Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness

✍ Scribed by Jurek, Scott; Friedman, Steve

• Book ID: 108229426
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Year: 2012
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 2 MB
• Category: Fiction
• ISBN-13: 9780547569659

✦ Synopsis

For nearly two decades, Scott Jurek has been a dominant force—and darling—in the grueling and growing sport of ultrarunning. In 1999, as a complete unknown, he took the lead of the Western States Endurance Run, a 100-mile traverse over the old Gold Rush trails of the California Sierra Nevada. He won that race seven years in a row, setting a course record along the way. Twice he won the Badwater Ultramarathon, a 135-mile “jaunt” through Death Valley. Recently he set an American record of 165.7 miles in 24 hours—6 1/2 marathons in one day. And he was one of the elite runners who traveled to Mexico to run with the Tarahumara Indians, as profiled in the bestseller Born to Run. His accomplishments are nothing short of extraordinary, but that he has achieved all of this on a plant-based diet makes his story all the more so.

In Eat and Run , Scott Jurek opens up about his life and career—as an elite athlete and a vegan—and inspires runners at every level. From his Midwestern childhood hunting, fishing, and cooking for his meat-and-potatoes family, to his early beginnings in running (he hated it), to his slow transition to ultrarunning and veganism, to his world-spanning, record-breaking races, Scott’s story shows the power of an iron will and blows apart all the stereotypes of what athletes should eat to fuel optimal performance. Chock-full of incredible, on-the-brink stories of endurance and competition, fascinating science, and accessible practical advice—including his own favorite plant-based recipes— Eat and Run will motivate everyone to “go the distance,” whether that means getting out for that first run, expanding your food horizons, or simply exploring the limits of your own potential.

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Best Books of the Month, June 2012 : While many of us sit behind a desk for eight or nine hours a day, Scott Jurek is running. A legend among hard-core runners, Jurek has fashioned a lucrative career as an ultramarathoner. He runs, and wins, grueling races in excess of 100 miles, in a wide array of usually inhospitable environments: Death Valley, the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Mexico’s Copper Canyon. And he does it on a completely plant-based diet. In Eat and Run , Jurek tells the story of how an average Midwestern kid growing up on meat he caught or killed himself became a vegan elite athlete. Part memoir, part training guide, part vegan manifesto, Jurek’s most inspiring proposal here is that running—like so many things in life—is less dependent on physical skill than it is on willpower. Runners of all levels, meat-eaters, and vegans alike will be inspired to lace up their sneaks and hit the trails. --Juliet Disparte

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*Photographs from Eat and Run *

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The Tarahumara were known for their grace and speed. The fastest and most graceful of them all was Arnulfo Quimare, and to this day I consider him one of my noblest competitors.In 2005, two weeks after my seventh consecutive Western States 100 victory, I set out to conquer the Badwater Ultramarathon, a 135-mile endurance slog through Death Valley. Mile 12, 120 degrees, and I'm leading. What could go wrong?At 48miles in, I was over 5 miles behind, considered quitting, and decided that yes, those who described the insanity of the Badwater were right.In 2010, New York Times columnist Mark Bittman interviewed me. Before any questions, he opened his fridge and asked me to prepare a meal. I whipped up a veggie and tofu stir fry with homemade Indonesian almond sauce and quinoa.

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Review

"The surprise here isn't that Scott Jurek knows a lot about nutrition—I especially love his "Holy Moly Guacamole" recipe. Or that he ran prodigious mileage to prepare for his many ultramarathon victories. More impressively, we discover that Jurek studied many of the great philosophers, and used their lessons to focus his running. In pursuing the mental side of endurance, Jurek uncovers the most important secrets any runner can learn." —Amby Burfoot, winner of the 1968 Boston Marathon and author of *The Runner’s Guide to the Meaning of Life

_"What a triumph —both Scott Jurek's life and this one-of-a-kind book. I've seen Scott in action as he defies unimaginable challenges, and thanks to this breathtakingly personal account, I finally understand how he does it. He rebuilt himself literally from the inside out, and the result is a man—and a story—unlike any other." —Christopher McDougall, best-selling author of _Born to Run*

"This is the inspiring story of an inspired man. Scott Jurek's phenomenal success as an ultramarathoner demonstrates that meat and other animal foods are not necessary for optimum health, strength, and endurance." —Andrew Weil, M.D. author of Spontaneous Happiness and 8 Weeks to Optimum Health