Eat and Run by Scott Jurek
I discovered Scott Jurek when reading Born to Run by Chris McDougall (my last review). I was delighted to find not just another runner with the belief that plant based protein could sustain an healthy, athletic lifestyle, but also one who regularly ran and won challenging mountainous ultramarathons! It didn’t take me long upon discovering that he had written a book (titled with two of my favourite activities!) promising not just a deeper insight into this character but also a scattering of recipes, to get hold of a copy and dive straight in.
The book give a very personal, autobiographical account of his life including interesting discussions on how childhood experiences and upbringing can affect ‘mental toughness’; the ability of an athlete to endure where others might not. These stories, that continue through ‘high’ school (well, he is American!) experiences, various sporting activities and the inevitable tales of loves and losses, are liberally interspersed with various recipes as well as bite sized (pun intended) hints and tips on running. Many of these are linked to aspects of the story, which I especially enjoyed as it felt almost as though I was getting an opportunity to connect with the text on a sensory or physical level too.
Jurek strikes a balance between running and fuelling as well as other parts of life that have affected his decisions and life path, and doesn’t flinch from sharing darker times as well as happier moments. I found I appreciated this, as far from expressing these in a self-pitying manner he uses them as an opportunity to discuss recovery, from not just physical injuries but also failure and personal strife.
This book is of course great for veggie runners (despite having followed a non-animal diet since the age of 10, I learned a few tricks!), but also for anyone who enjoys stories and cookery books! Though food and a plant based diet is of course important to the concept, Jurek avoids being preachy and so I am confident that proud carnivores (mostly, though not exclusively ones who run) would also find interest and enjoyment in many aspects of it.
One of the author’s favourite quotes (each chapter is sub-headed with a motivational tit-bit) is “Sometimes you just do things” (and no, he’s not, to the best of my knowledge sponsored by Nike) you could do a lot worse than following this advice when it comes to both your tougher training runs and sitting down to read this book!
I discovered Scott Jurek when reading Born to Run by Chris McDougall (my last review). I was delighted to find not just another runner with the belief that plant based protein could sustain an healthy, athletic lifestyle, but also one who regularly ran and won challenging mountainous ultramarathons! It didn’t take me long upon discovering that he had written a book (titled with two of my favourite activities!) promising not just a deeper insight into this character but also a scattering of recipes, to get hold of a copy and dive straight in.
The book give a very personal, autobiographical account of his life including interesting discussions on how childhood experiences and upbringing can affect ‘mental toughness’; the ability of an athlete to endure where others might not. These stories, that continue through ‘high’ school (well, he is American!) experiences, various sporting activities and the inevitable tales of loves and losses, are liberally interspersed with various recipes as well as bite sized (pun intended) hints and tips on running. Many of these are linked to aspects of the story, which I especially enjoyed as it felt almost as though I was getting an opportunity to connect with the text on a sensory or physical level too.
Jurek strikes a balance between running and fuelling as well as other parts of life that have affected his decisions and life path, and doesn’t flinch from sharing darker times as well as happier moments. I found I appreciated this, as far from expressing these in a self-pitying manner he uses them as an opportunity to discuss recovery, from not just physical injuries but also failure and personal strife.
This book is of course great for veggie runners (despite having followed a non-animal diet since the age of 10, I learned a few tricks!), but also for anyone who enjoys stories and cookery books! Though food and a plant based diet is of course important to the concept, Jurek avoids being preachy and so I am confident that proud carnivores (mostly, though not exclusively ones who run) would also find interest and enjoyment in many aspects of it.
One of the author’s favourite quotes (each chapter is sub-headed with a motivational tit-bit) is “Sometimes you just do things” (and no, he’s not, to the best of my knowledge sponsored by Nike) you could do a lot worse than following this advice when it comes to both your tougher training runs and sitting down to read this book!
