Scott Gordon Jurek is an American ultramarathon runner, writer and public speaker. Throughout his career he has been one of the most outstanding ultramarathon runners in the world; won a number of prestigious international awards and set a series of records.
Jurek grew up in Proctor, Minnesota (Proctor, Minnesota); a certain amount of Polish blood flowed in his veins. As a child, Scott spent much of his time hunting, fishing, and hiking; such an active unity with nature played a big role in the formation of Jurek. Scott became interested in cross-country running as a child, but he did not start running really long distances until he was in school. Initially, the running process annoyed him, but over time, Jurek fell in love with this activity. In 1994, Scott ran the entire distance of the Minnesota Voyageur 50 Mile race - and the first time he was second in the ultramarathon, despite the fact that there were no regular marathon distances for him at that time. It is known that Scott's first race was inspired by his friend and fellow trainee Dusty Olson (Dusty Olson); subsequently, Olson became Jurek's partner more than once.
After leaving school, Jurek went to college in Duluth, Minnesota (Duluth, Minnesota); in 1996 he received a bachelor's degree in public health, in 1998 - a master's degree in physiotherapy.
In 1994 and 1995, Jurek was second in the Minnesota Voyageur 50 Mile, but over the next 3 years he managed to become the best in the race. After graduating from college, Scott moved to Seattle (Seattle), starting to participate in competitions at the national level. In 1998 he won the Zane Gray Highline Trail 50 Mile Run and the McKenzie River Trail Run 50K and placed 2nd in his first 100 mile Angeles Crest race.
In 1999, Jurek made his debut at the prestigious 100 mile race "Western States Endurance Run" - and won the first time, beating 5-time race champion Tim Twietmeyer as well. Scott became the second person from outside of California to ever win the event. In 2004, Jurek further improved his result - he managed to break the record set back in 1997 by Mike Morton and overcome the track in 15 hours and 36 minutes.
Over the next 5 years, Jurek pretty much added to the list of his victories; he was able to chalk up first places in the McDonald Forest 50K, Bull Run Run 50 Mile, Leona Divide 50 Mile, Diez Vista 50K, Silvertip 50K and Miwok 100K. In 2004, Scott achieved the "Ultra Running Grand Slam" by competing in 4 major events at once - Western States, Leadville 100, Vermont 100 and Wasatch Front 100. Scott performed in Hong Kong in 2001 and 2002 with Team Montrail; then he managed to win the team prizes "2002 Oxfam Trailwalker 100K", and in both cases new track records were set. In 2001, Jurek performed with Nate McDowell, Dave Terry and Ian Torrence; in 2002, along with him, Karl Meltzer, Brandon Sybrowsky and the same McDowell participated in the race. In 2003, Scott Jurek and his team won the Japanese "Hasegawa Cup Mountain Endurance Run".
In 2005, just a few weeks after a brilliant performance and victory at another "Western States" Dzhurek set a new record at the "Badwater" ultramarathon. The track conquered by Scott is traditionally considered one of the most difficult in the world; Dzhurek, during the race, had even more difficult than usual - he went out to compete in 49-degree heat. Jurek was partially saved from the heat by the opportunity to periodically dive into a cooler with ice, but the conditions he still got were inhumanly difficult.
In 2006, Jurek repeated his victory at "Badwater"; in the same year, the athlete chalked up the victory in the "Spartathlon" - a race of 153 miles from Athens (Athens) to Sparta (Sparta). This victory was the first of three - Scott confidently led the event for the next two years. Not only did Jurek win 3 in a row, he was the only North American to ever win the race.
Best of the day
In 2006, Jurek went to Mexico (Mexico), where he took part in a race with representatives of the local Tarahumara Indian people. This year Scott had to settle for second place - the best of the Tarahumara surpassed him; in 2007, however, Scott returned to play - and he did an excellent job of this task, scoring a landslide victory.
