A Hero's Burden

A couple of weeks ago, I saw Dean Karnazes speak about his recent accomplishment: 50 marathons in 50 days. The guy is certifiable, but he's a great public speaker and I left the event inspired by his message: just get off the couch and do something.

If you look at Dean's scroll of accomplishments, you can topically surmise that he's crazy. And he might be. But that's none of my business. The thing I admire most about him is that he follows his heart, and that, I find the ultimate in inspiration. "I think Western culture has things backwards. We equate comfort with happiness, and now we're so comfortable we're miserable. There's no struggle in our life, no sense of adventure. I've found that I'm never more alive than when I'm pushing and I'm in pain and I'm struggling for a high achievement. In that struggle, I think there's a magic." (Outside magazine, January 2007). And he's so right. What we see in the media of Dean is all the romance, even the pain he endures is romanticized. But the truth is, pain is pain, even when you have a smile on your face for the cameras.

Which is why my heart fell a little when, as I was telling a friend that I saw Dean speak, he asked, "I heard Dean Karnazes is a dork." Now, first of all. It goes without saying that most triathletes (my friend included), cyclists and runners are dorks; Type-A personalities to a fault. That's just the nature of the beast. But isn't it amazing that in a world where Paris Hilton uses her DUI to capture her fans hearts and is unconditionally forgiven upon release from prison, we are so overly critical of people who actually w-o-r-k to make positive change in the world?

Another friend whom I ran into at the show commented that he thought it was a joke that Dean was the one getting so much media attention when he clearly wasn't the best ultra-marathoner.

What disturbed me most about these comments was that they had unknowingly put Dean into this category of perfection. The guy's accomplished some inhumane feats and he's using his fame to send a positive and salubrious message to the masses. But all you can say is that you think he's a dork and he's clearly not the 'best'. Thanks for showing up, folks. You are clearly experiencing some compensatory behavior.

Lance Armstrong has been accused repeatedly of being a jackass. Barry Bonds will always stand in the shadow of doubt. Everybody loves scandal, but I think what people really love is the feeling of superiority they get when they take someone down a notch. Ok, fine. But do you have to miss the message in the process?