Scott’s Blog

Twenty minutes and counting and I’m ready to rip roar around Mont Blanc Massif! The thunderstorms have ceased for the moment but it looks like it’s going to be a wet night.

You can follow the race live here:

My crew will be doing updates whenever possible on Twitter: @scottjurek

Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc LIVE Page: UTMB LIVE

Ultrafondus Live Page (will have live info and video in French & English): Ultrafondus

My race number (dosier in French): 19

For pre-race interviews with some of the top competitors, check out iRunFar.

“You never know how strong you are, until being strong is the only choice you have.” -unknown

I am in Brive-la-Gaillarde, France watching the foreboding dark sky make lakes in the hotel parking lot. It is two days before the IAU World 24 Hour Championships where I will be taking a third crack at the classic and grueling 24-Hour ultramarathon event.

As I watch the large drops pelt the ground, I prepare my mind for what it will be asking my body to do in less than 48 hours. Of course the obvious question is “why?” Or at least that is what most people ask. Running around a 0.7 mile loop for 24 hours is hard even for an avid runner to comprehend. If you ask ultrarunners and those who follow my running career you would get a slew of answers. Some would say “He’s got to show us he still has it.” “He’s in a slump.” “He hasn’t won a major race since ’08.” “He’s gotta keep winning, keep inspiring.” or “Is he still running from something?”

Although those questions I shrug off, the thoughts that do go through my head are the recent loss of my mother and how I will run in memory of her. When the discomfort and fatigue become unbearable I will run because I can.

But the reasons go deeper than that. On the surface I have always had both intrigue and distaste for the 24 Hour ultra discipline. It is very similar to other ultramarathon events. The requirements on the body, mind, and soul to “go beyond” are really no different. But there appears to be something that puts a different twist on what I normally have come to expect in an ultra. Like James Shapiro, the 24 Hour “seemed like the perfect tool to pry me open and see what I am made of.”

Take away the mountain passes and wildflowers, take away the point to point course and goal of a destination, and I am left with a 0.7 mile path and the movement of my feet.

I have the utmost respect for my buddy Mark Godale’s eleven year old US 24 Hour Road record of 162 miles and the legendary Yannis Kouros’ world record of 180 miles. Following my winning performances at the Spartathlon, I started to think that I might have what it would take to break Godale’s inspiring record. Even though I preferred to head to the mountains, the US 24 Hour Road Record remained on my checklist and possessed an element of intrigue despite having raced ultras for sixteen years. It was the one way to see how I stacked up against the legends of the sport.

After pulling the plug at the Ultracentric 24 Hour in 2008 due to a non record breaking course and the Northcoast 24 Hour in 2009 due to not being recovered from the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, I decided that the 2010 IAU World 24 Hour Championships in Brive-la-Gaillarde, France would be the place to fully embrace the challenge of the 24- Hour.

2010 24-Hour World Champs Team USA

Opening Ceremonies & Parade down the streets Brive-la-Gaillarde

The 1.25 km (0.78 mile) course of pavement and dirt was full of tight “Formula One” turns.

We line up in the city center and as we wind through town a Spaniard is leading the pack. My pace starts out a little bit fast before I get into a rhythm which is hard to do with 229 starters bunched up in groups around the course. I feel light and fast on my feet, and wonder if the Brooks Green Silence would be too little shoe for the mileage that lay ahead.

And they are off! Allez! Allez!

The first three hours go smoothly, clicking along at a 7:00/mile pace. Lee Dong Mun of South Korea blows by me around the marathon mark along with Shingo Inoue of Japan a few laps later. The course twists and turns over a mix of pavement and hard packed dirt with two hills that add up to 10 feet of elevation gain per 1.25 km lap. Not the perfect world record course, but one that will poke and prod us along like voodoo dolls.

Lee Dong Mun of South Korea and lead pack a few K's in.

