Dean Karnazes' PBs Below the 26.2

depends on the event. there is no guarantee that even geb would excel at a 24hr event or Badwater. All it takes is one bad blister or some stomach problems.

I think Geb would figure out how to protect himself against blisters, stomach problems, or other hazards of ultraracing. I would imagine that Geb knows a bit more about racing than Dean. In fact, Geb might show Dean how to race ultramarathons.

Absolutely, I couldn't agree more. That is the probability, but until it happens, it is all just speculation. The top ultrarunners (not dean) such as tony krupicka, matt carpenter, uli steidl, etc. deserve a lot of respect and all this "________ middle distance star would kill _____________ in a ultra" crap is annoying. Let's give some appreciation to the guys and gals that are out there doing it.

Dean Karnazes runs the 10k.

canuck365 wrote [in part]:... Let's give some appreciation to the guys and gals that are out there doing it.

That is just it--the arrogance and ignorance of most letsrun posters prevents them from having any real idea of endurance running. All that is left is small-minded meanness.

It's quite obvious why some of the best runners in the world do not run ultra's. Because it would be a waste of their time since there is not much money in it. Are there any East African's running Ultra's? Geb has better things to do, like raking in at least $250k every time he runs a marathon. If there was money in it I'm sure we would see some of these dime-a-dozen 2:10 African's running them. That is reality.

uli ran 2:13 not too long ago, that would almost put him on our Olympic team, maybe we should get him citizenship and he can stop racing ultras to support himself, win 10k@ TNF event or an iPod at the Seattle Marathon...hmm

does any legit runner seriously like this guy? maybe some of you posters on here do, but by definition you arent a serious or good runner if you think he is talented. it is a disservice to the elite men in the US when you praise a 3+ hour marathon as having a lot of talent.

Besides running cross-country and other shorter races, I also race at 50k distance. I'm going to make an obvious statement that many ultrarunners don't want to admit to: there is a direct correlation between speed at shorter distances and speed at longer distances.

What I am saying is I agree with you; an elite runner such as Bekele or Haile (if those even choose to, that is) would be a much better ultrarunner than someone who does not have that type of speed at shorter distances.

A huge part of the reason I've been successful at the 50k distance is because I have speed at shorter distances.

Wyco Loco wrote:

It's quite obvious why some of the best runners in the world do not run ultra's. Because it would be a waste of their time since there is not much money in it. Are there any East African's running Ultra's? Geb has better things to do, like raking in at least $250k every time he runs a marathon. If there was money in it I'm sure we would see some of these dime-a-dozen 2:10 African's running them. That is reality.

The other thing that gets lost is that it's not a zero sum game. If Dean weren't out there making a living at and garnering publicity for his stunts, it's not like his fans would instead be flocking to elite track meets and everyone on LetsRun would get a shoe contract. To hate him for what he does is a waste of time.

Dean is very talented at what he does, which is promoting himself to the public. It is not his fault that "elite runner" are not as smart to do so. And are we not suppose to like hime because he is not "fast" according to some runners?

I just got shat on for saying my goal this year is to run a 3 hour marathon. Dean does it and he's a hero? At least the rest of us in that range don't masquerade as anything more than we are. It seems like all he does is run oddball challenges that can't be compared to anything. How about this. Instead of running 50 marathons in 50 days, you train properly and run a normal one so you can actually be held accountable by the same numbers that everyone else is. You don't see a 100m sprinter racing 150m because he can't put up a respectable time in his original event. On another vein I'm surprised nobody's mentioned Lance Armstrong yet in this thread

well then wrote:

does any legit runner seriously like this guy? maybe some of you posters on here do, but by definition you arent a serious or good runner if you think he is talented. it is a disservice to the elite men in the US when you praise a 3+ hour marathon as having a lot of talent.

Living in the Past wrote:

I think Geb would figure out how to protect himself against blisters, stomach problems, or other hazards of ultraracing.

Just like he protects himself against pollen when running marathons.

Yes, the top marathoners of today would lower the ultra records if they trained hard at it. However, many of the ultra records were set by some pretty serious runners, so it wouldn't be the cakewalk you think it might be.

???????????? wrote:

Dean is very talented at what he does, which is promoting himself to the public. It is not his fault that "elite runner" are not as smart to do so. And are we not suppose to like hime because he is not "fast" according to some runners?

I agree. Has Deano even said he is an outstanding runner? He mostly lets others boast about him, then doesn't deny it as far as I can tell. When a runner mentions he's not great, it's not the best PR. Many elite runners are marginal at marketing themselves. Here's a runner who's good at marketing himself and many, many people get upset b/c he draws too much attention to himself, as if he's stealing attention from better runners. He draws attention to the sport, which is good for runners! Dean is a good (but not great) runner who is outstanding at marketing himself and inspires others to get off the couch. Could be worse.

DontFeedTheTroll wrote:

[quote]Living in the Past wrote:

Yes, the top marathoners of today would lower the ultra records if they trained hard at it. However, many of the ultra records were set by some pretty serious runners, so it wouldn't be the cakewalk you think it might be.

Where did I say cakewalk? I said Geb and Kenenise would have to "focus" if they ever hoped to be able to beat Dean Karnazes at an ultramarathon.

Physiologically, there is one big difference between running a road marathon and a trail 100m:

During the marathon you're counting on your glycogen reserves running out just as you're crossing the finish.

During the 100m your glycogen is gone, baby, gone, after a 1/4 of the race and you're relying on the ability of your body to get glucose from you stomach to your muscles FAST.

There certainly is a correlation, but it's just as certainly not proven that whoever rules at marathon road distance would rule at 100m trail races. The energy management is so vastly different and the statistics about people who *race* 100m are so small that we just don't know.

I'd like for everybody who thinks Ultras are a cake walk to just go out and try 50 miles and for everybody who thinks a 10k is easy to go sign up for one and see how fast they will turn out to be.

But mostly I want everybody to show some F***ING RESPECT to anybody who pushes themselves to the limit, be it 100 yards or 100 miles.

oh shut up you f*&% losergive some respect to those who push themselves to the limit? there are literally thousands of runners out there pushing themselves to the limit, willing to do anything to get faster... deano and most ultra dudes simply try to push themselves further instead of faster over shorter distance... and yes I have run ultras... 9 in facti have respect for guys like jurek, carpenter, but to say that it would even be a contest between people like them and geb, bekele is laughablewhy don't you shout (in caps) show some respect a few more times, that will certainly changes peoples minds

i have respect for guys like jurek, carpenter, but to say that it would even be a contest between people like them and geb, bekele is laughable

I wonder where I even hinted at addressing that. Also, I wonder what your point is besides being in general agreement with me.

Are you sure you quoted the right post?

Oh, I see.

You're a dipshit. If Bekele would try to race Jurek right now for 100 miles through mountainous terrain without adequate training he'd be toast. And he'd probably be the first to admit it. I could try and explain why but it would go right over your dumbass head, so why bother.