Dean Karnazes Quotes

“I run because if I didn't, I'd be sluggish and glum and spend too much time on the couch. I run to breathe the fresh air. I run to explore. I run to escape the ordinary. I run ... to savor the trip along the way. Life becomes a little more vibrant, a little more intense. I like that.”

— Dean Karnazes

“Some seek the comfort of their therapist's office, other head to the corner pub and dive into a pint, but I chose running as my therapy.”

— Dean Karnazes

“People think I'm crazy to put myself through such torture, though I would argue otherwise. Somewhere along the line we seem to have confused comfort with happiness. Dostoyevsky had it right: 'Suffering is the sole origin of consciousness.' Never are my senses more engaged than when the pain sets in. There is a magic in misery. Just ask any runner.”

— Dean Karnazes

“I run because long after my footprints fade away, maybe I will have inspired a few to reject the easy path, hit the trails, put one foot in front of the other, and come to the same conclusion I did: I run because it always takes me where I want to go.”

— Dean Karnazes

If you can't run, then walk. And if you can't walk, then crawl. Do what you have to do. Just keep moving forward and never, ever give up.

— Dean Karnazes

“As long as my heart's still in it, I'll keep going. If the passion's there, why stop? ...
There'll likely be a point of diminishing returns, a point where my strength will begin to wane. Until then, I'll just keep plodding onward, putting one foot in front of the other to the best of my ability. Smiling the entire time.”

— Dean Karnazes

“Sometimes you've got to go through hell to get to heaven.”

— Dean Karnazes

Most dreams die a slow death. They're conceived in a moment of passion, with the prospect of endless possibility, but often languish and are not pursued with the same heartfelt intensity as when first born. Slowly, subtly, a dream becomes elusive and ephemeral. People who've lost their own dreams become pessimists and cynics. They feel like the time and devotion spent on chasing their dreams were wasted. The emotional scars last forever.

— Dean Karnazes

“Unless you're not pushing yourself, you're not living to the fullest. You can't be afraid to fail, but unless you fail, you haven't pushed hard enough.
”

— Dean Karnazes

“Life is a series of obstacles and setbacks; living is overcoming them.”

— Dean Karnazes

“It had been said that the marathon doesn't really begin until mile twenty. I say mile twenty-six would be more appropriate. The final two-tenths of a mile is filled with emotion. No matter how desperately you're struggling at this point, thoughts typically drift away from the immediate task at hand (ie, survival) to broader feelings.”

— Dean Karnazes

“I have an ElliptiGO. It's a standup bicycle. You don't pedal; you stride on it. It allows me to have the same striding motion as running without the impact.”

— Dean Karnazes

If you just go out there and run 100 miles, it breaks down a lot of barriers in terms of self-imposed limitations.

— Dean Karnazes

I run with a credit card and a cell phone, so when there is not a 7-Eleven around, like some of the country roads out there, I can get him to deliver a pizza to me. And I kind of give them a coordinate, a corner.

— Dean Karnazes

“When I was running across the country, I was doing 40 or 50 miles a day in sleeting snow with zero visibility for five or six days in a row. Ten to 12 hours of running in that is monotony beyond belief.”

— Dean Karnazes

“I've raced on all seven continents at least twice. I've probably run thousands of races. But the single race that I'm most proud is a 10K. Yes, a 10K. I ran it with my daughter on her 10th birthday.”

— Dean Karnazes

“There are so many things in life that divide us, that separate us and tear us apart, be it race, religion, creed, socioeconomic level, nationality or any variety of other factors. But running is something that we all share in common.”

— Dean Karnazes

“Running is a simple, primitive act, and therein lays its power. For it is one of the few commonalities left between us as a human race.”

— Dean Karnazes

“The first thing I do when I walk into a hotel is find the gym, and if they don't have a gym, I start looking for a handhold where I can do my pull-ups. Sometimes if a shower curtain rod is sturdy enough, I'll do them there.”

— Dean Karnazes

“Unlike the traditional athlete, I've got to do more than just engage in my sport to put food on the table. When I'm done running, it's straight to the office.”

