Book recommendation: Run by Dean Karnazes aka Ultramarathon Man
As the end of January is finally upon us, newly formed health and fitness regimes may now be lacking the allure they had at the beginning of the month. So, Honeydew Health would like to offer some dazzling inspiration to our readers.
Recently, a member of our team read a book named Run by Dean Karnazes.
Dean Karnazes is no ordinary man. He is known around the world as the Ultramarathon Man which should instantly explain what he is famous for. First and foremost, he is a runner of ultra-marathons (which he has completed in almost every continent on the earth to great success). But the most inspiring thing about this man is his general attitude to life. You may think that reading a book like Run would be a story about why running is the best thing on earth, given that Dean spends the vast majority of his time doing it. But it isn’t at all – he makes it very clear that running isn’t for everyone and it’s a very hard activity to love as much as he does. Instead, the book outlines the many things in life that have inspired him to keep pushing his body to these extreme limits and the amazing capability he sees in everyone around him. Essentially and simply, he proves that you can do anything if you put your mind to it.
As an example, Dean tells us that he completes a (measly) 50mile run most nights of the week just to get out and clear his head: which he knows is ultimately ‘crazy’ and something that most people in life cannot achieve let alone understand. However, one day, his best friend who has never run in his life, decides to run with him and continues for a full 10k before stopping. It’s made clear that this was no easy, or for that matter, miraculous feat but it was the determination, the companionship and the understanding of each other’s abilities that got his friend that far. From that day forward his friend also become hooked on endurance running and he ends up being a very successful ultra-marathon runner in his own right, even beating Dean in a few.
Despite the insane feats that this man has achieved (50 marathons in 50 states in 50 consecutive days being just one of them) he not once uses his books to tell us about how miraculous he is. Instead he uses his platform as one of the top 100 most influential people in the world, to promote the fact that these achievements are a product of team work. And although it’s him running the races, he would never have gotten through without the help of everyone around him and their sheer mental determination. This is proven when he writes about failed races that he attempted without a team and the anger he feels when these failures aren’t celebrated in the media. Dean strongly believes that he would never win another race without those memories of failure and everybody should understand that failure is just as important as winning.
Ultimately, the book leaves you feeling as though you could take on the world, even if you don’t want to complete marathons. Which in our eyes, is exactly what we needed in January! This book is far too inspirational to explain in one blog so reading it for yourselves really is the best option.
Let us know what Run inspired you to do and we can gather the group cheers that everybody needs to succeed!