Reviewed by Reina Santana for Reader Views (11/08)

Dean Karnazes will inspire anyone to get out and run. In this book, he shares how he completed fifty marathons in fifty days. His stories made me feel as if I was part of a ¡°running family.¡± Dean¡¯s writing style is friendly and informative; it made me feel confident about my running goals. Running a marathon no longer seems like a far-fetched dream, but a doable goal that I can reach if I don¡¯t give up and I¡¯m willing to work hard.

Dean shares valuable tips on how to become a better runnerþu the practical advice is perfect for anyone. He taught me that it was okay to adapt and change my workout routine to reach optimum performance, because what works for one person may not always work for me. I love the running, nutrition, and apparel tips that are sprinkled throughout the book, and was pleasantly surprised to find a ¡°Beginner¡¯s Marathon-Training Plan¡± and a ¡°Personal-Best Marathon Training Plan¡± at the end of the book. I was also impressed by the overall message to work hard and focus on running as an enjoyable activity. From now on, I will set goals, but will not forget to have fun as I work hard to achieve them.

¡°50/50: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathons in 50 Days þu and How You Too Can Achieve Super Endurance!¡± by Dean Karnazes will aid and inspire runners of all abilities.

Likely you saw Dean Karnazes on the news promoting his 50 marathons in 50 days. I remember watching him thinking "is this guy crazy?" For the majority of us, completing even one marathon would be a lifelong goal achieved. Here this guy is looking to do not one or two runs in a season but 50 without even a day of rest. Like many people, I wondered why this person would even trey such a feat. In fact, was it even possible?

So when I got a chance to review 50/50, I jumped at the chance. By some standards, Dean Karnazes is a little abnormal. I say so, mostly because of his ability to endure 50 days of traveling, running a marathon, being interviewed, and then traveling again before getting only a few hours sleep. Just keeping the body going at that pace would be difficult enough. Add in some jet lag, a cold, and a scary fall. It's pretty amazing.

What I liked most about this story is that this man seemed like a real person. He's definitely more athletic and driven than most people but all of us have the ability to make better choices and push ourselves just a bit more than we thought possible. Absolutely inspiring.

How this man is not a dull boring freak I don't know, but he's not. He writes in a light hearted, easy to take in way about an enterprize that is plainly incredibly tough. Like his earlier book about running at night, this is detailed enough if you are after info, but dramatic and enjoyable about his epic journey too. It just never tires-rather like him! He is like a Duracell bunny to those of you who watch adverts on English TV. Good Job, Deano!

I purchased Dean's book, having run #47 in Wilmington DE with Dean, I looked forward to this book and what I assumed would be some interesting detailed description of the 26.2 "events". Instead what you get is often just rambling about life, running etc - from Dean's perspective of course. Nothing new unless you are a novice runner.
The chapter that supposedly starts with the Deleware marathon contains ZERO details of the day - instead you get how busy everyone's life is and how you have to "find time" to exercise - not very enlightening stuff to say the least. Had I known the content/ format of this book I would have definitely passed on it.

Very interesting and entertaining book. Not as enthralling as UltraMarathonMan, but a solid second book from Karnazes.

Very interesting and entertaining book. Not as enthralling as UltraMarathonMan, but a solid second book from Karnazes.

Yes the man is incredible for his accomplishments! I wish he had included more stories about the marathons (some he skipped and wrote personal advise instead) He needed to make this a longer book. That's why I gave it 4-stars.

Yes the man is incredible for his accomplishments! I wish he had included more stories about the marathons (some he skipped and wrote personal advise instead) He needed to make this a longer book. That's why I gave it 4-stars.

motivation with every page! great book for the runner, and athlete in your life. also purchase ultramarathon man!

motivation with every page! great book for the runner, and athlete in your life. also purchase ultramarathon man!

As an ultrarunner who has completed 50 miles numerous times over thep ast decade and fallen short of 100 numerous times too, I greatly anticpated the release of Dean Karnazes 50/50: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathons in 50 Days -- and How You Too Can Achieve Super Endurance. What a great read! Dean weaves training tips, suggestions, and lessons that he has learned amid the tales of his successful completion of 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days. What a daunting accomplishment.