— Dean Karnazes

“I have my whole office set-up at waist level; I don't sit at all during the day. Sitting, to me, is the devil.”

— Dean Karnazes

“To an extreme athlete, there's a certain appeal to doing extreme things - seeking the most extreme physical challenges in some of the most extreme climates in the world. Testing and expanding the limits of human endurance is kind of my thing.”

— Dean Karnazes

“I love to run and I have some tips to keep it fresh and novel. I rarely use the same route twice. That keeps things new.”

— Dean Karnazes

I do a lot of marathons as training runs. If I'm somewhere and there's a marathon, I'll sign up and just go run it.

— Dean Karnazes

I love surfing, rock climbing, cycling - all that stuff. But it's just amazing that I can inspire people with my running. It's humbling, really.

— Dean Karnazes

“I went to college, grad school. I got an M.B.A., had a really cush corporate job. But I was just bored stiff. I didn't fit that mold.”

— Dean Karnazes

“Personally, I don't stretch, I don't get massages. Maybe massages would be useful, but I just don't have the time for it.”

— Dean Karnazes

“When I ran across America, for 75 days I ate 10,000 calories a day. I still lost about five pounds.”

— Dean Karnazes

“Many athletes are seeking new and novel ways of pushing their limits, and the challenge of running back-to-back races is certainly one way to test the boundaries.”

— Dean Karnazes

“The human body is capable of amazing physical deeds. If we could just free ourselves from our perceived limitations and tap into our internal fire, the possibilities are endless.”

— Dean Karnazes

“A Marathon is not about running, it is about salvation. We spend so much of our lives doubting ourselves, thinking we're not good enough, not strong enough, not made of the right stuff. The Marathon is an opportunity for redemption. "Opportunity," because the outcome is uncertain. "Opportunity," because it is up to you, and only you, to make it happen; only you can turn your farfetched dream into a reality.”

— Dean Karnazes

“There is magic in misery. Just ask any runner.”

— Dean Karnazes

“Don't run with your legs, run with your heart.”

— Dean Karnazes

“Don't confuse comfort with happiness.”

— Dean Karnazes

“We have killed our souls with comfort instead of seeking fulfillment and achievement.”

— Dean Karnazes

“Regardless of how distant your dreams may seem, every second counts.”

— Dean Karnazes

“Never, however, do I take shortcuts. There is not path of least resistance in my training. What I do equates to hard manual labor, disciplined grunt work. Once you permit yourself to compromise, you fail yourself. You might be able to fool some people, but you can never fool yourself. Your toughest critic is the one you face every morning in the mirror.”

— Dean Karnazes

“Endurance running was my passion , my ride. So here, I was in the driver's seat, running for two days straight pushing the mental and physical limits striving to be better, to go farther, to give more.”

— Dean Karnazes

“If it felt good, you didn't push hard enough. It's supposed to hurt like hell.”

— Dean Karnazes

“When all else fails, start running!”

— Dean Karnazes

“Listen to everyone, follow no one.”

— Dean Karnazes

If you keep chasing your dreams, one day you'll catch them.

— Dean Karnazes

“The only one who can tell you "You can't" is you. And you don't have to listen.-Nike”

— Dean Karnazes

“Go out hard and finish harder.”

— Dean Karnazes

“The marathon is an opportunity for redemption. Opportunity, because the outcome is uncertain. Opportunity, because it is up to you, and only you, to make it happen.”

— Dean Karnazes

“I run to breathe the fresh air. I run to explore. I run to escape the ordinary.”

— Dean Karnazes

“Pain is the body's way of ridding itself of weakness.”

— Dean Karnazes

“Awakenings are always terrifying as they force you to realize your past has been lived in confinement, the most disturbing part is when you recognize that the shackle holding you down are largely once you have placed upon yourself, the prison is self constructed”

— Dean Karnazes

Once you permit yourself to compromise, you fail yourself.

— Dean Karnazes

Sure I'm cut but not for the sake of vanity ...

— Dean Karnazes