[4] Joe De Sena grew up in Howard Beach, Queens, with his mother Jean, a yoga aficionado,[5] and his father, Ralph was a business owner.
Joe eventually moved with his mother and sister to Ithaca, NY, and four years out of high school he attended Cornell University.
[7] At a brokerage firm De Sena worked as an equities and derivatives trader[8] and engaged various outdoor activities ranging from multiple IronMan races, to the Iditarod by foot.
[9] De Sena first became interested in long-distance events after gaining weight while holding his desk job, and trying to reverse the process through running the stairs of his apartment building.
[7] He moved his family as well to Pittsfield, Vermont to operate a farm, a bed and breakfast, and a general store for hikers[10] that he purchased.
[6] In 2000, De Sena's team became stranded in the Quebec wilderness during a 350-mile winter adventure race, when he had to dig himself beneath the snow to survive.
It was here that he claims he made a distinction between "difficult" situations and "desperate" experience, and inspired him to create his own endurance races.
[18] In 2014 he published the book Spartan Up: A Take-No-Prisoners Guide to Overcoming Obstacles and Achieving Peak Performance in Life,[19] co-authored with Jeff O'Connell.