For anyone interested in ultra-running, or any kind of running for that matter, Scott Jurek needs no introduction. He is widely touted as one of the greatest runners of all time and to his name are victories in Spartathlon (246km), the Hardrock 100, the Badwater 135-Mile Ultramarathon, the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run and the list goes on…you get the picture!
I am fascinated by the minds of people who can perform such amazing physical feats. There are countless training hours and serious dedication involved in running ultras and, I would argue, at least a degree of natural talent. But, when the body is at breaking point, when most people would give in to injury or exhaustion, people like Jurek keep going, they push through physical barriers and their minds take over. Jurek calls it “that space between exhaustion and breaking”.
In Eat & Run, Jurek chronicles his “unlikely journey” from shy, skinny kid to elite runner. He talks us through some of his hardest races and peppered throughout is information about his adoption of a 100% plant based diet and some recipes (I like the Minnesota Winter Chili) and coaching tips. Any endurance athlete knows that food is vital to athletic success; not only do you need it as an energy source but you need to find something you can eat on the run that does not upset your stomach…it is usually a matter of trial and error. In any case, I love to read about the nitty gritty of endurance racing; the puking, the dry-heaving, the hallucinating and, on this topic, Jurek delivers!
If you want to learn more about this superhuman runner, check out his website:
