From "Drunken Yuppie Fool" to "Reborn Athlete"

Last October, 42-year-old San Francisco businessman and ultra-runner Dean Karnazes ran 262 miles in 76 hours, running along the coast from Napa to Santa Cruz. In the spring, Penguin Books will publish his memoir: Ultra Marathon Man. This San Francisco Chronicle article profiles Karnazes and provides excerpts from the book, which promises to be well worth the read. Karnazes's running journey began at his drunken 30th birthday party, when he was tempted by infidelity: "He excused himself and walked home. But instead of going inside, he stripped down to his silk boxer shorts, put on his gardening sneakers, blew a kiss to his sleeping wife, then began to run. ... He ran all night, through hunger, fog and the pain of blood blisters, at last reaching Half Moon Bay by dawn -- 30 miles for his 30 years."