10 DOWN, 40 TO GO…

Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon, South Dakota
Number of Runners: 1
Elevation: 5,100’
Time: 3:53:34
Weather: 66 degrees, dry and breezy

Today was the first trail run, and a great way to celebrate reaching double-digits with the number of marathons completed. I love trail running, and the tree-lined Mickelson Trail was absolutely stunning. We spotted white tail deer and wild turkeys along the way.

The first half of the course was challenging, climbing up to 6,100’ with a stiff headwind starting around mile seven. But the company was good, and we swapped stories as we ran. Amos (her real name is Amy, but her friends call her Amos) is an accomplished marathoner with a personal best of 3:30. But that only tells part of her story. She is a cancer survivor and didn’t run her first marathon until after surgery in 2003. Since then, she’s run nearly 50 marathons! And from our conversation, I gather she has no intention of stopping anytime soon.

We were met along the trail by a group of students from Spearfish Middle School. They crewed for us at several points, and later a few of them joined in and ran alongside for a stretch. The pace was strong throughout the marathon as we needed to get to the finish quickly so Amos could return to work that afternoon.

At the finish festival, the 4th and 5th grade classes from Deadwood Elementary School ran over fromschool to the event. They had a million questions, their energy and enthusiasm for the Endurance 50 blew me away. A couple of them asked if they could join me for the rest of the journey. I asked one little boy what his parents would think of that? He said, “My dad’s a runner, he’ll understand.”

With a smile on my face, we pulled out of town with kids lining the street waving and yelling goodbye. It was another great day to remember.

All the best,
Dean

P.S. To the many of you that have sent ideas and suggestions for getting over a cold, thank you. I really appreciate it, and am trying them all! Unfortunately the cold has spread into my ears, so it will be good to get down to lower elevations tomorrow to alleviate some of the pressure.

Click here for Endurance50 pictures.
Click here for Endurance50 videos.

Comments

[steve hearst]

Double Digits!!!
What a beautiful picture of running a trail.
And the wave of runners is just beginning!
Thanks for giving us the meaning of never saying never.

[morgan]

Keep it up Dean!
I am an ultra runner also, and have to weigh in on the power of Zinc to knock a cold on it's butt. Anytime I have a big week or event and feel that worn out, scratchy throat feeling I hit the zinc and have a complete turn around.
Keep the faith and keep keep the confidence. So many of us are out here watching, supporting and believing in you!

[Jay Murry]

Wow...a trail marathon at high elevation, as part of the Endurance 50?! That's stupendous! And to think that I quietly cursed the comparatively puny hill we had to climb at the Lewis & Clark Marathon!

Congratulations on your fine start...

Jay Murry
News & Sports Director
KWRE-AM / KFAV-FM
Warrenton, MO

[Lisa Thomas]

Congrats on your double digts run! What a treat to run in such beautiful surroundings and have an inspiring companion "Amos" to keep you company. I keep asking myself how does he keep doing it - day in and day out- I have read all your blogs and never have you said anything negative(cold not included)about your daily marathons. You embrace the challenging weather conditions, rather than comaplin about them, and truly are grateful and appreciative for all those you meet along your travels. You are a tremendous role model for anyone - but especially to us runners. I am training for my first marathon in December. I am very nervous about it - but your positive, mental outlook is helping me to change my focus to be on the enjoyment of runnning and how you can inspire others, rather than just on myself. Thanks Dean. Looking forward to reading more about your amazing journey.

Go Dean GO!!
Lisa Thomas

[Lisa Thomas]

Congrats on completing your 10th marathon. What a treat to run in such beautiful surroundings with an inspiring runner as your companion (way to go Amos). I am training for my very first marathon in December and am very nervous about it. Tell me Dean, how does one build up the confidence and trust that they CAN and WILL meet their goal? I keep asking myself where does Dean get his physical energy and mental determination from, day in and day out. If only I could get just 1 bottle of that! You remind me of a Psalm that says "in a fear-inspiring way I am wonderfully made" (Ps139:14).Your positive attitude and generosity to the communities you are visiting are outstanding. I look forward to joining you on the rest of your exciting journey on these blog pages and will think of you on my training runs. Your family and support group must be very proud of you.
Talk to you soon.
Fellow runner, Lisa Thomas

[Ed Swain]

Dean,

I wish I could run with you when you come to Michigan. However, I'm recoverying from foot surgery. I'll be back on my feet soon enough and back into marathoning. I was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2003 and so far there are no signs of its return. I've done 3 marathons since and plan to do many more "victory laps" to celebrate life. You have been an inspiration. I hope to run with you someday. In the meantime, I'm rooting for you all the way. Take care & God Bless!

