Scott Jurek’s Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness
Scott Jurek is a combination of fierce competitor, Zen master racer and boy-next-door. Having dominated the renowned Western States 100 trail race for many years on a plant-based diet, his new book, Eat & Run tells the story of his success. I recall chatting with Scott several years ago concerning his desire to write a book about his diet. This story of his running life is the result of that need to share, and any reader with an interest in running and healthy eating will be glad he did.
Part deeply honest memoir and part vegan cookbook, Scott warms us up with the challenges of his childhood in the Midwest amidst the world of ski racing. He then embraces running and ultra running while delving into his complete diet metamorphosis. As Scott’s story matures so does his book—he lets us in slowly and deeply as his own self-discovery blossoms.
As Eat & Run reveals the inner workings of a champion while exploring the world of plant-based diets, Scott asks himself the same questions we all ponder, while inspiring runners at all levels. And in the end he remains in the challenge of continuing to expand as an athlete while seeking how he can most authentically play that out. “We all lose sometimes. We fail to get what we want. Friends and loved ones leave. We make a decision we regret. We try our hardest and come up short. It’s not the losing that defines us. It’s how we lose. It’s what we do afterward.”
And what we do after reading this gem is change up our diet and lace-up our running shoes. Eat & Run is a solid read by a really great guy.
— By Terri Schneider
What do you do when your athletic career has taken a dive …… write a book of coarse. I wasn’t impressed with this read, and should have noted the Amazon reviews prior to purchase. It’s obvious the review above is just a marketing plug. It would be refreshing to find a running book that isn’t full of psychological anguish or based on the latest gimmick or fad. Endurance sports authors seem to be obsessed on healing past traumas, trading one addiction for another, filling the pages with excuses for lackluster results, or somehow searching for an out of body religious experience. The successful runners I admire the most have this common thread. They eat what makes them feel the best, wear shoes that don’t hurt their feet, are beyond modest, are so confident they don’t need to talk about themselves or care what anyone else is doing, they don’t have an addictive mind that needs an escape route, and simply run because they love to run. But I guess that would be a pretty short read.