Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness Author: Scott Jurek | Language: English | ISBN:
B005OCHOZS | Format: PDF
Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness Description
“In pursuing the mental side of endurance, Jurek uncovers the most important secrets any runner can learn.”—Amby Burfoot, author of The Runner’s Guide to the Meaning of Life
For nearly two decades, Scott Jurek has been a dominant force—and darling—in the grueling and growing sport of ultrarunning. Until recently he held the American 24-hour record and he was one of the elite runners profiled in the runaway bestseller Born to Run.
In Eat and Run, Jurek opens up about his life and career as a champion athlete with a plant-based diet and inspires runners at every level. From his Midwestern childhood hunting, fishing, and cooking for his meat-and-potatoes family to his slow transition to ultrarunning and veganism, Scott’s story shows the power of an iron will and blows apart the stereotypes of what athletes should eat to fuel optimal performance. Full of stories of competition as well as science and practical advice—including his own recipes—Eat and Run will motivate readers and expand their food horizons.
“Jurek’s story and ideas should easily manage to speak to and cheer on anyone seeking to live life as fully as possible.”—Denver Post
“A shockingly honest, revealing, and inspiring memoir.”—Trail Runner
- File Size: 11091 KB
- Print Length: 273 pages
- Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1408833409
- Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (June 5, 2012)
- Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
- Language: English
- ASIN: B005OCHOZS
- Text-to-Speech: Enabled
X-Ray:
- Lending: Not Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,436 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #3
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Exercise & Fitness > Running & Jogging - #3
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Sports > Individual Sports > Running & Jogging - #10
in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Exercise & Fitness > Running & Jogging
- #3
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Exercise & Fitness > Running & Jogging - #3
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Sports > Individual Sports > Running & Jogging - #10
in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Exercise & Fitness > Running & Jogging
Scott Jurek had me from the prologue through the very last word. The book arrived on a day when I had no time for reading it. Or so I thought. Just a peek, I told myself. I opened it and flew away with the runner, the skinny adolescent, the determined athlete, the world-renowned ultrarunner, the vegan. Many hours later having reached the end, I was finally able to put it down. That is some book!
The writing is crisp and vivid. The running is sweaty, painful, uplifting. Sometimes you are face down in Death Valley dry heaving and doubtful you can go on, sometimes you are jubilant in victory, always you are mesmerized, captivated, held in the grip of a writer who has something to say and knows how to say it. The book is written with certainty, determination, and nerve. Jurek grabs you and holds on just as he holds on to his dreams and aspirations. His father taught him "Don't ask why. Sometimes you just do things." The theme continues throughout the book, throughout Jurek's career. It is a rule that makes for hard lessons, but lessons that serve him well.
Along the way the author introduces us to fascinating characters, among them Dusty, his favorite last of the race pacer, his father, the disciplinarian and complicated man who eventually balloons to 280 pounds but urges his son to give up his vegan diet, his mother, the creative cook and loving early force in his life whose own life-force was sapped and eventually stamped out by multiple sclerosis.
The book is unified by three compelling themes: the running itself, the joys and requirements of food and eating, and deep spiritual discovery. All work together just as all have worked together to make Jurek the outstanding man and runner that he is.
I learned so much from this book.
Scott Jurek's book, Eat & Run, is inspiring in so many ways. Although I don't (yet) aspire to be an ultramarathoner, I am a consistent runner (max out at 26.2 races) who greatly appreciates the solitude, freedom, introspection, and feeling of wholeness that comes from running. This is not a book just for ultra-runners. For anybody who is serious about body/mind/spirit issues, I think this book is an excellent resource whether a recreational runner, a frequent racer (no matter the distance), cyclists, and even elite athletes from other sports who will appreciate the discussion about performance, nutrition, competition, camaraderie, and self-doubts.
A handful of things I appreciated about the book:
- The coming of age aspect of the book: In this sense, Scott's life journey is told more like a novel than a biography. The transparency into Scott's life (both good stuff and bad stuff) as it related to his underdog social status as a kid, his relationship challenges with his father, the tragedy with his mother's sickness, and his circle of friends helped create a meaningful feeling of a kid who faced both normal and abnormal struggles in life while searching for meaning and striving to overcome.
- Character development: Again, although this is not a novel, Scott and Steve Friedman did a fantastic job developing the various `characters' in the book. We got to know people really well.
Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness Preview
Link
Please Wait...