In May 2015, Scott Jurek attempted to break the Appalachian Trail speed record of 2,168 miles, which has so far been completed in a maximum of 46 days, 11 hours and 2 minutes. On July 13, 2015, Jurek completed his journey, improving the record by 3 hours. At the finish line, a formal celebration began - which later became the cause of certain troubles. Scott was accused by local foresters of a number of offenses - he gathered too large a group, consumed alcohol prohibited in the park, and spilled champagne on the ground (which, technically, can be considered illegal pollution). Jurek managed to refuse two charges, but he still had to pay a fine of $ 500 for drinking alcohol.
Scott Jurek is known as an adherent of vegetarianism; Scott adheres to a plant-based diet for reasons of both sports and ethical-environmental persuasion. Scott claims that it was plant-based foods that helped him achieve such impressive success. In 1997, Jurek gave up meat, in 1999 he became a vegan; he was inspired to do this by the belief that family chronic diseases were caused precisely by malnutrition. Subsequently, the diet became one of the topics of his memoir "Eat right, run fast" ("Eat & Run"), co-written with Steve Friedman (Steve Friedman) and published on June 5, 2012. The book became a bestseller and has been translated into 20 languages.
book by scott jurek "Eat right, run fast" is an amazing autobiography of one of the most famous ultramarathon runners in the world, a record holder in daily running, a multiple winner of such giants among track and field runs as the Badwater Ultramarathon and Western States Edurance Run, a talented writer, a man who turned the idea of running as a monotonous and exhausting form sports.
A strong motivation for those who are still hesitant to go to the first serious start, and a real encyclopedia for professionals who want to break the finish line in a winning spurt or improve their results in endurance competitions. For Jurek, a gifted physiologist by profession and an athlete by vocation, running is a way of life, an integral part of the day, a path to finding peace of mind and peace. It seems that his main secret of success lies in the very attitude to what he sincerely loves.
What really helped the young doctor to stand on the same podium with the most successful athletes in the United States, competing at distances from one hundred to two hundred miles? In his book, Scott Jurek sincerely shares his running secrets.
1. Always do what you are afraid to do
Perhaps you are just starting to get on the treadmill, or you may not find the strength to resume training after a long break. Well, first of all, you need to start. No matter how many meters you run today, let it be a 50-meter run with a dog. All that is needed is to take the first step, which will become the foundation of a future habit that forms the inner core that an athlete needs. A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step, and the great victory of an athlete with a run to a nearby store.
“Let it be a game. This type of activity will help you feel the incomparable joy of movement.”
2. Trying to be somebody is betraying yourself.
You should not chase someone else's result. Exhausting loads and quick achievements can lead the body to enter the phase of the so-called lost supercompensation, when the level of functions and resources gradually returns to its original state. In each case, there is an individual limit to adaptation to loads, but such jumps in the process of training can lead to a breakdown in adaptation, that is, to overtraining. It should be remembered that the load must be increased in proportion to one's own capabilities. In addition, slow jogging will strengthen the heart and lungs, improve blood circulation and increase the efficiency of metabolism.
3. Don't think about the pain
It's no secret that ultramarathons attract some of the craziest runners out there. Scott Jurek is one of those madmen who managed to “curb” his pain, not allowing her to force her to quit what she started. "Pain is just pain," says the author.
Of course, the heroism of desperate athletes is admirable, but it is worth remembering that pain is primarily a wake-up call, calling on the runner to pay attention to an existing injury. Listen to your body while passing the distance, because the desire to subdue pain to achieve what you want can completely disable you valiant athletes.
4. Eat right, run fast
Our results in sports are directly dependent on what foods we eat. Surprisingly, with his colossal loads, Scott Jurek consumes exclusively plant foods. Our body has a huge potential for recovery, but we are required to provide it with nutrition that eliminates the possibility of poisoning by toxins. Jurek recommends that runners consume more fresh vegetables and fruits that are rich in fiber and vitamins. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the individual factor: allergies, gastrointestinal diseases, etc. Athletes quite often suffer from problems with the gastrointestinal tract, which is facilitated by the outflow of blood from the digestive organs to long-working muscles, and healthy gastronomic habits will help restore the normal functioning of the body.
