"My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness"

Scott Jurek is one of the most famous ultra-runners out there, so if you have an inkling of the sport, then you may well have heard of him. Having said that, most people won't know much about these runners who go way past what is generally covered in the media and discussed among the masses.

They're a rare breed and they don't really have a huge amount of fame but crack on with what they do.

In this book, Jurek discusses 2 main aspects stemming from his experience and that may help the reader - eating and running (the clue was in the title ;)). As in, these are the two most important things and they go hand in hand. Running is what this chap does, and eating is required by all but how you go about that is what separates those that can achieve these sorts of feats.

I recently covered Born to Run which featured Jurek, so this book goes well with that if you want to delve further. In fact, that may even have been what led me to this book!

Ok, let's see what ol' Scotty has to say…

Highlighted Parts of the Book, Followed by My Musings

“Stotan,” which he explained as a combination of Stoic and Spartan.

Combining a couple of elements here for optimum effect. Stotan is also a book by Chris Crutcher.

Stoicism is a school of philosophy that hails from ancient Greece and Rome is about living a life that maximises positive emotions, reduces negative ones and helps individuals to hone their virtues of character.

Marcus Aurelius, Seneca and more were early famous users of this way of living. In more modern times, Tim Ferriss and Ryan Holiday base a lot of their work around these philosophies.

There are also a few books in this series that touch on much of this, so a central theme of bringing the ancient and the modern together in the best way. As it's not a religion but more of a way of thinking/being, then it can work for all and focuses on mindset and behaviours, rather than external deities or forces.

Sparta was one of the most dominant of all the Greek city-states, and is most often remembered for their athletic and militaristic values. Of course, Spartans were their warriors who lived by a certain code. So in the modern day, Spartanism is a devotion to the habits and qualities of the ancient Spartans, especially to an indomitable spirit, undaunted hardihood, and stark simplicity.

Thus being combined for a super combo!

bushido, the culture of ancient Japanese warriors, who espoused courage, simplicity, honor, and self-sacrifice.

Bushido is another culture discussed, this time coming from the Japanese. A moral code concerning Samurai attitudes, behaviour and lifestyle. It's much about letting go of the past and the future and focusing on the moment.

There's a theme here and how it all ties together, suggesting running in this fashion is more a spiritual pursuit rather than a mere foot race.

Source

Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now and Dan Millman’s Way of the Peaceful Warrior and Bone Games by Rob Schultheis.

Highlighted as books to read/reread. I haven't read Way of the Peaceful Warrior but did read Tolle's The Power of Now a few years back. I had hard copies of that and A New Earth but I left them somewhere on my travels. Could be time to revisit them and report back here!

Running Wild: An Extraordinary Adventure of the Human Spirit, by John Annerino; Running and Being: The Total Experience, by George Sheehan; and The Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei, by John Stevens.

Some more books to be getting on with…

Tendai Buddhism kaihogyo

The Tendai monks believe that enlightenment can be achieved during your current life, but only through extreme self–denial. For the Tendai, the ultimate act of self–denial — and the route to enlightenment — is a physical challenge known as the Kaihogyo.

book called Raw Power

Another book! Looks like my highlights were mainly to other works, but interesting enough to bookmark. This one is by Thor Bazler and discusses the power of - you guessed it - raw foods, superfoods and building strength and muscle naturally.

satori

Back with the ancient philosophies! Satori is a Japanese Buddhist term for awakening, and is derived from the Japanese verb satoru. A journey of discovery and understanding, leading to enlightenment.

More evidence of a depth to where eating and running following certain principles leads you in this direction. I mean, what's going through your mind after 50 miles?

When you run on the earth and with the earth, you can run forever. —Raramuri Proverb

Rarámuri is another name for the Tarahumara running tribe discussed a couple of articles back, and this is a central tenet of their beliefs. By the way, Born to Run was published in 2009, Eat & Run in 2012, so this book by Jurek is since McDougall's work.

Racing flats and minimal shoes

Now we get back into the specifics of putting foot to ground. There were several sections in Born to Run where we went in to the mechanics. Or at least the debate over how best to run and what footwear to use / not use. This is another vote for minimalism over modern 'improvement' devices.

It dives a bit deeper in the book and obviously covers a few more mechanics too, along with recipes.

Sometimes you just do things

This was a recurrent phrase use through the book. Perhaps similar to when they asked why one of the early climbers wanted to scale Everest: because it was there.

Thanks Scott! Anything Else?

As I said in the intro, Scott Jurek is a legend of the ultra-running space and is a force in those circles.

This lifestyle isn't for everyone of course, and you may have no desire to run these sorts of lengths, but it's a good insight into the mindset of these people, as well as being able to apply this wisdom to our perhaps humbler means.

Recommended for anyone into running but also those curious as to what goes on in this world, as well as getting some diet and training tips that may help you get more out of your exercise and life.

And of course, be sure to check out Born to Run as this complements that well. There are parts of David Goggins' antics that involve races with Jurek present.

Another running book I read around the same time was What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami (of Norwegian Wood fame) which is another to get your teeth into. No BookBabble on that though… yet.

Eat and run… what more do you need!

First image my own, other linked to source

Check out the others in the series…

BookBabble #41: "Eat & Run" by Scott Jurek

Highlighted Parts of the Book, Followed by My Musings

Thanks Scott! Anything Else?