Ed

[Sacha Power]

If I feel a cold coming on I put pure lemon juice in my running bottles, it makes my throat feel better (not sure why really). Sucking from the bottles helps take the pressure off the ears too.
What a fantastic run today,
All the best for tomorrow, I hope you're feeling better by then
You're doing awesome
Sacha ;)

[Jim Goodrum]

Hey Dean
I wanted to run with you, but a mtn biking accident prevents that. However I am praying for you and the team. Run a mile for me.

[Tiago Dionisio]

Hi Dean,
We chatted earlier this year about me running Comrades and Western States in the same year. Well, I finished them both, which I´m very proud of.

However, after WS100, I had to be hospitalized because of kidney failure and massive leg muscle destruction because of overuse but also of the conditions we had this year at WS100 (as you know so well). I´m much better now and I am back to running, but only for 15 or 20min a day.

Anyway, this is to say that I´ve been following you every day on this website and I´m cheering for you. I wish I could run a marathon with you, but it´s still a bit early for me (and plus I´m in Europe).

All the best (all the way from Portugal),
Tiago Dionisio

[Jason Costantino]

Way to go Dean. Enjoy the smaller crowds while you can. I have a feeling that when you get down here to DFW you will find a lot of fans in this metropolis of around 3 million people. We are all following your progress and excited that you are coming to Texas.

[Mrs. Sharitz's class]

Dear Mr. Karnazes,
We are the kids in Mrs. Sharitz's Exceptional Student Ed class at Cypress Creek Elementary. We have a map of your schedule on the wall in our classroom and we are coloring in every state you run, talking about you, and reading your blog every day. Your running is teaching us about endurance, calendars, and geography. We love reading your blogs because you tell important details, use great describing words, and you make the writing exciting! We want to write like you some day. You are also teaching us that we should never give up on ourselves!
Our teacher is a runner too. She is going to be at your marathon in Florida and we are very anxious to see pictures. We are very proud of you. We hope that you never give up!
Sincerely, Mrs. Sharitz, Mrs. Lynn, Victor, Erlin, Miguel, Miriam, Raisha, Cory, Domingo, Jaime, and David

[Lisa from New Jersey]

What you are doing, I can not find the words to describe... Congratulations on Number 10. Im all signed up and raring to go for Number 49!

See You Soon and I wish you and your family the best!

[Victor Shames]

I have no magic suggestions for you. I am an age group (60+)triathlon nut and I am in awe. I wish you health and strength to keep this up. A question - How do you keep fueled up?

[Josh]

Dean - you are a ROCK STAR!

Good luck tomorrow and with the cold.

[Heather Griffith]

All I gotta say is how you are still doing sub-4:00 marathons at this point is truly amazing! You are such an inspiration like none other! I can't wait til Oct 26th when you'll be here in Louisville! Keep lovin every minute of it; looks like fun out there!

[Captain Chris Walsh]

Karno, keep up the good pace, its great to see one of the old hood who can inspire the world!!! I have the boards waxed and ready for your maui stopover so i'll see you then.
CHRIS.

[ceej]

Keep the pace Dean! I'm doing my 3rd marathon this Sunday, the Portland marathon. Hopefully I'll get the chance to meet you or even run with you for a little while. I'm going to go for a personal best. I'm from Oklahoma and have been training hard since my last marathon in Oklahoma City back in April. My previous best is a 3:43 and I'm shooting for a 3:30.

[Sheri Paulson]

Dean, it was a pleasure to join you for # 11 in Fargo. I thought nothing would be able to top my first marathon finish in the Fargodome last May. However, running a portion of the route with you today, was close. I have MS and the fact that I AM STILL ABLE to run motivates. Every runner has a reason!!! Best of luck with the remainder of the 39 marathons. You can do it!!!

