Dean Karnazes Bashing
I belong to an Ultrarunning list-serv. There are some great people - and runners - from all over the world that contribute and share their opinions and they run the gamut.
For almost two days, I saw the range of opinions regarding Dean Karnazes' 24-hour treadmill effort in Times Square. Some would say that it was "over the top" while others might say that it was kind of cool for anybody in the sport to get an opportunity like that in a place like Times Square.
The first thought in my mind was, "How many other people would even attempt it?" Not many.
The problem in this effort, in my mind, was with the product advertiser, Accelerade. When it became clear that Karno wasn't going to make the record and was struggling, they allegedly pulled the camera back where you couldn't see the number of miles that he was at on the big display board.
Karnazes ended up going 128.75 miles, spotted by Bentonville, Arkansas' Jeffrey Genova "as their main webcam zoomed out at the end to show his miles."
Previously, he had an effort that was 147.96 miles.
Accelerade's web site stated the following today:
"Dean Karnazes - a man of inconceivable athletic prowess and endurance - set out to break a world record. He ran for 24 hours and completed a distance equal to the total of five marathons, just one shy of the record."
As list members pointed out, 128.75 is not 131 miles.
And the record is 153.76 miles, not 157.2 miles ("one shy of the record").
United Press International (UPI) reported the following over its newswire:
***Accelerade launched with 24-hour run *
Posted on : 2007-06-22
Author : General News Editor
News Category : US**
**NEW YORK, June 22 (UPI) An endurance runner covered a distance greater than five marathons over 24 hours to help kick off the introduction of a newsports drink.
The launch of Cadbury Schweppes Beverages' Accelerade, a protein-enhanced sports drink, was highlighted by endurance runner Dean Karnazes, who ran on a treadmill for 24 consecutive hours, said a release from Accelerade.
Karnazes attempted to break the Guinness World Record for the longest run on a treadmill in a 24-hour period. He ran more than 130 miles but was just short of the record, the drink's Web site, www.accelerade.com.
In addition, Karnazes raised awareness for prostate cancer and $21,000 for Athletes for a Cure.
Copyright 2007 by United Press International
Then, perhaps in jest, a list member posted the following:
"128 miles vs 131 miles - who sweats the small things, I wonder which number DK will quote himself the 128 or "over 5 marathons" in the future. I also like the "just short of the record" he might want to add that to his repertoire."
My take was as follows:
The one thing that I've noticed over the last two days is that Dean's effort caused more chatter on the list serve in the last 48 hours than any other topic I've seen in the less than a year that I've been on.
I'm curious to know what piece of data on Karnzaes' website that people think that he himself has embellished. I looked this afternoon and I didn't see anything that seemed out of reason.
I think if there is anybody to be taken to task over this, it would be Accelerade's PR people.
I would say that they're guilty of "rounding the numbers" to define the performance to a population that may not understand how long a marathon is. (The novice runner I am ... I get questions from people, "How far is a marathon?") In their minds, "five" sounds more impressive than "almost five", although it is incorrect.
But hasn't Accelerade accomplished their goal in the end and that is for their product to be mentioned more than it ever has been before?
The gamble for them is whether they are thought of highly or not.
As far as the release above goes, UPI would be guilty of only one error and that it (the effort) "was just short of the record."
What you don't know is who the person was that wrote the news brief, whether they know anything about the sport (you would be led to believe that they didn't) and what conditions they were under to get the brief out.
While it is conceivably hard to equal the PR machine that Dean has behind him, I think it would be a whole hell of a lot more useful for the members of this list serve to promote - to their respective media contacts - the best of ultra and trail running as often and as consistently as possible.
If a writer were asking my opinion of Dean's attempt, I'd be saying, "It would have been great if Dean had been able to make the record. He didn't, but he made a good run at it in some tough conditions. We should have more in our sport that are willing to attempt a feat such as that for some great causes that we enjoy supporting."
I'm a runner, albeit not fast, and I have just one Ultra to my credit (Sunmart 50K last December). But I'm, fortunately, a media contact and I've reported on things that I've been informed of through this medium (most recently, the El Scorcho Run in Fort Worth in July.) So thank you!
I'm the VP, Communications for the Houston Area Road Runners Association and edit an 8-page newsletter, "Footprints," that appears in the newspaper, "Inside Texas Running". I write a column (although on hiatus) for the Running Network magazine, "Runner Triathlete News". I write a weekly running column for the Conroe Courier, where I'll be writing about Allen Wrinkle's effort at Big Horn here soon. I host a blog on the Houston Chronicle's web site and I maintain my own blog here.
If I ran as much as I wrote, I'd probably be a lot faster. But I'm fortunate to have been granted as much opportunity as I have to do the best that *I* can for the sport.
If one can prove Dean himself embellishing over this, then take him to task. However, I just don't see him doing it nor the proof that he is.
At the same time, I'm wise enough to not be discouraged about the great ultra and trail running communities over some of the things that I've seen stated on this list.
I'm looking forward to hearing the reports and great stories coming from this weekend's Western States, where Texas has three runners in the mix and there are six registered - aside from Dean - who are also scheduled to be on the starting line at Badwater.
(And the bottom line is that the only person to finish both last year was - if my results cut-and-paste skills were good this week - Dean Karnazes.)
Jon Walk
Spring, TX
For almost two days, I saw the range of opinions regarding Dean Karnazes' 24-hour treadmill effort in Times Square. Some would say that it was "over the top" while others might say that it was kind of cool for anybody in the sport to get an opportunity like that in a place like Times Square.