5. Strive for progress
Regular jogging in itself is very pleasant. If your competitive spirit is strong enough, you can get even more pleasure from running fast or running longer distances, from overcoming yourself. Progress will be a special motivating factor. If you want to improve your running skills, you can additionally include strength exercises, SBU, interval training. If for 6-8 weeks you run 3 times a week for 40 minutes, you are ready for the following experiment:
“…run at the maximum for 5 minutes, then give yourself a minute of rest, then repeat. To make progress, increase the number of intervals and their duration while maintaining a 5:1 speed work/rest ratio.”
6. Find time in your routine
If you want to run regularly, there must be time for this in your daily routine. Ask yourself: How much time do I spend on the Internet? And the shops? And take the time to do something useful for yourself. Combine running with everyday activities or use it as a way to get around, for example, to the store.
7. Run for the joy of movement
While climbing the Angeles Crest 100, one of the toughest 100m climbs in the United States, with a route through a mountain range with a total climb of 7,000 meters, Jurek met the legendary Tarahumara Indian tribe: these guys in Hawaiian shirts and sandals on their feet ran in small steps, landing on the middle of the foot with a roll to the front. Energy was not wasted on unnecessary movements, they kept their posture even, their shoulders were straightened and relaxed. They remembered what we have long forgotten with all our gadgets, trendy sneakers and the pursuit of seconds - the natural purpose of running, the joy of the movement itself.
Try to go for a run at least once, forgetting about mileage and counting steps, feel the beauty and naturalness of movement. Enjoy the process, not the result. Try to run as much as your body requires now, and then take a look at the clock for fun. Satisfied with the result?
8. Try running barefoot
The great thing about running barefoot or minimalist shoes is that you work on your body's ability to control movement in space. Running information comes directly with every step. But what matters is not whether you run barefoot or in sneakers, but whether you pay attention to running technique. Running barefoot can help improve your technique, but the key here is caution and gradualness. Find an area where you can run on grass or sand for 5-10 minutes 2 times a week.
Light marathons can give the feeling of running barefoot, reducing the chance of injury. Scott Jurek has been running the Brooks marathon for 12 years.
9. Learn to breathe fire
One of the most important skills for running an ultramarathon is belly breathing. This can be learned by keeping the breath in through the nose. Lie on your back, put a book on your stomach. Inhale and exhale through the nose, the abdomen should rise and fall with each inhalation and exhalation. Thus, you will be able to breathe with the diaphragm, and not with the chest.
On harder runs, inhale through your nose and exhale forcefully through your mouth. In yoga, this is called "breathing fire." Breathing through the nose purifies and humidifies the air, and another plus is that you can breathe and eat at the same time on the go.
10. Think positively
Even for a trained athlete, running for many hours is a real test of will and patience. Well, if the race takes place along a picturesque route, but if the athlete has to test himself in daily running competitions, where will he have to overcome the same circles around the stadium? The author of the book also faced this problem, leaving the race after 17 hours. The best way to regain morale is to run freely, to forget that running is a punishment, an overcoming.
“In the ultramarathon, you are left alone with your thoughts. And, if you're talking to yourself, tell yourself a follow-up story. There is no room for negativity here. People don't quit the race because their body can't handle it."
11. Enjoy the process
Random thoughts are the enemy of a runner, and obsessive thoughts about a finish line or a certain time threshold can be fatal. It is necessary to remember that there will definitely be a finish, and at the same time forget about the existence of this cherished feature. Get pleasure from being in the present itself: if it's hard for you - nothing! Listen to this feeling, and after resting after the race, remember what you managed to overcome and be proud of yourself.
12. Divide the distance into segments
Another way to brighten up the monotony of what is happening is to play a kind of game with yourself, set yourself an achievable goal and overcome it:“I coped with this task in such a way: I mentally divided the distance into small segments that can be covered entirely. The marker could be the next food item or sun shelter, or even the next step.”
Scott Jurek set the U.S. 24-hour running record with 266.7 km in 24 hours.
