Scott Jurek tells about his personal life, running career, and adventures in food, with lots of small tales about friendship, hardship and perseverance. He gives tips on life, cooking and running. A blend of three different things, this book feels more balanced and REAL than all other books on running I've read. ( )

one of the more enjoyable books I have read about running. Scott Jurek is a remarkable athlete but he also seems to be an interesting person who describes his thoughts on life, relationships and how that relates to his ultra running. He is also a committed vegan and preaches that philosophy in an occasionally heavy handed way but mostly by sharing the benefits he has personally seen AND by sharing recipies. I am a happy omnivore but there are many recipies in this book that I hope to try. ( )

I can see why objectively I've been told this one is better, but I preferred NORTH. I felt this one lacked the driving storyline and momentum that the other had, but hey, I'm a plot-driven fiction person, who's surprised? Also wanted more on the relationships and friendships he built over the years, which came across far more in NORTH. Did love all the stuff about growing up--I think that was the strongest part. But am glad I read this, and do recommend, if at least for the treasure trove of vegan recipes. ( )

Hmm, hmm

This isn't exactly a great piece of literature, but I always love reading about running, and in that sense it was inspiring. As a vegan, I also appreciatedt the recipes!

As a vegan, I also appreciated reading about someone who does incredible physical feats on a vegan diet, since people always assume we are near-starving protein deprived shells of human-beings (yes, still, in 2019). Obviously that's not the case.

Fun fact: it didn't occur to me until I read this book that I got a lot better at running, running more and longer than ever before, feeling more motivated than ever, around the same time I became a vegan. I'm also blessed to be mostly injury free, even when I run long distances.

But here's the thing ... that's anecdotal. The same was most of what Scott Jurek says is anecdotal. I don't know if a vegan diet makes you run faster, I absolutely believe it can be healthier, and if he's inspired people to become vegan with his book, that's great. But nowhere in the books does he talk about the ehtical aspects of veganism (there's a very brief mention of it early on, but not in depth), and for me that's a more important angle than health. Especially since he claims there's science behind it being much healthier and better for runners, but I didn't find any source for that science.

The book also ends on a depressing note, which made me lower the score. It's so much about how he runs different races, feels pain, then keeps going, and then when you get to parts with more substance it just sort of ends. We never get to know Scott Jurek on more than a surface-level.

But as always after reading a book about running, I really wanna go for a long run right now. And I need to attempt an ultra-marathon at some point ... ( )

It was an odd experience to find the book simultaneously so inspiring and yet find the author so irritating. Fiercely competitive in the way that turned me off anything athletic for 90% of my life, sexist (eff anyone using the word "Chicked" to describe the humiliation (*eyeroll*) of being passed by *gasp* a woman), and not without at least one racial slur.

Still, for some reason I persisted, and I did really resonate with the idea of "doing what needs to be done" and pushing through challenges instead of giving up.

Would I recommend it to others? Probably not. I bet there are way more inspiring books out there by people that wouldn't bug me as much. Still, I suppose that having found this on the side of the road in a free box it was worth every penny. ( )

I'm never going to run a marathon in this lifetime, never mind an ultramarathon, but I love reading about the crazy people who devote themselves to running these punishing races of 50, 100, 150 miles.

I first came across Scott Jurek's name when I read Christopher McDougall's Born to Run (which is an excellent read). For a long time Jurek was lauded as king of the ultramarathons, repeat winner of numerous infamous ultra races, and I was interested in his back story. How does someone get into this sport - are they top athletes at school, or does something else propel them along the way? What keeps them going in the most gruelling of competitions?

Jurek focuses on being bullied at school and how he was the most unlikely of ultramarathon champions. That may be true of his younger school years, but as a teenager he started competing at national level in cross-country skiing, a sport that requires huge amounts of endurance. His home life was difficult - he was a carer to a mother disabled by MS and had a fractious relationship with his father - and he believes he built up a level of resilience and self-sufficiency most of his peers didn't have at that young age. Running came as a way of building up stamina for skiing, and he was also positively influenced in keeping going by his friend Dusty, a troubled teen who excelled at sport and long distance running in particular whilst creating chaos wherever he went.

This memoir is an interesting account of Jurek's running career, and how a casual running hobby quickly morphed into him becoming one of the greatest ultramarathon runners of his era (if not the greatest). Jurek uses the long distances, great outdoors and mind control over pain and exhaustion to transport himself somewhere where everyday life can't reach him. It's incredible his dedication to his art, particularly as back in this era of the 90s / early Noughties there was little money to be made from ultramarathon victories. There's something incredibly admirable about how pure his drive is, this need to reach a spiritual nirvana and simply live a life that's very in touch with food and nature.

Each chapter ends with some tips on running and a vegan recipe. Early on in his running career Jurek transitioned to veganism, driven by how much better his body performed and recovered when he moved away from processed food and meat to whole foods. Although I doubt I'll ever commit to that eating path, I'm interested in how plant based eating has really taken hold at elite athlete level.

4 stars - recommended for anyone who enjoys the psychology behind what makes a great sporting hero. ( )

Scott Jurek is truly amazing. The only problems with this book are that it never quite manages to convey what his driving force is and it inures you to just how ridiculously harsh these events are. ( )

AQUEST LLIBRE RECULL LA MEVA RECERCA I LES MEVES IDEES. TOT I QUE ESPERO QUE T'INSPIRIN PER TREURE EL MÀXIM PROFIT DE TU MATEIX Y DE LA TEVA VIDA, TINGUIS MOLT EN COMPTE QUE JO NO SOC METGE; AIXI QUE POTS SEGUIR ELS CONSELLS D'AQUEST LLIBRE, PERO EN CAP CAS SUBSTITUEIXEN LA CONSULTA AMB UN PROFESIONAL DE LA SALUT. ( )

Despite the vegan preaching (which he claims not to do) it's a great book about running, life and pseudo philosophy/science. Entertaining read. ( )

Scott Jurek is an ultramarathoner. Actually, he's not just any ultramarathoner, he's pretty much the best one in the world. Or was in his prime, anyways. Eat and Run is part his autobiography, part vegan recipe book and part fascinating look into the world of ultrarunning and its wild personalities, chiefly among them, naturally, the author, who will have already been familiar to many readers as one of the protagonists of running bestseller Born to Run.

