Adrenalin book candy

[maytag]

I indulged in a little fun reading during some down time this weekend: the "autobiography" of Dean Karnazes, Ultramarathon Man. The guy has run 200+ miles straight, and has completed the Western States 100 and Badwater. Don't know why, but I am intrigued by doing what seems superhuman. Freediving falls into that category. It was really quite an interesting read to get a bit inside the head of an endurance athlete; he discusses the viscissitudes of mood during a long run which echoed some of the recent discussions on this board. Karnazes also talks about juggling ultrarunning with "work at the office." A fast and fun read.

Cheers,

 

[Jon]

I read that one too- in about a day. It was a fast, fun read. I really liked his food consumption chart for his 300 mile run- 26,000 calories?!

Another good, quick, read you might enjoy is called "We swam the Grand Canyon" It was done by two guys back in the mid 50's. Crazy stuff!

Jon

 

[fcallagy]

Along the same line of endurance anyway is the North pole marathon which an Irish man just won.
"Thomas Maguire, from Ireland, completed the gruelling 26.2 mile course in a record time of three hours, 36 minutes and 10 seconds. Shunning the heated refreshment tents along the way, Maguire - who finished 12th in the 2006 World 100km Championships in Korea - chose to complete his epic run without stopping for food or water. He won a Kobold expedition watch for his efforts."
North Pole Marathon : Irishman wins Coolest Race on Earth

Thats a good time in any marathon never mind one in the north pole with snow shoes layers of clothes and snow hills all the way. Ultra sports are interesting but the body must take am awful pounding after these kind of distances.

Any way up the Paddy's

 

[maytag]

Jon, Sounds like a good read. Thanks for the recommendation. Did you hear about the guy who swam down the Amazon and set a record? It was recent.

Feargus, awesome. Congratulations to your country. I volunteered at the Chicago Marathon last year where it was unseasonably cold (flurries). It was painful to watch the rail-thin Kenyans and Ethiopians out there doing their thing in little shorts and tanks. I cannot imagine running a marathon (even totally bundled up) in the Arctic Circle, or in the Antarctic Circle as Karnazes did.

Just reading about these feats charges me up. It's inspiring to see bilateral amputees (legs) completing things like Iron Man South Africa. Cheers,

 

[wet]

Along the same line of endurance anyway is the North pole marathon which an Irish man just won.
"Thomas Maguire, from Ireland, completed the gruelling 26.2 mile course in a record time of three hours, 36 minutes and 10 seconds. Shunning the heated refreshment tents along the way, Maguire - who finished 12th in the 2006 World 100km Championships in Korea - chose to complete his epic run without stopping for food or water. He won a Kobold expedition watch for his efforts."
North Pole Marathon : Irishman wins Coolest Race on Earth

Thats a good time in any marathon never mind one in the north pole with snow shoes layers of clothes and snow hills all the way. Ultra sports are interesting but the body must take am awful pounding after these kind of distances.

Any way up the Paddy's

That's quite a feat, I've run in cold weather and it's refreshing, but I've never raced more than a few miles in really cold weather. I wonder if Maguire didn't drink anything, or if he just didn't stop in the tents. See this link about hydration and salinization, cold air tends to be very dry. The na-na-na below refers to Sodium (Chemical symbol Na), important.
Dr. Joan Bushwell's Chimpanzee Refuge : Marathon runners and Na, Na, Na <i>(part II of II)</i>
DDeden

 

[fcallagy]

Thanks wet interesting report I know some people make there own sports drinks by diluting fruit juice 50/50 with water and add some salt for rehydration. I should add I have never run a marathon, I would like to in the future before I'm 40 anyway so I have afew years to train yet. Ran a 10k / 6.2 miles last week in just under an hour but felt it at the end. Nice reasonably flat course and we got a great day for it. Hope to improve on it in the future.

 

[island_sands]

I indulged in a little fun reading during some down time this weekend: the "autobiography" of Dean Karnazes, Ultramarathon Man. The guy has run 200+ miles straight, and has completed the Western States 100 and Badwater. Don't know why, but I am intrigued by doing what seems superhuman. Freediving falls into that category. It was really quite an interesting read to get a bit inside the head of an endurance athlete; he discusses the viscissitudes of mood during a long run which echoed some of the recent discussions on this board. Karnazes also talks about juggling ultrarunning with "work at the office." A fast and fun read.

Cheers,

Jeannette,
Are you the next candidate for this feat?

 

[maytag]

Jeannette,
Are you the next candidate for this feat?

I don't think my life insurance will pay out in such events!! No, being totally physically unworthy, I would never even qualify to enter such events in this lifetime. My before-60 aspiration is to complete a 100mile walk in 24 hrs but that is about it!

Way to go, FCallagy with the marathon and congrats on your 10k. My bones apparently did not come with a lifetime warranty so I am giving up the running in favor of race walking. I've never done a marathon, either, but my goal for the end of the year is a half marathon. Next year, marathons. Few things in life give medals just for finishing. Gotta love it.

Come to think of it, if I remember correctly, an Irish guy also set a world (?) record for distance covered in 24hrs of continuous treadmill running... Oops that was in 2003: ultraRUNNING Online - 24-Hour Treadmill Run Record: Going Through the Mill: A World 24 Record in Dublin, Ireland by Tony Mangan