A few days ago I mentioned that Dean Karnazes had won the 2008 Atacama Crossing and that he intended to become the first man to complete all of the 4 Deserts Marathons in a single calendar year. Well, according to this story over at Trailspace.com , Dean has added yet one more desert to his list, as he attempts the "Desert Grand Slam".
In addition to the Atacama, which he has just finished, he'll head to China for the Gobi March in June, The Sahara in October, and wrap things up with The Last Desert Marathon in Antarctica in November. That will complete the "4 Deserts". But in July he'll turn his sights on The Badwater Ultra held annually in Death Valley.
Karnaze's corporate sponsor North Face has put together an official Desert Grand Slam website to provide more info, including a link to Dean's blog on the events.
The "Desert Grand Slam" seems a bit contrived to me, but then again, the 4 Deserts and The Badwater are five really tough races, and anyone who competes at a high level in any of those events is a talented runner, let alone all five of them in one year. With a win in the Atacama already under his belt, Dean is off to a good start. One thing that is clear though, he sure doesn't mind suffering a bit in the races he chooses.
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