13. Go where you have never been
Probably, many athletes caught themselves thinking that by buying a slot for a race in another city or country, they received a kind of incentive to get out of the routine and go on an adventure. Familiar? If you have never rushed off to another city to run at least 10 kilometers through unfamiliar streets, then this is a real reason to arrange a tour with health benefits. Perhaps you will like it, and in a year you will run through the most picturesque corners of our country, or go along the historical route from Athens to the city of Marathon. Thanks to running, by the age of thirty, Scott Jurek traveled half the world.
14. Know the joy of communication
Long-distance running is primarily a test of loneliness. Sometimes it saves you from everyday hustle and bustle, but daily long runs can evoke a feeling of melancholy and even depression. The brightest moments in our life are connected with meetings with people. Try running with a friend or a running club at least once in a while. Running can put you in touch with amazing people.
15. Look at running from a different angle
Try to do something for the running itself, something related to it. For example, volunteer at the finish line or at the support station, or go to clear a running trail. Offer to help build a starter town and you'll find out how difficult it is to set up a race, what happens behind the scenes. It's an invaluable experience and a wonderful way to be part of the running community and to repay the sport you love.
Buy Eat Right, Run Fast by Scott Jurek hardcover or electronic version
Nothing could stop Scott Jurek during his 3523 km run. Nothing but a root sticking out of the ground.
It was day 38 of his attempt to break the trail record on the legendary Appalachian mountain range that runs along America's east coast.
After a series of injuries and perhaps the wettest June in the history of Vermont, Jurek made it to the White Mountains of New Hampshire. In a semi-conscious state, having slept for only two hours, he was slowly making his way through the forest when this root appeared in his path.
“I knew it would happen, but I didn’t know what to do in such a situation,” recalls Jurek in his memoir North: How I Found My Way While Running the Appalachian Trail.
“What to do: run around this spine or step over? I just couldn't remember. I couldn't remember how to raise my legs. I forgot how a sane person should move.”
Winning the toughest 100km ultra trails and starring in Christopher McDougal's best-selling book Born to Run made Jurek a true long-distance running star. But the Appalachian trail took him to depths he had never been before.
“Imagine that you have to run 100 marathons in a row. On the most difficult and oldest mountains in the world. This will be the Appalachian Trail.” In five weeks of running, the already lean Jurek turned into a running skeleton. His eyes were sunken, the high ammonia in his sweat made him smell like apple cider vinegar, and his mind began to fail.
One night, for a long time, he could not understand where the house with the luminous window came from on the top of the hill, until his friend explained that it was the moon.
“I wanted to find again what I thought I had lost. Check if I have the strength that seemed to be lost. Resurrect the Extinguished Fire" Jurek belongs to a literary tradition in which writers first subject themselves to inhuman trials and then write about their journey to the abyss and back. From Sir Edmund Hillary's history of climbing Everest to long distance swimmer Diana Nyad, the world's strongest men share how and why they accomplish what seems unthinkable to most of us.
By reading such books, we hope to learn to what extent our bodies can be pushed. But what if these top athletes are actually the worst advisers on the subject, and that is why their books are so interesting to read?
Jurek believes that when we reach the line, we are cleansed and transformed.
“Our soul is comforted by contemplating beauty, but it is tempered only in agony”
It is understandable why he relies on the soul - after all, what happens to our bodies during this agony is far from being so beautiful. The pages of Jurek's books are filled with tales of his emaciated and maimed comrades.
In the Appalachians, Jurek was accompanied by Aron Ralston, known for having somehow amputated his arm to get out of the rubble. Jurek's friend Dean Potter, the legendary rock climber and BASE jumper, died during his jump a few days before Jurek started his trail.
“I have known ultramarathoners who have finished with almost complete kidney failure or out of control of their bowels,” says Jurek. He recalls a runner who suffered severe headaches during a 100-mile race and died of a brain aneurysm after the finish.
"It's only been a week on the Appalachian trail and I'm in a world of pain with injuries on both legs" Jurek is a true master at pushing the line. But how he gets there and why, by and large, remains a mystery. Perhaps this is the key to success - not asking yourself "how" and "why".
