Dean Karnazes - an attempt at an explanation

Dean Karnazes - an attempt at an explanation

Michael Strzelecki

I rarely weigh in on the DK discussions, and I do so here with
trepidation. However, I feel there are some new folks on this list who
have benefitted greatly from Dean's book and respect Dean, and do not
understand why people on this list criticize him. I feel they deserve
an explanation so they can at least see what the other side is thinking,
and I'm going to try to offer that explanation in simple terms (although
in reality it's quite a complex issue). Let me say that I'm not trying
to speak for anyone on this list other than myself; my comments are
general in nature and based on discussions I've had with ultrarunning
friends and inferences I've made from other posts. Someone please
correct me if I'm off base with any of my comments. Also, let me say my
feelings about Dean are not that strong one way or the other.

First, I want to dispel some myths. As a general rule, I think it's a
misnomer when Dean supporters on this list say that people who criticize
Dean hate him. People on this list generally feel that Dean is a
fantastic ultrarunner and has the credentials to show it - not to
mention a great guy. The issue isn't about liking or hating. It's a
criticism of a series of actions and nothing more.

Second, in general, those who criticize Dean are not jealous of him, as
is often asserted. Again, the people on this list generally have great
respect for Dean's accomplishments. It's just particular actions they
have trouble with.

Third, don't take criticisms of a few to mean the entire ultrarunning
community has issues with Dean. There are lots of runners who have no
issue with him, so I would not argue that it's an overwhelming sentiment
in the community.

That said: this specific issue people have with Dean is how he very
publicly stretches the truth on occasions to benefit and promote
himself. He has said he holds certain world records which he does not,
and fabricates race categories then calls himself the winner and posts
it on his website. The examples are numerous and well-documented in
archives here. I will list a few here:

1-He finished second out of three runners in the South Pole Marathon,
but created a "running shoes" category (the other two runners wore snow
shoes) and declared himself the winner of that race. Some feel this is
deceitful.

2-He claims the World Record for most miles run continuously (without
sleep) at 350, but in reality Greek ultrarunning icon Yiannis Kouros has
done this on several occasions and should really be the held up as the
world record holder. Dean leans heavily on this record claim to promote
himself.

3-He claims to be the champion, on multiple occasions, of the Saturn
Relay ultra division. In reality, the race is not a solo race, but a
team relay, and he is usually the only person to do it solo and then
claims the championship.

4-He often uses the term "winner" when he is not really the winner. For
instance, his website says (or used to say) that he is a ten-time silver
buckle winner of Western States. This is misleading as it infers to
some that he won the race, which he did not. Recipient may be a more
accurate word here.

5-On his website, he claims to be the winner of the "World Outdoor
Championships." Since he is a runner, the inference is that it's a
prestigious running award involving a world championship. In reality,
it was a small multi-event race (featuring mountain biking and wind
surfing, etc.). Some feel the vagueness of this claim is deceitful.

6-(And this is the biggest for me)-When he was doing the 50 marathons in
50 days challenge, he said on his website something to the effect it was
the greatest endurance challenge ever (can't recall exact words but they
were along this line). Well, there are two problems with this claim.
First, Runners have done much greater challenges. Al Howie averaged 76
miles per day running for about 4,000 miles across Canada. And
secondly, Dean wasn't even the first to complete the 50/50 challenge. A
Mississippi fireman (if I recall correctly) competed the same challenge
before Dean did, with little recognition and certainly no mention from
Dean.

So those are some examples. Now here is the critical element of why
some runners are upset with Dean and criticize him, in my opinion. IT'S
BECAUSE THERE ARE MANY RUNNERS ON THIS LIST WHO FEEL THAT, BY MAKING
THESE CLAIMS, DEAN IS DENIGRATING RUNNERS WHO DESERVE THAT RECOGNITION
INSTEAD OF DEAN. I'm talking about the runners who truly own the world
records or have done the greater endurance challenges. The ultra
community is unusually tight and supportive of each other, and folks on
this list see Dean getting recognition that they feel is misguided.
That's how I read into the situation. It's not more than ultrarunners
looking out for and protecting their own. It's as simple as that.
Sure, we all understand that Dean is part of a hype-machine that is
generating these claims, but I think most believe Dean has control to
correct or stop the false claims and return some of them to their
rightful owners. That's my read on the subject in a nutshell.