Legs for days

Whether they thought he was superhuman, inspirational, or insane (or perhaps some combination of all three), people took notice of Karnazes. He was at once relatable – most of us have jogged at some point in our lives – and yet unfathomable; few of us have ever rolled up a pizza “like a big Italian burrito” and eaten it while running to prevent our bodies from shutting down in the midst of a 199-mile run.

Today, Karnazes admits it’s challenging to summarize exactly what it is he does for a living. “I’m an endurance athlete, an author (I’ve written several New York Times bestsellers), a keynote speaker, a brand ambassador for such companies as The North Face and Fitbit, an investor in early-stage ventures, a product endorser and a spokesman. And to my kids, I’m also a dad!”

Karnazes, 54 and still chiseled from the thousands of miles he logs on the road each year, refuses to let a growing list of titles and responsibilities interfere with his brutal training regimen. From his sleep schedule – four to five hours per night – to the design of his office, Karnazes is scrupulous about maximizing the time he has to train: “I don’t just train regularly; I train constantly. I do all my writing and emailing while standing up and bouncing around on my toes. I’ve got a pull-up bar and dip chair in my office, a sit-up mat and several weights. Throughout the course of the day I cycle through sets of pull-ups, push-ups, dips, sit-ups, curls and burpees. I view life as training, and training as life.”

Karnazes wasn’t always this disciplined. In a story that would be strange were it to come from anyone else, Karnazes says he re-discovered running and began his journey into the world of ultra-endurance events when he was drunk, celebrating his 30th birthday: “I walked out of a bar, three sheets to the wind, and decided to run 30 miles to celebrate. I hadn’t run in the past decade and it was midnight. But I still set a course into the darkness. I ran straight through the night and it almost killed me, but I just kept going. It felt right, despite the pain and blisters.”

Karnazes was working in marketing for a multinational corporation at the time. The pay and benefits were generous, but Karnazes felt unsatisfied with his life. So he left. “Walking away from all the corporate perks (healthcare, 401K matching program, stock options, reliable paycheck, company car) was scary… There is little existing infrastructure to support such a lifestyle.” Since then Karnazes has built a highly successful career out of his own flesh and blood and his wits.

What, exactly, does running very long distances teach you about business? “Patience and perseverance” are two of the most important lessons, according to Karnazes. “You learn that there are no shortcuts on the path to success. Training and conditioning for endurance sports requires discipline, commitment, sacrifice and grit. You learn how to push yourself to exceed your limitations and constantly improve. All good lessons for business, and life.”

Another lesson, perhaps unsurprising from Karnazes, is that professional performance is linked to physical fitness (see “Chief Exercise Officer,” Page 58). “Not only does being fit bolster mental acuity, it helps promote overall vigor and energy. Let’s face it, business can be grueling. We could talk about it on a biochemical or physiological level, but it’s fairly intuitive that if you’re in better physical condition, it’s going to improve your performance in all elements of your life.”

The marketing career Karnazes left behind actually helped lay the foundation for his success as an athlete, author and entrepreneur. Karnazes has won very few of the races he has entered – he didn’t cross the line first in the marathon he completed in the South Pole, where three people finished. Nor, in many instances, was he the first to attempt or complete them. He simply told the most compelling stories about his experiences and these races in a way that an everyday runner or business professional could understand and connect with. “People talk a lot about converting athletic experience into business, but for me it was just the opposite. I was a businessperson to begin with and used that corporate experience to develop my athletic career. Now I use the lessons gleaned from business and sports to do both better.”

Karnazes was so effective at telling his own story that veterans within the ultramarathon community voiced their frustration at the disproportionate amount of attention and money Karnazes was receiving. In a 2010 Runner’s World article, novelist and long-distance runner Rachel Toor wrote, “As much adoration and enthusiasm as Dean generates among recreational runners, he inspires even more animus from those who take themselves and their running seriously.” (Toor ended by imploring Karnazes’s critics to “grow up.”)

For those interested in what Karnazes learned out on the road, just as many wonder why he spent so much time out there in the first place. In Ultramarathon Man, Karnazes concedes it’s difficult to explain: “Addictions are never neatly defined.” Though he doesn’t answer the question directly, he doesn’t avoid it entirely, either. In telling the story of finishing a 199-mile relay by himself, Karnazes writes, “People think I’m crazy to put myself through such torture, though I would argue otherwise. Somewhere along the line we seem to have confused comfort with happiness.”

And this, perhaps, is Karnazes’s most powerful – and prescient – lesson. While the apps on our phones and technology in our homes enable us to remove so much of the inconvenience from our lives today, Karnazes wants us to remember that “struggling and suffering are the essence of a life worth living. If you’re not pushing yourself beyond the comfort zone, if you’re not demanding more from yourself – expanding and learning as you go – you’re choosing a numb existence. You’re denying yourself an extraordinary trip.”

Brian Baker, a Director based in Brunswick’s San Francisco office, leads programs for technology, financial and consumer clients. While he has yet to run 350 miles continuously, he has completed multiple 100-mile rides and is a committed bicycle commuter.

Photographs: Jim Fiscus / Courtesy of Dean Karnazes