Scott Jurek Celebrates a New Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike Speed Record
http://www.runnersworld.com/trail-racing/scott-jurek-celebrates-a-new-appalachian-trail-thru-hike-speed-record?cid=social49076196&adbid=10153459532237090&adbpl=fb&adbpr=23403427089
Five days prior, Jurek had given up. At one point, he told his crew it was over.
âI started adding up the number of miles and thought, âthereâs not enough time in the day,ââ he said, recounting parts of his trek to a crowd of supporters at the summit.
He originally wanted to break the record by four days, planning an itinerary that would bring him to Mount Katahdin in 42 days.
âEverything that could go wrong, went wrong,â he said.
Injuries to his knee and quad in the first week forced him to wear braces on his legs. He passed through Vermont during one of the stateâs wettest months on record, and he admitted Sunday he wasnât that familiar with the trail.
âJenny and I had no clue what we were doing up here,â he said, looking to his wife who drove the support van and crewed him the entire trip. Heâd only run 30 miles of the Appalachian Trail before starting the record attempt on May 27. âWe literally on-sited this project.â
During one of his lowest points, he was in the van with Jenny as rain pounded the windshield. He had just over a week to reach Katahdin and knew he needed outside help if he was going to make it. He called his friend, California-based ultramarathoner Topher Gaylord.
An exhausted Jurek left a message on Gaylordâs phone. It said, âI need you out here, man.â
Gaylord arrived on day 43. He started doing math that night, figuring out how many hours Jurek could afford to sleep if he wanted to break the record. It was still possible, but it was going to be close.
âThey asked me, do you want the record or do you want to sleep?â Jurek said.
In his last four days, he estimated, he slept no more than 10 hours, during which he covered more than 200 miles. Before his final 15-mile push Sunday, he slept just once.
Jurek credited the record to his support crew, many of them ultramarathoners who came to help him push the pace. There was Walter Edwards, Jurekâs friend and fellow ultrarunner. There was adventure athlete Aron Ralston, famous for cutting off his own arm during a canyoneering accident in 2003âinspiring the movie 127 Hours.
For two weeks in June, there was elite endurance athlete Karl Meltzer. He joined Jurek to gain extra miles through the rocky trails in Pennsylvania. Meltzer is planning his own thru-hike record attempt next summer, after two failed attempts in the past eight years. He used his time crewing Jurek, both to help his friend and strategize his own trek.
Meltzer was not at Katahdinâs summit, but Jurek had a message for him from the top of the mountain: âBatter up, itâs your turn.â Jurek promised to return the favor and crew Meltzer during a section of the trail next year.
Then, of course, there was Jurekâs wife, Jenny. She served as his cook, his doctor, his driver, and his psychologist. For much of the trail she crewed him alone. It was her birthday Sunday. Jurek led the crowd in a rendition of âHappy Birthdayâ minutes after reaching the summit.
âThis was a team effort,â Jurek said. âWe got this record.â
Scott Jurek has the heart of a lion. And Ultra runners exemplify what running and community are all about.
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