatory. This is the centre stone of my diet and I also eat a lot of natural Greek yogurt (which is so much better here in the UK than in the States). I also love nut butters cashew, hazelnut and so on. CS: How about sugar? DK: I have to admit that I used to be a junk food addict! But I have evolved and my performance has really been enhanced since I cut the processed foods. I have no wheat, nothing in a bag, its so much better. CS: How do you recover from Ultras and do you have any hobbies away from running? DK: I am big on ice baths to recover and as I mentioned I think the Salmon really helps. I absolutely love to surf - I live in California so that is great and I use my ElliptiGO up around Mount Tam near my home. (The ElliptiGO is an elliptical machine on wheels, like a bike on steroids Ed). I also do 24 hour endurance mountain bike rides.

run! By Dean Karnazes

is out on general release now. Written by the man himself (no ghost writers) its a thoroughly inspirational account of his adventures on two legs. I read it on my sun lounger in the South of France and felt so inspired that I had to get up and run 10k along the promenade. A great read for sportsmen and sportswomen or anyone needing a little inspiration in life! Dean has great values and remains humble about his incredible feats. ultra-FIT has copies to give away to 3 lucky readers. To be in with a chance to win a signed copy of Run - email subs@ultra-FItmagazine.com. Head up your email Dean Karnazes Competition. Entries close Sep 30th. www.ultramarathonman.com

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