Dean Karnazes
Dean Karnazes is considered the greatest ultramarathonist of all time. In 2005, it ran 563 km nonstop. And us? How long would we be able to run without stopping?
Many people have difficulty running 100 meters. Others, ‘as who doesn’t want the thing’, run 10 km at a height.
Some bolder souls run on “ultramarathons” – races with over 42.2 kilometers. This is the case of Dean Karnazeswhich holds the (unofficial) record of the longest sleepless race, after having done 563 km.
In 2005, the US athlete ran during three and a half days without stopping.
Karnazes, currently 62, only achieved this because it has a rare genetic condition.
In an interview with, the greatest ultramarathonist of all time confessed that throughout his life never felt cramps Nor any type of muscle burn, even during races more than 160 kilometers.
“At a certain level of intensity, I feel I can go a long way without tiring. As much as I strive, My muscles never get tired. It’s a good thing if I want to run a lot of time, ”he said.
A normal person, when runs, breaks down glucose to obtain energy, producing lactate as byproduct and an additional fuel source that can also be converted again into energy. However, when it exceeds your lactate threshold, your body is no longer able to convert lactate as quickly as it is produced, leading to an accumulation of muscle acidity. It is the way the body tells us when we should stop. However, Karnazes never receives these signs.
Only stopped because it had sleep
In the interview with the British newspaper, remembering his record, the athlete admitted that the only thing that made him stop is sleep.
“To be honest, what happens is that I get sleepy. I already ran three nightless nights and the third night of sleepless running was a little psychotic. In truth, I had episodes of “Sleep Race”in which I fell asleep while in motion, and only forced me to continue. ”
Genetics does not tell the whole story
HAS , Guillaume Milletexercise physiologist at Jean Monnet University in Saint-Etienne in France, explained that humans have a series of characteristics that allow good performance in the resistance race.
Human beings have relatively large glutes to help with forward propulsion, the ability to store elastic energy in the tendons and muscles and Strong neck ligaments to keep the brain stable during the race.
In addition, they are well adapted to running in the heat because they can regulate body temperature through perspiration.
“Even if the external temperature is quite high, we are able to keep our central temperature relatively low, which is a huge advantage compared to most species,” Millet told Live Science.
Karnazes admitted that their lactate elimination capabilities may also be due to the low body fat, a low transpiration rate, a highly alkaline diet and a Low exposure to environmental toxins.
As The Guardian writes, genetics can give us the propensity for a natural advantage, but we express our genes differently, depending on our environment and our lifestyle.
Despite these adaptations, humans never evolved specifically to run such extreme distances.
“If we run correctly, not injury and fuel rightly, it is amazing what the body can do, but that’s why we evolve. That is to bring normal adaptations to the extreme, ”he said Daniel LiebermanEvolutionary Biologist at Harvard University