I decide to hold off on music for the first eight hours, saving it as a special treat when the night will set in. The next six hours becomes a schedule of eating, drinking and running. I pass through the mat and timing building, 6:15, 6:20, 6:15, and lap by lap it goes on. Darkness sets in and I put the tunes on. The music takes the edge off the pain and the repetitive cycle I have put myself in. Shingo holds a couple lap lead, and I let him go. Maybe he will crack and a lot of race is left. I will run my race.

'Round the corner...

Traffic was heavy at times, but provided company.

By 12 hours, I curse the monotony, but I knew that this would be part of the journey. I am reminded of what my yoga instructor “Big Bill” says with booming certainty as I struggle to hold a pose, “This is what you came for.”

As the night hours wear on I feel an electric energy when I run by dancing and partying spectators cheering on runners in the timing building and outside along the parking lot, and from the locals imbibing at the pub adjacent to the course, yelling enthusiastic encouragement and occasionally drunken jeers. At other times a stillness and loneliness exists on the far reaches of the course with only the sound of the river massaging the rocks, the wind combing the leaves of the trees, and the birds welcoming a new day.

Eating on the run...warm noodle soup.

More running, eating, drinking goes on as my laps slow. I continue to run with no walking for 16 hours. I don’t puke, roll on the ground in pain, nor have to leap over rattlesnakes (although I make 6 trips to the bathroom). But I face the hardest mental and spiritual challenge in my career. There are times when I don’t even notice what music is playing on my iPod, what my crew says to me as I run by, or what the other runners say as I pass them in the predawn hours. The great Kouros has described being out of his body and looking down at it while churning out his record performances. I don’t know if I see my body, but I seem to be somewhere else.

Sometimes my senses are so attune to taste, smell, touch, and sounds, while other times I am totally immune to what information they try to bring in. In some ways this is better. A certain comfort exists in not knowing what my body is sensing.

If the other ultramarathon events require razor sharp focus, the 24-Hour requires laser sharp focus that is almost supernatural, not manmade. The Samauri called it “Bushido” and yogis refer to it as “Sankalpa.” I summon my bushido and sankalpa and hunker down in a rhythm that will propel me into the morning light. The darkness is lonely, but I trust in the light ahead. I keep repeating, “This is what you came for. This is what you came for…”

I think of my mother who had almost every voluntary function of her body stripped away at the prime of her life. She never complained and even on her last day as I held her and saw the fear of death in her eyes she whispered “I’m tough.” My mother inspires me to live in the moment, and find joy in the challenging times. And so I press on.

As the dawn approaches and the sun rising, I know I am still on pace to break the American record with a little cushion. Team USA coach Mike Spindler does a great job of giving me splits and lap counts the last five hours. As I come closer the record, the announcer keeps the growing crowd of spectators updated on my progress as I approach the 162 mile mark. Even other runners are now yielding to let me pass as they cheer “Allez, Go Scott! U-S-A!”

As I pass through the aid tent on the record breaking lap, Team USA coach Roy Pirrung hands me an American flag which I proudly hold overhead as I cross the mat making it official. I feel honored to be running for my country. In the final hour with the clock winding down, several runners are hoisting their national flags as proud representatives of this world class event.

Record lap, running for the red, white and blue.

My crew runs out to cheer for me on my final lap. When the clock hits 10:00 am Friday morning, an official is there to mark my final distance on the course. In some ways, it is anticlimactic because everybody doesn’t cross a common finish line. But there is still something special about making it to each of our own final finishing marks. My mark is 165.7 miles and it is an incredible feeling to finally arrive.

Down to the final seconds...

Celebrating the American Record!

Where it all stops, 165.7 miles.

In the 24-Hour there is no finish line, just a moment in time when the mind will let the body stop. Just like all ultras the 24-Hour is analogous to life. In life there is no finish line. We all need to keep living, exploring, moving forward, despite what life delivers, to the moment in time when our body and mind let go.