The first thought in my mind was, "How many other people would even attempt it?" Not many.
The problem in this effort, in my mind, was with the product advertiser, Accelerade. When it became clear that Karno wasn't going to make the record and was struggling, they allegedly pulled the camera back where you couldn't see the number of miles that he was at on the big display board.
Karnazes ended up going 128.75 miles, spotted by Bentonville, Arkansas' Jeffrey Genova "as their main webcam zoomed out at the end to show his miles."
Previously, he had an effort that was 147.96 miles.
Accelerade's web site stated the following today:
"Dean Karnazes - a man of inconceivable athletic prowess and endurance - set out to break a world record. He ran for 24 hours and completed a distance equal to the total of five marathons, just one shy of the record."
As list members pointed out, 128.75 is not 131 miles.
And the record is 153.76 miles, not 157.2 miles ("one shy of the record").
United Press International (UPI) reported the following over its newswire:
***Accelerade launched with 24-hour run *
Posted on : 2007-06-22
Author : General News Editor
News Category : US**
**NEW YORK, June 22 (UPI) An endurance runner covered a distance greater than five marathons over 24 hours to help kick off the introduction of a newsports drink.
The launch of Cadbury Schweppes Beverages' Accelerade, a protein-enhanced sports drink, was highlighted by endurance runner Dean Karnazes, who ran on a treadmill for 24 consecutive hours, said a release from Accelerade.
Karnazes attempted to break the Guinness World Record for the longest run on a treadmill in a 24-hour period. He ran more than 130 miles but was just short of the record, the drink's Web site, www.accelerade.com.
In addition, Karnazes raised awareness for prostate cancer and $21,000 for Athletes for a Cure.
Copyright 2007 by United Press International
Then, perhaps in jest, a list member posted the following:
"128 miles vs 131 miles - who sweats the small things, I wonder which number DK will quote himself the 128 or "over 5 marathons" in the future. I also like the "just short of the record" he might want to add that to his repertoire."
My take was as follows:
The one thing that I've noticed over the last two days is that Dean's effort caused more chatter on the list serve in the last 48 hours than any other topic I've seen in the less than a year that I've been on.
I'm curious to know what piece of data on Karnzaes' website that people think that he himself has embellished. I looked this afternoon and I didn't see anything that seemed out of reason.
I think if there is anybody to be taken to task over this, it would be Accelerade's PR people.
I would say that they're guilty of "rounding the numbers" to define the performance to a population that may not understand how long a marathon is. (The novice runner I am ... I get questions from people, "How far is a marathon?") In their minds, "five" sounds more impressive than "almost five", although it is incorrect.
But hasn't Accelerade accomplished their goal in the end and that is for their product to be mentioned more than it ever has been before?
The gamble for them is whether they are thought of highly or not.
As far as the release above goes, UPI would be guilty of only one error and that it (the effort) "was just short of the record."
What you don't know is who the person was that wrote the news brief, whether they know anything about the sport (you would be led to believe that they didn't) and what conditions they were under to get the brief out.
While it is conceivably hard to equal the PR machine that Dean has behind him, I think it would be a whole hell of a lot more useful for the members of this list serve to promote - to their respective media contacts - the best of ultra and trail running as often and as consistently as possible.
If a writer were asking my opinion of Dean's attempt, I'd be saying, "It would have been great if Dean had been able to make the record. He didn't, but he made a good run at it in some tough conditions. We should have more in our sport that are willing to attempt a feat such as that for some great causes that we enjoy supporting."
I'm a runner, albeit not fast, and I have just one Ultra to my credit (Sunmart 50K last December). But I'm, fortunately, a media contact and I've reported on things that I've been informed of through this medium (most recently, the El Scorcho Run in Fort Worth in July.) So thank you!
I'm the VP, Communications for the Houston Area Road Runners Association and edit an 8-page newsletter, "Footprints," that appears in the newspaper, "Inside Texas Running". I write a column (although on hiatus) for the Running Network magazine, "Runner Triathlete News". I write a weekly running column for the Conroe Courier, where I'll be writing about Allen Wrinkle's effort at Big Horn here soon. I host a blog on the Houston Chronicle's web site and I maintain my own blog here.
If I ran as much as I wrote, I'd probably be a lot faster. But I'm fortunate to have been granted as much opportunity as I have to do the best that *I* can for the sport.
If one can prove Dean himself embellishing over this, then take him to task. However, I just don't see him doing it nor the proof that he is.
At the same time, I'm wise enough to not be discouraged about the great ultra and trail running communities over some of the things that I've seen stated on this list.
I'm looking forward to hearing the reports and great stories coming from this weekend's Western States, where Texas has three runners in the mix and there are six registered - aside from Dean - who are also scheduled to be on the starting line at Badwater.
(And the bottom line is that the only person to finish both last year was - if my results cut-and-paste skills were good this week - Dean Karnazes.)
Jon Walk
Spring, TX
posted by WalkSports.com | 6:19 PM
1 Comments:
Jon,
I think Dean Karnazes is like most who have become “celebrities” in their perspective fields; he has a target on his back for people’s criticism. I admire his drive to run far while make something worthwhile of it and seemingly having a great time doing it.
You mentioned an Ultrarunning list-serv. Do you have a link you would like to share?
BTW – I just happened to be planning a trip to the Fort Worth area the weekend El Scorcho is being run. I signed up for it thinking it was no big deal and ended up with a race registration that is apparently now a "hot" (pun intended) commodity. I’m looking forward to running the 25k.
-Tommy
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