Dean Karnazes Gets Set to Run Ten Continuous Marathons!

On Thursday, October 21, "Team Dean" Karnazes will attempt to be the first to run 262 miles non-stop, the length of The Saturn Relay and then some, in 72 hours. The Saturn Relay stretches from Calistoga in the scenic Napa Valley Wine Country to the Beach Boardwalk in Santa Cruz promoting the critical need for donated organs through Organs 'R' Us. The 199-mile relay is a shared experience between three hundred 12-member teams running 36 legs through 36 cities and across the Golden Gate Bridge.
This year, “Team Dean” remembers Nicholas Green on the tenth anniversary of his death. While on vacation in Italy, seven-year-old Nicholas was shot during a robbery and became a national hero when his organs were donated to seven Italians including Maria Pia Pedala. Representing a grateful Italy, Maria Pia will travel from Italy to The Relay with a bell inscribed with the emblem of her hometown. On Thursday, October 21, at 10 am, Maria Pia will signal the start of Dean's run by ringing the bell at the Nicholas Green Bell Memorial in Bodega Bay. Dean will deliver Maria Pia's bell 63 miles later to the Organs 'R' Us relay team in Calistoga at the start of the race, and will then run the 199-mile Saturn Relay nonstop to Santa Cruz.

To support Dean and Organs ‘R’ Us, The North Face will donate $10 to the organization for every mile Dean runs under 200 miles. For every mile over the 200-mile mark, The North Face will donate $50 to Organs ‘R’ Us.

“Dean’s involvement in the relay over the past 9 years has proven to be essential to our mission: increasing awareness for Organs ‘R’ Us,” said Jeff Shapiro, spokesperson for The Saturn Relay. “His contribution this year is particularly emotional as Dean will help memorialize Nicholas Green as well as celebrate Nicholas’s gift to Maria Pia Pedala.”

“Dean continues to overwhelm us with his athletic prowess and unbelievable endurance,” said Steve Rendle, president The North Face. “ There is no doubt in our minds that Dean has what it takes to take the 262 miles ahead by storm. He is an inspiration to us all.”

Dean is an active member of The North Face athlete team where he is an essential contributor to the development of The North Face footwear line. A nationally recognized ultra endurance athlete, Dean has won the Ultra division of The Saturn Relay nine times, including six solo 199-mile runs. Dean set records during the 2002 and 2003 Providian Relays, running 199 miles in 46 hours, 17 minutes, and 226 miles in 52 hours, 53 minutes. Dean completed a marathon to the South Pole in 2001 and won the 135-mile Badwater Ultra Marathon across Death Valley in July 2004. He just returned from the Reach the Beach Relay in New Hampshire where he split the 210-mile race with friend, and three-time winner of the Triple Ironman, Christopher Bergland. He has recently graced the covers of Outside Magazine and Trail Runner, and was named one of the “Top 10 Ultimate Athletes” by the Outdoor Life Network. Dean is president of EnergyWell Natural Foods in San Francisco, makers of healthy natural snacks. He is a frequent motivational speaker and his upcoming memoir, "Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner" will be released in early 2005.
For more information about Dean Karnazes, check out his bio page here.

For more information about The Saturn Relay, please visit: www.therelay.com