Eat and Run
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.
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What Hacker News says
- For more running related books you should check out "Once a Runner" by John L. Parker Jr. [1], and "Eat and Run" by Scott Jurek [2].
[1] http://www.amazon.com/dp/1441800905 [2] http://www.amazon.com/dp/0544002318
- Then you should definitely check out his book "Eat and Run". http://www.amazon.com/Eat-Run-Unlikely-Ultramarathon-Greatne...
- Read both fiction and non-fiction but really got back into fiction this year. I was job searching for the majority of the year and as cheesy as it may sound, it feels like reading brought childlike magic back into my life. Here are my favorites:
1. The Girl Who Fell Beneath The Sea by Axie Oh 2. The Leviathan by Rosie Andrews 3. The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow 4. Daughter of the Moon Gooddess by Sue Lynn Tan
1. I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy 2. Eat & Run by Scott Jurek 3. Center Center by James Whiteside 4. The Color of Water by James McBride
(Two books I recommend that I read last year: The Signature of All Things and Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert)
- First few suggestions all sent me to sites that were down... also the search seems to not work great. I searched for: "Eat & Run Scott Jurek", and it couldn't find the book. But if I search for "Run eat run", it's the first suggestion, even though the search title is less correct and missing the author's name.
- Indeed. I just finished two books[1] by authors who were at one time the best in the world at their sports, and they are virtually unheard of. There's amazing athletic talent in the world that is hardly ever recognized.
[1] Eat and Run by Scott Jurek and Swimming to Antarctica by Lynne Cox. Two very amazing endurance athletes.
- I don't say this boastfully as I feel a lot of it was a waste of time
I try to read a few "classics" now and then, and I definitely read more than just sci-fi. I like history, philosophy, biographies, etc., as well. But you touch on something we all have to struggle with: Time. There are only so many hours in the day to read, and every time I sit down to read, I have to make a decision on whether or not what I'm thinking about reading is a good use of my time.
So... I'm going to get a certain amount of raw "escapism", pop-fiction stuff, that I need just to stay sane. That's a given. Now, how much time do I have left to read Homer, or obscure French and Russian "literature"? And to what end? Just to impress hipster douche-bags and self-appointed "intellectuals"? Or because reading that stuff is actually going to add value to my life? Is reading Madame Bovary or Anna Karenina going to do more for me than reading Teach Yourself Haskell in 21 Days or Asimov's "Foundation Trilogy" books, or whatever?
The last few books I've read (other than technical books) include Run by Dean Karnazes, Born to Run by McDougal, The Belgian Hammer by Lee, Eat & Run by Scott Jurek, Racing Through the Dark by David Millar, Slaying the Badger by Moore, Running on Empty by Marshall Ulrich and The Secret Race by Tyler Hamilton. Would I be better off if I'd spent that time reading "literature" instead? I don't know, but I'm sceptical.
OTOH, I have a whole pile of stuff lying here by Nietzsche, Kieerkegard, Hume, Foucalt, etc., that I'm planning to work through. But I'm reading it just because I find it interesting, not because I see it as having any more inherent value than "low brow" literature.
