By Guest Blogger on April 12, 2010

Scott Jurek’s Personal Marathon

Scott Jurek

By Geoff Cohen

Standing relaxed and confident before a full house at NYC’s Jack Rabbit Sports, Scott Jurek began speaking to a rapt audience. He discussed training, running, and his race against the Tarahumara Indians through Mexico’s Copper Canyon. He is uniquely qualified to talk about these topics. He brings the practical knowledge gained from winning seven consecutive Western States 100-mile ultra marathons, the “book” knowledge earned from a degree in physical therapy, and the experience from his race in the Copper Canyon as described in the current bestselling book “Born to Run.” Add to these accomplishments his recent selection to the USA National Team for the 2010 24-Hour World Championships (where the name of the game is to run farther than anyone else in 24 hours!), and the appellation “greatest ultra runner of all time” rings true.

After his presentation, we talk more. Scott comes across as an engaging man, one seeking to inspire and motivate people, to encourage them to move toward a healthy lifestyle. He truly wants to show people how, by combining fitness and nutrition, we can each reach a balanced and healthy state of being.

From the twinned experiences of caring for his mother stricken with Multiple Sclerosis and observing the disease-ridden while pursuing his studies, he started to wonder whether modifying our behaviors could help fight disease. Adding what he learned from his schoolwork, Jurek began examining the link between diet and health. Looking to explore that idea further, he read Andrew Weil’s books “8 Weeks to Optimal Health” and “Spontaneous Healing.” These influenced him to explore new ways to make himself healthier.

Scott wanted to maintain a sense of personal balance, so he started dabbling, bringing different ideas together to see what worked for him, his body, and its physiology. This led him to try vegetarianism in 1997. In 1999, at the urging of friends, he read the books of Howard Lyman and decided that, if a third generation cattle rancher could turn vegan, then he could adopt a vegan lifestyle. Fortunately, his mother had taught him to embrace cooking and not fear the kitchen. Empowered, Scott started experimenting with and enjoying new foods and dishes.

As we talked, we moved to discussing his dietary choices. We talked about a typical Jurek breakfast: most days he would eat fruit smoothies, often made with soy yogurt, with chia added for a nutritional kick and Udo’s oil as a quality fat source. On other days, he’d eat sprouted Ezekiel bread with almond butter or hot grain cereals.

Since he has special expertise on the topic of nutrition during training and competition, we focused on his food choices while exercising. For a short race or run, Scott usually doesn’t eat beforehand. When running more than 2 hours, he turns to liquid calories, usually drinking smoothies, or perhaps he eats a banana. Post run, he is a big believer in glycogen replacement. Within 20-30 minutes after a run he consumes around 100 grams of carbohydrates. He uses sports drinks to replace fluids and add carbohydrates and protein. He often eats energy or sports bars, favoring the Clif Bar products which use whole foods like brown rice as their base.

On the trail, he eats a mix of sports foods and solid foods, including bean and rice burritos, bananas, potatoes and rice balls with sushi. He discovered the rice balls at the recommendation of some running friends while racing in Japan, finding the rice balls easily digestible.

Being in balance means considering both diet and exercise, so we moved to talking about his exercise and workout habits. Since he trains for extremely long runs, he logs 100 to 130 miles per week, often running two long 35 mile days back to back. For him, running has evolved from an activity to get himself in shape for the cross country ski team to something he relishes for the pure challenge it presents. He says “to me, as crazy as it sounds, I like the feeling of waking up and thinking I’m going to run 100 miles today,” something that still, to him, feels wild and beyond comprehension. Scott experienced some of his best and worst racing moments at mile 70 of his first Badwater Ultramarathon. Having hit rock bottom, he was lying, exhausted and sick, on the ground. A friend yelled at him, urging him to get up and run. He listened, looked up at the stars, and felt something deep inside him click. He stood up, found a new strength, and started running. From the depths of despair he went on to win that race. It is that journey, the unknown arc that each race becomes, that appeals to him, since you never know when “you have to reach deep and find something special inside you.”

Yet fitness is not only about running; he also hikes, uses a bicycle for transportation and pursues a vinyasa-based yoga practice, which he mixes with meditation and breath work. Since during his running he feels that he is “going, going, going,” it is yoga, combined with breath work and meditation, that gives him a chance to slow down for a bit and gain more bodily awareness.

He urges everyone to exercise. For those new to exercise, he suggests they reach out and find a support group, whether through workout buddies, trainers, sports clubs, or online groups. He notes that many people think they could never run 5 miles, or 10 miles, or a marathon, but by applying themselves and surrounding themselves with supportive people, who knows what can be accomplished?

Ultimately, though it is about our personal races, the race of our individual lives. With people like Scott Jurek inspiring us, teaching us to embrace life’s challenges, and showing us to not fear trying new things, we can all find healthier and better ways to enjoy the journey of our own personal ultra marathons.

Geoff Cohen lives in New York City, where he writes on a broad variety of topics, works as a General Manager and Producer in the theatre and works on concert production.

 

 

   
 

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