Ultra tough

[Ruppagator]

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060203/news_lz1s3ultratou.html

Old news but cool article nevertheless.

[miler]

Dean Karnazes (226 miles non stop) > than that guy

[lasseviren]

el g, bekele, geb, tergat, etc. > any ultra runner ever.

[DPath]

Dean Karnazes (226 miles non stop) > than that guy

No. Just no. Karnazes won Badwater once, but he didn't set the course record, and he hadn't won Western States for the seventh year in a row 16 days before. Karnazes' 226 miles (I think he actually ran farther, but under 300, later on) was a FAILED attempt at 300 miles, which Pam Reed beat him to! Jurek is simply a better runner, but he doesn't promote himself like Karnazes does and so he's less well-known.

[Running-Hughes]

el g, bekele, geb, tergat, etc. > any ultra runner ever.


QFE

[Filipe]

Dean Karnazes (226 miles non stop) > than that guy

Jurek >> Karnazes

[Ruppagator]

el g, bekele, geb, tergat, etc. > any ultra runner ever.

Sure. But what's the farthest those guys have ever run? (Actually, I'm curious.) Also, they're pros. It's like saying Lance > Kish. There's something to be said about people who dominate a race that most pros would never attempt.

[miler]

OK you guys win Jurek > Karnazes, but I really like Dean's book. But being a 'short' distance person myself im gonna go with the elg and crew > than ultra 'thoners cuz I cant understand that stuff. I can relate to those 'short' distances.

[lasseviren]

el g and crew's training is way more hardcore than any ultrarunners. if you're going to be in a long, slow race, you do lots of long slow running. i bet tergat could run karnazes or jurek into the ground if they wanted to do ultrarunning. i'm not downing ultrarunning, because that shows just how far we can push the mind and body, but aerobic capacity is something that can be increased through training. you can't increase talent.

[xctrackrunr123]

Karnazes ran 350 nonstop
http://www.thenorthface.com/na/athletes/athletes-DK.html

[sjm1368]

Karnazes is a promotor. He's not in Jurek's or any other great ultra runner's league. He's just good at promoting himself.

Karnazes is like the guy who does strange obscure records to get in the guinness book of world records. Sure he set a record that is pretty good, but if anyone serious took a shot at the record, it'd be gone. (Ex: the 300mi thing, he got beat by a women.)

My favorite Karnazes story is how he made up "the running division" in the anatarctic marathon. There was no running division. In the race you could use snowshoes and other such things. Dean decided not too, got his doors blown off then proclaims him the running division champ....and he's the only one in that division.... In my next race maybe I can wear two different kind of spikes and proclaim myself the "Multispike division" winner?

[HINKLO]

Karnazes is a promotor. He's not in Jurek's or any other great ultra runner's league. He's just good at promoting himself.

Karnazes is like the guy who does strange obscure records to get in the guinness book of world records. Sure he set a record that is pretty good, but if anyone serious took a shot at the record, it'd be gone. (Ex: the 300mi thing, he got beat by a women.)

My favorite Karnazes story is how he made up "the running division" in the anatarctic marathon. There was no running division. In the race you could use snowshoes and other such things. Dean decided not too, got his doors blown off then proclaims him the running division champ....and he's the only one in that division.... In my next race maybe I can wear two different kind of spikes and proclaim myself the "Multispike division" winner?


Oh the possibilities. :)

[JumpinSkiing]

There's a book about the Badwater Ultramarathon, it's called "To The Edge" if you'd like to read it. Very interesting.

[Kostyu]

The reason the Africans don't dominate ultra long distance running like every other distance event is because they don't need to. Why would the africans run a 135 mile race when they could win a 26.2 mile race?