Eat and Run is very personal, as Jurek does not shy away from discussing intimate details of his life, starting from early childhood in the Minnesota woods, where his family led a hard life in the cabin at the end of a dead-end road. Jurek talks in many chapters of his transformation from a shy adolescent to a more confident person, making many friendships through endurance training, first as a Nordic skier, then ultramarathoner.

This is good, especially since he doesn't shy away from self-reflection and identification of flaws in his own character, at least in the early parts. In later chapters, a bit more self-criticism would be warranted, as for example, he seems somewhat surprised at his marriage problems. Come on dude, you're running 30 miles a day solo, moving halfway across the country to live in your in-laws' basement to train, running two-day ultramarathons, making zero money - how can you be surprised about the relationship problems? A bit more acknowledgement on how selfish this sport can be would not have hurt.

At the end of every chapter there is a vegan recipe. You see, Jurek is a vegan, which definitely strikes me as somewhat surprising for such an extreme endurance athlete. He talks about nutrition a lot, which is of course expected given how much an important part of his life that is (plus definitely useful to any athletes reading the book - probably a big part of the audience), however, I did find the vegan push to be a bit too strong. In all fairness though, the book is titled Eat and Run, so I can't say I wasn't warned.

All in all, a surprisingly good read, commendable for its honesty, openness and personal touch.





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Very quirky yet enjoyable and even inspirational. Scott Jurek is a likeable, if not exactly relatable, runner. I'm not sure I'll ever attempt an ultra, but this book has me energized for my marathon training. ( )

This man is also crazy. I found him much more genuine and palatable than Kazarnes (sp?). Insidethe mind of an ultrarunner. ( )

I'm reading this now and although I have no desire to be an ultra anything, I'm enjoying reading about Scott's journey. The nutrition aspect is very very interesting and also the tips he gives on running, breathing, etc. ( )

I'm reading this now and although I have no desire to be an ultra anything, I'm enjoying reading about Scott's journey. The nutrition aspect is very very interesting and also the tips he gives on running, breathing, etc. ( )

I'm reading this now and although I have no desire to be an ultra anything, I'm enjoying reading about Scott's journey. The nutrition aspect is very very interesting and also the tips he gives on running, breathing, etc. ( )

I'm reading this now and although I have no desire to be an ultra anything, I'm enjoying reading about Scott's journey. The nutrition aspect is very very interesting and also the tips he gives on running, breathing, etc. ( )

I'm reading this now and although I have no desire to be an ultra anything, I'm enjoying reading about Scott's journey. The nutrition aspect is very very interesting and also the tips he gives on running, breathing, etc. ( )

I'm reading this now and although I have no desire to be an ultra anything, I'm enjoying reading about Scott's journey. The nutrition aspect is very very interesting and also the tips he gives on running, breathing, etc. ( )

I'm reading this now and although I have no desire to be an ultra anything, I'm enjoying reading about Scott's journey. The nutrition aspect is very very interesting and also the tips he gives on running, breathing, etc. ( )

This serves as a companion to Born To Run, the best-seller about ultra-marathon running. Scott Jurek, one of the runners in the book, has written a memoir about his life. I'm not sure that people who don't run will understand this - but it's worth the effort.

The chapters are broken down into three parts: stories about his life, food recipes, and running tips.

It sounds a little weird, but I was in tears as I finished the book. ( )

Amazing what the body can endure especially on a plant based diet. Amazing what the mind can do to keep the body going. Makes you want to put on the running shoes and see what you can do. ( )

Eat & Run is ultrarunner Scott Jurek's running autobiography. He goes into detail about his childhood, how he got into running and developed skills as a runner, to his current status as one of ultrarunning's great runners. The book is also interspersed with recipes, as food is a huge part of his success to him, as well as his views on meditation and yoga interspersed with buddhist thoughts and values. ( )

Scott Jurek is a champion ultra runner. Being an ultra runner myself I was interested in reading this book to gain some insight. At first I found Jurek to be a lttle full of himself but as I continued reading I gained an appreciation for his passion for the sport. Jurek is also very much into nutrition and is a vegan. Ultra runner's are a breed of their own. Jurek describes his childhood and how he entered the running scene. He gives well described recounts of his races which I found quite interesting. Jurek has traveled all over the world to race ultras. The book is very interesting and it also contains a lot of vegan recipies. ( )

Very simplistic writing (presumably by Steve Friedman), trite and reteitive. But it is worth reading. Pay attention to the running motivation guidance or the recipes, or both. ( )

I just finished "Eat & Run" and enjoyed it for the most part. One of the earlier reviewers mentioned the recipes at the end of each chapter "slowing down" the flow of the book. I disagree, as eating is a major part of who Jurek is and what he's about. I don't have much interest in the recipes either, but I saw them as little bonuses, like the running tips. I am fascinated to read elite athlete memoirs, as they give a little peek into the mind of the athlete. I recently finished Alberto Salazar's book and was left with some of the same impressions as this one. On the one hand, elite athletes have massive egos. On the other hand, they are very insecure and are driven to achieve. ( )