Celebrated athlete Dean Karnazes to be the Special Guest Athlete for the 2012 Half Moon Bay International Marathon

World renowned endurance athlete, philanthropist, and bestselling author to be on hand to inspire HMBIM athletes

For Immediate Release 

Half Moon Bay, CA, July 15, 2012 - The organizers of the 2nd annual Half Moon Bay International Marathon today announced that renowned endurance athlete, philanthropist, and bestselling author, Dean Karnazes will be the special guest elite athlete at the 2012 event. Karnazes, one of the most visible ambassadors for the running and endurance communities anywhere in the world brings his message of fitness, health and enthusiasm to the events to be held on Sunday, September 23, 2012.  

In addition to amassing a storied career full of amazing accomplishments, Half Moon Bay holds a very special place in Karnazes' running career. On his 30th birthday, Karnazes decided to start running again in his life, and traded his dress shoes for a pair of backyard sneakers and set off from his home in downtown San Francisco. He ended that initial endurance run at the pay phone of the 7-11 in Half Moon Bay, where he called his surprised wife to come pick him up.

"I am thrilled to be part of the events at the Half Moon Bay International Marathon, which has quickly earned a reputation as a first-class destination marathon with a focus on also being a certified GREEN event," said Dean Karnazes. "Half Moon Bay is a place of fond memories for me as my long distance running career began here on a fabled night many years ago. I’m really looking forward to being a part of the athlete's experience." 

Karnazes made the commitment to join the HMBIM from Death Valley, California, where he is due to toe the line once again at the 35th annual Badwater 135 mile Ultramarathon, a race he won in 2004. 

"The HMBIM is very proud to have Dean as our special guest athlete for the 2012 events," said Eric Vaughan, Executive Director. "Dean's accomplishments are amazing, and his infectious enthusiasm and kindness towards everyone adds so much excitement to this year's events!" 

The addition of Karnazes to the race continues to deliver on the goal of the HMBIM organizers to deliver a world class, destination event. In its inaugural year in 2011, the HMBIM featured renowned ultramarathon champion and bestselling author Scott Jurek as the special guest athlete.

 Contact: info@halfmoonbayim.org

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About Dean Karnazes:

TIME magazine named Dean Karnazes as one of the "Top 100 Most Influential People in the World." Men's Fitness hailed him as one of the fittest men on the planet. An internationally recognized endurance athlete and NYC bestselling author, Dean has pushed his body and mind to inconceivable limits. Among his many accomplishments, he has run 350 continuous miles, foregoing sleep for three nights. He's run across Death Valley in 120 degree temperatures, and he's run a marathon to the South Pole in negative 40 degrees. On ten different occasions, he's run a 200-mile relay race solo, racing alongside teams of twelve.

Dean and his incredible adventures have been featured on 60 Minutes, The Late Show with David Letterman, CBS News, CNN, ESPN, The Howard Stern Show, NPR's Morning Edition, the BBC, and many others. He has appeared on the cover of Runner's World andOutside, and been featured in TIME, Newsweek, People, GQ, The New York Times, USA TODAY, The Washington Post, Men's Journal, Forbes, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, and the London Telegraph, to mention a few. He is a monthly columnist for Men's Health, the largest Men's publication in the world.

Beyond being a celebrated endurance athlete, philanthropist, and bestselling author, Dean is an accomplished businessman with a notable professional career working for several Fortune 500 companies and startups alike. A graduate of USF's McLaren School of Business & Management, with additional graduate-level coursework at Stanford University, he is uniquely able to demonstrate how the lessons learned from athletics can be applied to business, and he is able to convey, with authenticity, the many insights he has gleaned along the way as an athlete and business professional.