Love love love love love! Love so much! I am being convinced that people who are just ridiculous athletes for the fun (or stubbornness) of it all are just happier human beings (how they can be when the world's dying is admirable) (I think all I learned in biology class was the word "endorphins.") Loved again the way that family played such a huge role, from Dean's sister to his parents to his wife (stop being so cute I can't handle it) to his kids playing catch with him as he runs. This one was well-written and not at alll egotistical, just kind of matter of fact and also incredibly tense, like a dramatic movie. I'm a sap and I know it (and I'm also quite sleep deprived right now) but I was tearing up multiple times during this book with the sheer exhilaration and emotion that came across the page. Also. the Antarctica aspect was absolutely astounding--cool! Who would've known?

I will say I still prefer Jerker's books partially because I missed the community aspect in this one--which is totally fine, a different lifestyle that I'd be more likely to be in personally, but Scott did talk so much about the people who paved the way around him whereas Dean just hangs out with his family so there's less of a greater context to the challenges he achieves. ( )

Very motivation read. It inspired me to run regularly. It also got me excited about spending a lot more time outside. I wish he would've gotten a bit more into what he thinks about when he runs and how he thinks--what struggles does he go through? ( )

This book was gift, bought for me because 'you like running'. I wasn't sure what to make of the book before I started it. I had no idea who Dean Karnazes was but I was aware that an ultramarathon is any run that is more than 26.2 miles long. This prompted the question in my head, 'how far can a person actually run?'

As it turns out, with the right genes, training and mental fortitude a hell of a long way. The blurb on the back of the cover says that it has inspired thousands of people to push beyond their boundaries. I'm not sure about that claim but it's difficult not to feel inspired by reading this book. It put into perspective my struggles at anything over 12km in length. That wouldn't even be considered a warm up for Karnazes but I now want to to push on beyond that.

The book is extremely well written and it's easy to see why it is a national bestseller. The chapters just flew by as I was sucked in to the descriptions of the insane race distances involved. They are not all huge successes and the bad bits of his experience are also covered in great depth. One thing that really struck me was the fact that Karnazes managed all this while keeping up his 9 to 5 job.

After finishing the book I read a few negative reviews and they are all based around the fact that Karnazes can come across as an egotist. Although I can see where the reviewers are coming from, it's his book about his feats of endurance. It would have been nice to see a few more people from the ultramarathon world included. There are people who have run further than Karnazes but again, it's his book.

This is a great read and I think runners and non-runners alike would enjoy it. ( )

Reading this book really makes you appreciate what a human being can do with motivation and determination. It's almost limitless. And while I found myself really admiring Karnazes' endurance feats, I slowly started focusing more on his obsessions to find the most extreme of extreme challenges, which took something away from the book for me. ( )

Karnazes is known in the sport as an egotist. This book is a fun read, but he acts like he is the only guy out there to ever run an ultra. I know that running is an attractive sport for individualists, but there are less self-absorbed memoirs out there if you want to learn about the sport. ( )