Although Jurek is very active in experimenting with various non-traditional methods of improving productivity - veganism, Abraham Maslow's theory of self-actualization, the samurai code - he has spent most of his career deliberately ignoring the question: why am I doing this. For athletes of his level, endurance pays off: just keep going.
Science confirms that such unwavering forward movement can be even more important than an athlete's physiological data. Of course, endurance is not just something we have in our heads.
But as journalist Alex Hutchinson explains in Endurance: The Mind, Body, and the Remarkable Resilience of Human Ability, it's the brain that judges stress and dictates when to stop. “The physiology and psychology of endurance are inextricably linked,” says Hutchinson.
“The Appalachian trail was something completely new to me. A multi-day race of such difficulty and an almost uncharted route. On the first day, I felt the same as when I started running as a child.” In the 20th century, it was believed that a person has a certain supply of vital forces, the limits of which can be calculated mathematically.
“Then a person can be compared to a car in which someone put a brick on the gas pedal, and it rushes forward until it runs out of gas or until the radiator burns out,” explains Hutchinson.
But, thanks to recent research on the influence of the mind on the body, more complex analogies have emerged. Think, for example, of your races. On some you fly as if on wings; and on others you barely crawl, as if you had never run before. Physiologists believe that our efforts are limited only by how our brain interprets the body's signals at a given moment. Change your mentality and your sense of boundaries will change too.
Hutchinson names many methods that can help change the mentality. From traditional - positive thinking, visualization, a good diet - to extreme - transcranial brain stimulation or the use of very strong opioids.
“Each time, I burst into the van like a tornado, leaving behind dirt and mess that Jenny (ed. - Scott's wife) had to clean up” And yet, the best mantra is still the good old self-confidence. Of course, no untrained runner can run a 4 minute mile on confidence alone. But research shows that athletes can actually achieve amazing results if they have a strong belief in themselves.
“Training is the cake, believing in yourself is the icing on the cake,” Hutchinson muses, “And sometimes that little icing is everything.”
If we discard all sorts of tricks with electrodes in the skull, what can make a person so unconditionally believe in himself? Perhaps the answer is very simple. All you have to do is avoid introspection. Here Hutchinson, for example, thinks a lot about his productivity, but his achievements cannot be compared with those of Jurek. And Jurek, on the other hand, never thought to delve into himself - until the trail through the Appalachians.
This race was different from the previous ones - Jurek lost faith in victory. He was going through something like a mid-life crisis. In May 2015, Jurek turned 41 years old. He was supposed to stop competing at 40, but he was haunted by the weak (in his opinion) results of the last races.
His wife Jenny had a second miscarriage. Jurek was hit with tons of medical bills and mortgage payments. And in this state, he decided that 84 marathons in a row on the “most difficult and oldest mountains of the planet” would be his salvation.
“Having studied and practiced the art of running for 20 years, I felt that part of the drive that allowed me to give my all in races was gone. I wanted to revive it" And he did not just run - he took up soul-searching along the way. Already seven days after the start of the rocky, slippery trail, Jurek was lost in doubt.
With a torn quadriceps and an inflamed patella, he fell victim to that demon he had been able to elude for so long: “what am I doing here?” he asked himself, limping under the canopy of oak branches. But it would be better if he just kept repeating his age-old mantra: "I do what I do, and it helps me to be myself."
All the while, Jurek was trying to break the record of Jennifer Far Davis, who in 2011 ran the Appalachian trail in 46 days, 11 hours and 20 minutes - averaging 75 kilometers a day.
“Endurance is not one of the traits of a person, it is our main trait,” writes Davis, “We exist as long as we continue to fight.”
With all the obsession of an athlete, Davis dreamed of showing herself what she was capable of, but as a woman, she was able to easily shake off that obsession once the trail was done.
“After the birth of my daughter, I knew that I would no longer be able to pursue my goal with the same tenacity,” writes Davis, “Motherhood did not take away my physical strength, but emotionally I can no longer give all my strength and thoughts to the 46-day trail” .