[Carol Newman]

Dean,
From a fellow Northern Californian.
Read your book earlier this year and am now enjoying reading about your latest journey each morning while I eat my morning oatmeal. I have no doubt that you, and all of those other courageous runners joining you along the way--can accomplish anything.
I'm one of those who used to run but have been having knee troubles for the past year. Well, this morning I laced up my sneaks and decided if you can run 50 consecutive marathons, I can at the least get outside and start moving again--hopefully working up in time.
Thank you for inspiring me--and so many others.
We'll see you in San Francisco,
Carol

[Wesley]

Excellent, the Perfect 10!

I wish I knew that Petaluma R/T Delivery guy's name & number, I'd have him deliver you a pizza to congratulate you!

Keep it up, Team Dean, you inspire us all.

I had the opportunity to run with you at one of your book signings/fun runs at The Sports Basement in the Presidio (was a great run and a true pleasure meeting and running with you).

You inspired me that day to go for my first half marathon (the SF Half) and then after that pushed for a full Marathon (the LA Marathon), that's not too bad for a 41 year old, who never ran more than 10 miles, before he read your book and met you.

I missed you at both the above events and
I won't be running with you in person this time... definitely in spirit... but just wanted to let you know, that you DO make a difference in people's lives!!!!

~Wesley
(41 and running over that proverbial hill)

BTW: Try "Airborne" for that cold, ALWAYS seems to work for me and no, I don't have any affiliation with them.

[Brad Overstreet]

I am currently training for 3 ultras this fall all of them in the Rocky Raccoon series. I think of what you at 1am when my training runs start. I will see you in Dallas and maybe Oklahoma and Louisiana. I figure why not do 3 back to back training runs. What better motivation can a guy have. Thanks for encouraging so many to get out and go run.

Cheers,
Brad Overstreet

[scot morrison]

Keep on Dean!

-Scot
San Luis Obispo, Ca.

[Lee Hoedl]

It was a simple proposition: just run 50 marathons in 50 different states... in 50 days. And that's where the adventure began for ultramarathoner Dean Karnazes on September 17. But truthfully it was an adventure that began in so many of us years ago. That childlike adventure, that wishful dream, that told us we could fly like the wind and travel to the ends of the world on a simple pair of tennis shoes. And as Dean Karnazes traveled the Fargo Marathon route on his 11th journey on September 27, for a moment it almost seemed like a wishful dream that could truly become a reality.

A smiling face and a warm handshake at Mile 10 is what greeted my three-year-old triplets Emily, Hannah and Nicholas on the Fargo Marathon route. And from that moment on, these three came to know this man as "Dingo Dean." Or in other words, as they continued to chant, "Dean, go - Dean! (Dingo Dean)"

I don't know the man, but I'm familiar with the already legend. And I don't fully know his motives, but I believe he runs for that child within each of us. That same child that once told us, "You can jump farther than the moon and run faster than the sun." That same child that told me this morning, "Your best years of running are just ahead." And that same child that today I truly want to believe. Success to you, Dingo Dean - your success is our success.

[Albert Martens]

Dean and Fargo Marathon committee members and runners today.
Albert martens here, back in Canada. I feel fine and I want to wholeheartedly thank Dean and his crew, for doing a great job. Today in Fargo was so good, except I was slower than expected. But, it is all about people, lovely people in Fargo, especially the two that took care of me in the race, directing me, becasue I was furhter back, and seeing there were no markers. Thanks you guys. The hospitality was really warm and friendly. Thanks Dean for doing a great and wonderful thing, for the Karno kids. Keep it up. I will follow you and pray for you that you will finish the rest of the 39 marathons. Thanks to you all.
Albert Martens

[Rick Cotton]

I've been following this blog from the start like so many others but tonight there was a special post by Lee that very eloquently expressed every runner's dreams and fantasies. Kudos. We may be separated by many miles but we are all linked with the same ambitions.

Keep going Dean! I can't wait to meet & run with you in Boise.

Rick
Coeur d'Alene, ID