Dean Karnazes - The Road to Sparta (Corte Madera)

Famed ultramarathoner Dean Karnazes explores his Greek ancestry and investigates the history of the world's first marathon, by recreating the 150-mile long treacherous trail run from Athens to Sparta illustrating the epic drama that inspired the birth of the marathon as we know it.

The Road to Sparta is a thunderous Greek epic told in parallel narratives from the perspective of a modern ultramarathoner and an ancient hemerodromoi (daylong runner). Famed ultramarathoner Dean Karnazes explores his own Greek ancestry while consulting with the foremost scholars on Ancient Greece to tell the story of the world’s first marathon, all while recreating the historic 153-mile run from Athens to Sparta in one of the world’s most impossible feats—the Spartathlon. In 490 BCE, Pheidippides ran a similar route in 36 hours to recruit the Spartans into battle against the invading Persians. In doing so, he forever preserved Western culture. Even now, some 2,500 years later, that run stands enduringly as one of the greatest physical accomplishments in the history of mankind.

In recreating the ancient journey, Karnazes consumed only foods available in 490 BCE, such as figs, olives, and cured meat. Karnazes offers readers a rare glimpse into the mindset and motivation of an extreme athlete. It is sure to captivate and inspire readers whether they run great distances, modest distances, or not at all.

Named by TIME magazine as one of the, "Top 100 Most Influential People in the World," Karnazes has expanded the limits of human endurance and along the way has inspired countless others to be the best that they can be. Men's Fitness says, "Dean Karnazes might just be the fittest man on the planet, "yet it is his unique ability to enthuse athletes of all abilities and backgrounds that truly sets him apart.

An internationally recognized endurance athlete, Karnazes has pushed his body and mind to inconceivable limits. He has raced and competed on all seven continents. Among his many accomplishments, he's run a 135-mile ultra-marathon across Death Valley in 120-degree temperatures and a marathon to the South Pole in negative 40 degrees. He's run a 200-mile relay solo, racing alongside teams of twelve, and has completed a 350-mile run. In 2006, he ran 50 marathons, in all 50 US states, in 50 consecutive days, finishing with the NYC Marathon, which he completed in three hours flat.

Dean and 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. He has appeared on the cover of Runner's World, Outside, and Wired magazines, and has been featured in TIME, Newsweek, People, GQ, The New York Times, USA TODAY, The Washington Post, Men's Journal, Forbes, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, and the London Telegraph, to mention a few. He is a monthly columnist for Men's Health, the largest men's publication in the world.

A New York Times bestselling author, his first book, Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner, was the #7 bestselling sports book worldwide in 2005. Karnazes lives in Marin County, CA.

 

Location: 

51 Tamal Vista Blvd
Corte Madera, CA 94925
The Road to Sparta: Reliving the Ancient Battle and Epic Run That Inspired the World's Greatest Footrace By Dean Karnazes Cover Image
$25.99
Email or call for price
ISBN: 9781609614744
Published: Rodale Books - October 25th, 2016