50/50 is an engaging and inspiring read!

I picked up this book with a bit of doubt, but once I opened it, I couldn't put it down. I'd heard that running marathons took irreparable toll on the body, so I couldn't imagine what Karnazes was going to look and feel like after the 50.

Karnazes' book is written with humility and useful tidbits of running advice. I often think of this book when I think I can't go any further in my short runs (I only started taking short runs a couple of months ago mainly for bone density.) I highly recommend this book as a can't-put-it-down read as well as an inspirational get-out-there-and-do-it motivational book.

Great stories and inspriation from Dean...I read one page and want to run and run and run! If he can do 50 marathons in 50 days I can go and run 10 mles! I love the inspriation and positive feelngs I get from this book!

The next time you want to skip that daily three-mile run because you're sore, tired or distracted, you might want to consider the example of Dean Karnazes. He undertook to run fifty marathons in fifty consecutive days. Yeah - you heard that right.

He pulled it off.

Oh, and he did it on about 4 to 5 hours of sleep a night. Supported by his corporate sponsor, The North Face, Karnazes took up this running challenge for reasons akin to why men initially scaled Mt. Everest - because it was there. "50/50" is a worthy and inspirational follow-up book to his inaugural work, "Ultra-Marathon Man." If you could plug into this guy's genes, there would be no energy crisis. When he gets through running these long distances, he goes wind surfing, mountain biking or rock climbing.

Now are you inclined to get off the couch?

Few can relate to Karnazes' feats of extreme exercise; nor does he advocate that everyone follow his example. He does not proselytize for ultra-running. The book's chapters are sprinkled with sidebars of practical advice for the casual runner.

And when Karno finishes his 50 marathons in50 days, what does he do? He undertakes to run across the country, from New York back to him home in San Francisco. The guy makes Forest Gump look like a slacker.

"50/50" concludes with hints that Karnazes will be following up with another ultra-adventure. The guy is on to something here. Even the most casual running can tap into the vein of inspiration and motivation offered here in Karno's quest to pull off an extraordinary feat with his extraordinary feet!

And by "Incarnate" I mean "In Karno." If you're into running, adventure, logistics, being inspired, getting motivation, losing weight, getting fit, or life, you have to read this book. Dean Karnazes is a legend, a hero, and an icon, and if you haven't read his first book, you must.

I thought the book was well written, interesting, and fun to read. Both beginning and veteran runners would find Dean's experiences and/or advice
worth reading about.

A light read, more a travelogue of the 50 in 50 event with some running/health advice thrown in for good measure. Karnazes is a good narrator and some of the people he meets are inspiring, but this should only be a follow-up to Ultramarathon Man, which is great in my opinion. You could do a lot worse than this book for a nice read.

Factoid - In the end all he did was run 26.2 miles in a lot of states except for the marathons that he actually ran. Overall, I guess for someone who runs on average 20-25 a day I couldn't really relate to what he does or what he wrote. Props/kudos on running those distances. There is some information that the average runner could use but most of that could be found in other average joe focused running books.

Dean's first book was excellent and I recommend it to all sorts of folks, both runners and non-runners alike, as an interesting story of a guy who does truly amazing things. I must admit to being a big Dean fan and I even ran four marathons with him during his Endurance 50 tour. That said, this book is pretty weak compared with UltraMarathon Man. Anybody who has run a couple marathons should be able to give you the advice from this book. If you're a runner you should still read this book as it does have some interesting anecdotes and Dean's such a nice guy, but his first book was much better.

Dean's first book was excellent and I recommend it to all sorts of folks, both runners and non-runners alike, as an interesting story of a guy who does truly amazing things. I must admit to being a big Dean fan and I even ran four marathons with him during his Endurance 50 tour. That said, this book is pretty weak compared with UltraMarathon Man. Anybody who has run a couple marathons should be able to give you the advice from this book. If you're a runner you should still read this book as it does have some interesting anecdotes and Dean's such a nice guy, but his first book was much better.

After reading Ultramarathon Man, I was looking all around for a 50k to 50 mile race. Reading the book was both interesting and inspiring.