For Jurek, extreme endurance has always been more of a calling than a choice, and Davis agrees with him: running exploits can no longer define her when it does something else.
Davis still admires endurance, and as she interviews aging trail running record holders, she envies their ongoing obsession.
The post was inspired by reading the incredible book Eat and Run. My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness by Scott Jurek and Steve Friedman.
Reference
Author: Scott Jurek, Steven Friedman
Full title: "Eat Right, Run Fast. Ultra Runner Rules of Life"
Original language: English
Genre: autobiography, sports literature
Year of publication: 2012
Number of pages (A4): 160
Summary of Eat Right, Run Fast by Scott Jurek
Ultramarathons are among the most severe tests of the human body for strength. The main factors for success in such a long run are not strength, endurance, or natural abilities; it is the will, faith in oneself and the ability to force oneself to move on, when every cell of the body screams: no!
The author talks about his life through the prism of running. Even in his difficult childhood, a harsh father and a mother with multiple sclerosis laid in him the qualities that will be useful to him in order to win many different races. From childhood, the author was forced to work a lot around the house, help his younger brother and sister, mother, father. Being the most ordinary child, he began to run away from time to time in order to take a break from household chores and throw off the burden of problems and worries.
Little by little, Scott began to run professionally. His results grew and he soon became one of the fastest runners in his state. Although he did not win the short races, he achieved a lot in the extra long races, winning many of them.
The coach had only three commandments. Be in good shape. Work. And do it for fun.
The author lives, runs, studies. The distances are getting longer, the approach to running is more and more professional and correct. Gradually, Scott becomes a vegetarian, and then a vegan (he also tried a raw food diet, but refused it). The author made all his biggest achievements as a vegan.
Whatever measurable goal you set for yourself, it may turn out to be either unattainable or meaningless. The reward for running, and indeed for anything, is in ourselves. In my quest for sports awards, this lesson had to be learned over and over again. When something external acts as a motivating factor, we forget that it is not the reward for the work done that brings joy and spiritual harmony, but the work itself, done by the radio achievement of the award. As the banal slogan says, "life is a journey, not a destination."
Gradually, Scott becomes famous, his career develops, because he has won almost everything that is possible. At this time, his wife leaves him, his best friend Dusty stops communicating with him, his mother dies, he stops winning. He is looking for the meaning of life and trying to understand what running gave him. His life begins to slowly improve, he understands that running is his life. He starts running again, starts a new family, starts talking to Dusty again and wins again.
Have I been attentive enough to my body, have I eaten consciously, healthy food? Am I training correctly? Have I done my best to reach my limits? These questions help my career, and they can help anyone who is looking for answers to some of their questions. For example, you want to get a promotion at work, get the attention of a girl, or meet the “right” man, or run a 5K with a personal best. But it's not the goal that matters, it's how you achieve it.
Ultramarathons teach this with remorseless directness.
Meaning
Not all pain is worthy of attention.
You have to run until everything falls off, and after that you also need to run, and then another. This is the main motto of the book. To pampered city dwellers, this sounds completely revolutionary, but it's... true. Reading this book, you understand how little you strain yourself, and what a huge potential and margin of safety is not used. You need to stop feeling sorry for yourself, whining and do your thing (whatever it is).
Pain is when it just hurts.
Injuries are our best teachers.
For progress, the author advises doing strength exercises, developing flexibility, working on running technique and ... running faster. Interval training can quickly increase your speed if, for example, you run at a 5:1 ratio (5 minutes of speed work, 1 minute of rest).
And the most difficult thing is that in the ultramarathon you are left alone with your thoughts.
Conclusion
I am sure that many people run ultramarathons for the same reason that others take drugs that affect their mind and mood.
Absolutely crazy book. Couldn't break away. The author so vividly and clearly described what happens to him during the run, that I myself began to run more and further than I ran before. And, most importantly, to get some incredible pleasure from it. Recommended reading even if you don't run!
