26 Facts About Scott Jurek

Scott Gordon Jurek was born on October 26,1973 and is an American ultramarathoner, author, and public speaker.

In 2010, at the 24-Hour World Championships in Brive-la-Gaillarde, France, Scott Jurek won a silver medal behind Shingo Inoue and set a new US record for distance run in 24 hours with 165.7 miles.

In 2015, Scott Jurek set the Fastest Known Time running record for the 2,189-mile Appalachian Trail.

Scott Jurek has followed a vegetarian diet since 1997, and a vegan diet since 1999.

Scott Jurek's childhood involved a strong connection with nature developed through hunting, fishing, and camping with his family.

Scott Jurek began trail running as a child but did not run long distances until his sophomore year in high school when he started cross training with running to prepare for Nordic skiing.

Scott Jurek was the valedictorian of his high school class at Proctor High School.

Scott Jurek attended the College of St Scholastica in Duluth, Minnesota, graduating with a bachelor's degree in Health Science in 1996 and a master's degree in physical therapy in 1998.

In 1999, Scott Jurek won the 100-mile Western States Endurance Run on his first attempt, defeating five-time champion Tim Twietmeyer and becoming only the second non-Californian to win the race.

Scott Jurek would go on to win Western States a record seven consecutive times.

Scott Jurek traveled to Hong Kong with Team Montrail to win the 2001 and 2002 Oxfam Trailwalker 100K team trophies, both years setting new course records.

Scott Jurek was on the winning team of the 2003 Hasegawa Cup Japan Mountain Endurance Run.

In 2005, just a few weeks after winning Western States, Scott Jurek set a new course record in the Badwater Ultramarathon, widely considered one of the world's most difficult races.

Scott Jurek repeated his Badwater victory in 2006, a year that saw his first of three consecutive victories in the Spartathlon, a 153-mile race between Athens and Sparta in Greece.

In 2006, Scott Jurek traveled to Mexico's Copper Canyon with a group of runners including Christopher McDougall and Jenn Shelton to participate in a race against the Tarahumara organized by Micah True, known as "Caballo Blanco".

Scott Jurek narrowly lost to the fastest Tarahumara runner, Arnulfo Quimare, but in 2007 Scott Jurek returned to win the race.

On May 14,2010, in Brive-la-Gaillarde, France, Scott Jurek broke the USATF all-surface record for distance run by an American in 24 hours with 165.7 miles.

Scott Jurek's finish earned him a silver medal and helped the American men's team take a bronze overall.

Scott Jurek was one of dozens who helped in the search for ultrarunner Micah True after True went missing.

In May 2015, Scott Jurek began an attempt to break the supported Appalachian Trail thru-hike speed record, which was 46 days, 11 hours, and 20 minutes to complete the 2,168-mile route.

The littering charge was dismissed, the group size charge was dismissed, and Scott Jurek paid $500 for consuming alcohol against park policies.

Scott Jurek gave up eating meat in 1997 and became totally plant based in 1999, motivated by the belief that poor nutrition was responsible for the chronic illnesses he saw in his family and in his physical therapy patients.

When Scott Jurek was very young, his mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

Scott Jurek wrote a follow-up book, North, with his wife Jenny Jurek in 2018 about his attempt at the fastest known time on the Appalachian Trail.

Scott Jurek enjoys running, yoga, cycling, hiking, Nordic skiing, and trail maintenance.

Scott Jurek is an accomplished amateur chef who enjoys cooking plant-based meals inspired by his world travels.