When I saw 50/50 was coming out, I was pretty excited. Having completed it, though, I'm a little disappointed. The feat that Dean accomplished by running 50 marathons in 50 days in 50 states was remarkable. I just felt like the journey that we, the reader, follow isn't quite so remarkable. It feels like many of the marathons are just brushed over. It feels more like an outline than a real in-depth journey.

At no point during reading this book was at the frenzied, "I absolutely have to read one more chapter" stage. Ultramarathon Man did that for me. Although I buzzed through this a little quicker than I probably do an average book, I can't imagine I'm going to tell my friends who have an slight interest in running that they've got to check this one out. Running diehards like myself are going to be interested if only for the fact that about an average of two decent running books come out per year.

If Dean was speaking in town, I'd be extremely interested in hearing his stories. If he was running a race, I'd be all about trying to hang with him. He seems like an extremely positive guy. I just wish that he would've dug into a little more details and really given us the guts of what truly was a cool and unique feat.

I will never be a ultramarathon racer because I am a bit tall, a bit overweight but Dean's book makes me want to be a better me in all that I do in my life. I was lucky enough to get a signed copy of this book at a book signing in Costa Mesa last weekend and met Dean. He is a great guy. He is humble, funny and stresses that he is no superhero. He was so positive and I was inspired! I loved his first book and this one is even more interesting.I am more of a long distance walker but after reading this book I want to walk a bit further and maybe aim for a 5k (which for me might as well be a ultramarathon) and I think Dean would be just fine with that!!!!

"Inspiring and Informative" 5 stars
Karnazes ran 50 marathons in 50 days. 50/50 details his experiences and lessons learned. Karnazes writes in a conversational style. He includes lists of information and anecdotes in little boxes throughout the book.
He gives tips on whether or not to listen to music, how to treat blisters, nutrition, and so much more. This is not just a how-to book. This is a pleasure to read. Whether you are a runner who runs a few minutes on the tread mill every day, a runner who enjoys a 5-k, or a marathon runner, you will like this book. Read it for pleasure, but keep it for a reference tool.

I wrote a quick review on another site. To make it short, this book will not disappoint. Whether you're an Athlete, Student, or Entrepreneur, you will find something between the covers for yourself. Just as good as the 50/50 Marathon Documentary (can't wait for the DVD) and makes a great companion to it, offering additional insights in diet, training and overall great advice. Get a copy for yourself and a few to give away as gifts. As a fitness coach, I have given some of my clients a copy of this book.

I wrote a quick review on another site. To make it short, this book will not disappoint. Whether you're an Athlete, Student, or Entrepreneur, you will find something between the covers for yourself. Just as good as the 50/50 Marathon Documentary (can't wait for the DVD) and makes a great companion to it, offering additional insights in diet, training and overall great advice. Get a copy for yourself and a few to give away as gifts. As a fitness coach, I have given some of my clients a copy of this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed Ultramarathon man, so when I heard he was writing another book about his Endurance 50 Challenge I couldn't wait. Karnazes account of his experience running 50 marathons in 50 states has some very good information in it. He, of course, went over the running he'd done to that point, as well the type of running that he had wanted to do, which led to the Endurance 50 challenge. This was right up my alley because I have become a huge fan of running as many marathons as possible. My body tends to recover easily so the urge to run more often has only grown with time.

So it amazes me to follow Karnazes trek from state to state with a marathon every day. He offers some gems of knowledge on various aspects, such as eating, hydration, recovery, pacing, conditions and on and on. With 50 marathons in a row there is plenty of fuel for the fire.

For the most part the chapters correspond to some aspect of running and how it related to that day's marathon, or sometimes two to three marathons a chapter. As would be expected, this couldn't go on for every chapter. Some chapters would reference that days marathon and the chapter would not mention more than a sentence or two, sometimes none, of the actual marathon, instead going off on a tangent about something entirely different.

What was amazing was to find in the appendix a doctor's evaluation of Karnazes' health from running all 50 marathons, and came to the basic conclusion that running that many all in a row had no adverse effects and that he indeed seemed to be getting stronger as each marathon went on. In fact his last of the 50 marathons in New York was his fastest, coming in at a little bit after 3 hours!

I whole heartedly recommend all runner's to get a hold of a copy and read this extraordinary account. Fascinating read.

5 stars.