Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness

by Scott Jurek

The best way out is always through.

You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are. —Kurt Cobain

everyone is capable of achieving. Never let anyone discourage you when trying to pursue a goal or a dream.

Always do what you are afraid to do. —George Bernard Shaw

What’s important isn’t what part of the foot you strike but where it strikes. It should land slightly in front of your center of mass or right underneath it. When you have a high stride rate and land with the body centered over the foot, you won’t be slamming down hard, even if you connect with the heel.

Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will. —Mahatma Gandhi

The mountains are calling and I must go. —John Muir

Snow. Sun. Sandstone. Sky. He was doing what he liked and knew. It was now. And this now had no pressure, just permission. —James Galvin

But the next morning I didn’t want to get out of bed. I could hear music. It was the siren song of a warm bed, a cozy couch, a few hours of reading, or listening to music, or just being. No one was forcing me to run. No one said I had to. No one was going to die if I just relaxed a little. Those were the lyrics of the song. It was the catchy, terrible tune that had seduced so many runners to drop out of races. It was a melody I could not afford to listen to. The song was calling: Rest. You just ran one mountain. No need to do another.

If you are not on the edge, you are taking up too much room. —Randy “Macho Man” Savage

All I had to do was remember why I was here, what I wanted—how bad I had wanted it. I had faced difficulties before. You work through them. The lung-burning climbs and quad-pounding descents? A small price to pay for entry into the promised land I had dreamt about.

If you could walk a mile in my shoes you’d be crazy too. —Tupac Shakur

Winning felt great. Kicking ass—especially the asses of so many who had said I was doomed—was a sensation that all but the most spiritually evolved or brain-fried would enjoy. I had set a goal and achieved it. I had pushed myself to what I thought were the outer limits of my capabilities and then pushed farther—on a vegan diet. Being crowned a champion was good for both my mind and my soul.