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This is really two books in one, smooshed together somewhat chaotically. First, it's an account of the author's outlandish stunt of completing 50 full marathons in 50 days in 50 different states. But it's also a how-to guide for runners thinking of running a marathon themselves. As a result, there is a tremendous amount of "do as I say and not as do" advice. Karnazes violates just about every basic tenet of distance running, from not getting enough sleep, not eating or drinking properly, and even the rookie mistake of not taking off wet socks after a run, causing painful blisters. Which he then fails to treat for several days, because he's embarrassed. And although he denies being a masochist, he's clearly in the "if it doesn't hurt then you aren't doing enough" camp. Which makes sense given his accomplishments, but makes me think that perhaps he isn't the best person to be motivating beginners to do more than they are ready for (which does warn against, but again the words are discordant with his actions).

The book's split personality made it less than successful on both counts. I would have preferred a more in-depth account of the individual marathons, some of which got only a sentence or two in passing. Along with details on the training and logistics involved in such a feat, which he glosses over as "I ran a lot" and "a lot of people worked hard to organize the events." And then a separate section (or whole other book) on how normal people should prepare for their own first marathon or ultra distance event. He does tack on a generic training plan at the end, but there is no hint as how one gets from barely being able to complete a single marathon to anything approaching the "super endurance" promised by the title. For instance, the only gear he mentions using is the paid sponsorship stuff, and even then he skips over most of the salient details of which products he uses for different types of training and events.