Dean's 50-50-50

This past Thursday, I participated in a training run from La Jolla to Encinitas along the 101. The occassion was the premier showing of a documentary film about Dean Karnazes' Endurance 50.

An eclectic group of athletes had been assembled for this training run, including Ferge Hawke, David Goggins, Akos Konya, Arctic Mike Pierce, and several others. Credit goes to Keith Kirby for organizing this one, of course.

Rumors were that Dean would be joining us with his film crew...a last minute change occurred and Dean's schedule conflicted with our timeline. Nonetheless, we took off on the run and headed up north toward the La Paloma Theatre in Encinitas. The event was hosted by TCSD and Bob Babbit of Competitor Radio.

Arriving at the theatre was entertaining...there was a long line of people waiting to enter the theatre. We, as ultrarunners, stuck out in the crowd. I must admit that I enjoy being a part of the ultrarunning community. The difference cannot be explained between triathletes and ultrarunners, it can only be experienced. Once someone makes the transition into ultrarunning from either road running or triathlon, they inevitably become part of a whole new experience.

The documentary covered Dean's effort to run 50 marathons in all 50 states over 50 consecutive days. The physical accomplishment itself? Not that impressive to me. Dean's endurance resume is chock full of feats that make this one a walk in the park. But, I realize that most people conceptualize the mighty marathon distance as being extremely difficult...and the idea of running 50 of them must be crazy and inspiring. For these reasons, I acknowledge what made us ultrarunners different from the rest of the crowd in the theatre.

The film was entertaining and inspiring. It showed various states and the different environments the marathon's were held. One poignant part of the film showed Dean running alone with one female runner in South Dakota. I'm sure that was a very memorable run for her, and Dean.

Comments from several people after the film confirmed my feelings that it ran a bit long. JB Benna, the film's producer later told me it was only 105 minutes. The crowd of Type-As would have probably enjoyed it much more if they were running on a treadmill during that time. (Afterall, it's hard for a group like that to sit any longer than 20 minutes!) JB Benna, the producer, filmed much of the adventure by himself while running. I appreciate that and I sent him an email to say so. I also told him to call me should he need another running videographer!

Anyway, good job Dean. I know many more thousands of people will be inspired to take up running after watching the film. I know it is having a positive impact. Good job as well to "Journey Film" and JB Benna for making a film about running. To all the folks at JourneyFilm, keep up the great work! Thanks for telling the world about this great sport of ours!

-Jer