Dean Karnazes

Dean Karnazes, an acclaimed endurance athlete and NY Times bestselling author, has pushed his body and mind to inconceivable limits. Among his many accomplishments, he has run 50 marathons in all 50 US states in 50 consecutive days, ran 350 continuous miles in 80 hours and 44 minutes without sleep in 2005, and completed a marathon to the South Pole in negative 40 degrees without snowshoes in 2002. On ten separate occasions, he’s run a 200-mile relay race solo, racing alongside teams of twelve. His long list of competitive achievements includes winning the Badwater Ultramarathon in 2004 and the Vermont Trail 100 Mile Endurance Run in 2006. He was also the overall winner of the 4 Deserts Race Series in 2008. He has raced and competed on all seven continents of the planet, twice over.

Karnazes is an ESPN ESPY winner, a 3-time recipient of the Competitor magazine Endurance Athlete of the Year award, and the winner of the British Sports Book Award. He has served as a US Athlete Ambassador and was a part of the American Ultrarunning Team in the World Championships in 2005 and 2008. He’s twice carried the Olympic Torch and, in 2019, received the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition Lifetime Achievement Award.

Apart from his running achievements, Karnazes also authored books such as "Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner" and "The Road to Sparta: Reliving the Ancient Battle and Epic Run that Inspired the World's Greatest Footrace." He was featured in the documentary Ultramarathon Man: 50 Marathons, 50 States, 50 Days and has been a guest on the "Regis and Kelly" show. His incredible adventures have been featured on "The Today Show," "60 Minutes," "The Late Show with David Letterman," "CBS News," "CNN," "ESPN," "The Howard Stern Show," NPR’s "Morning Edition," "Late Night with Conan O’Brien," the BBC, and many others.

Despite his many accomplishments, awards, and distinctions, he remains most proud of his ongoing contributions of time and funding to programs aimed at getting children and youth outdoors and active. He has raised millions of dollars for charity and was awarded the prestigious Community Leadership Award by the President’s Council on Physical Fitness & Sports.

Beyond being a celebrated endurance athlete, philanthropist, and bestselling author, Karnazes is an accomplished businessman with a notable professional career working for several Fortune 500 companies and startups alike. A graduate of the USF McLaren School of Business & Management, he is uniquely able to demonstrate how the lessons learned from athletics can be applied to business, and he is able to convey, with authenticity, the many insights he has gleaned along the way as a record-setting athlete and professional businessman.

As the founder and president of Energy Well Natural Foods (now called Good Health Natural Foods), owner of a Frozen-Yogurt shop called U-Top It! and a regular columnist for Men's Health, Karnazes continues to push limits in business as well. His dynamic, engaging, and rousing presentations focus on going beyond perceived limitations to be the best that you can be. He talks about unlocking an inner strength to achieve extraordinary results. His real-life examples explore the topics of dealing with adversity, overcoming obstacles, setting and reaching lofty goals, the importance of teamwork, even in solo endeavors, and excelling in a competitive and often confusing world.

Karnazes delivers his message with the insight and candor that only an individual who has lived through such experiences can. Karnazes’ stories of endurance and perseverance are often comical, sometimes tear-jerking, and always thought-provoking and entertaining. His roster of clients includes Nike, Google, Sony, PepsiCo, Wells Fargo, Apple Computer, Merck, Toyota, Starbucks, Accenture, Stanford University, Yale, JP Morgan Chase, Amazon, Facebook, and a host of others.