Turns out Shingo was on a mission of his own. He broke the Japanese 24-Hour record by a mere 300 meters. The third place finisher, Ivan Cudin also broke the Italian national record, making the top three men new national record holders. Anne Cecille took gold and set an astounding French national record of 149 miles, just missing the world record.

The Brooks Green Silence go the distance.

A big congratulations to Shingo!

Podium time. Scott, Shingo, & Ivan

Team USA men placed third for the bronze medal with a heroic late surge and PR by Michael Henze and a solid PR performance by Serge Arbona. The women’s team placed fourth lead by Anna Piskorska, Deb Horn and Susanna Bon.

I want to thank my all star crew, my teammates, Team USA staff, the IAU, USATF, Brive-la-Gaillarde race committee and my sponsors. Last but not least, I want to thank Mark Godale for setting the bar high and inspiring me to raise it a little higher.

A BIG thank you to my amazing crew!

Some say, “The Jurker is back” but I say I never left. We usually don’t know why, nor maybe never will, but in the moment may we know that THIS is what we came for!

Final Race Results
Running USA News Wire 5/16/10
USA TODAY Names Scott Athlete of the Week 5/17/10
Scott in the New York Times

Many of you have been wondering what happened at Ultracentric and why I have not posted sooner. I decided to let the dust settle a bit before posting a race report. A lot of critical comments have been posted on the Ultra list and I wanted to focus on what I have learned from my experience last weekend. All too often emotions run wild, and I feel it is best to sit back and contemplate a bit.

Upon arriving to check out the race course on Friday, I was shocked to see the amount of climbing and descending on the 1.15 mile loop. I had been told and it was posted on the website that the loop was flat and fast with nine and a half feet of gain. I decided against using my altimeter to measure the elevation gain and loss and would just accept the course as it was presented. Too late now. I had spent too much time and money, as well as extending my training and racing season to let the course derail my plans for an American record. Mental outlook is so important prior to a big performance. Plus, I had my friend and crew member Justin, telling me the hills were no big deal. I knew it wasn’t true, but the positive talk was appreciated.

On Saturday at the start it would have been easy to complain about the weather as it was 35-40 degrees with 30 mph gusts and a steady 15-20 mph wind. The temps were supposed to warm to a perfect 55-60 degrees and I felt that I could deal with the wind as it was supposed to decrease late in the day and throughout the night. I settled into a rhythm running 6:30 pace. It was a little faster than I had planned. I knew I would back off to 7:00-7:15 pace as planned. I enjoyed the company of Seth, a 2:26 marathoner from Salt Lake doing his first ultra, and Elijah an East African who was also participating in his first ultra. It was a pleasure meeting and running with both of these talented athletes.

As the miles clicked by I began to memorize all the intricate details of the course. I learned where the cambers of the pavement and the tangents met each other so as to keep a balance between running on level pavement as much as possible without losing too much of the tangent line. The hills seemed manageable, but I knew in the back of my mind that these hills would become mountains late into the race. On the back side of the course one hill was made particularly difficult because of the wind. It not only consisted of a nice climb, but 30 mph wind blowing right into my face. It became the worst stretch on the course and I tried to waltz through this section as smoothly as possible. It was too early to expend more energy than needed.

A benefit of 24-hour races is having fellow runners pass by and offer encouragement. It was a pleasure to share some quick exchanges with runners I have known for years, as well as runners I was meeting for the first time. I was impressed with the 48-hour runners as they had been on the course for over 24 hours and still had another day to go!

The volunteers and those that came to offer their support were wonderful. They gave a good Texan welcome to all the runners and I would like to thank all of those who helped out with this event.
I came through the marathon at 3:04. I was right on schedule with my splits. I was hoping for a 3:05-10 marathon split. The hills were making my splits tougher to attain, but I stuck to the plan and kept moving along. My 50K split was approximately 3:44. Unfortunately the race organizers did not have enough volunteers to give splits out on the course. The distances were marked on the course, although it was hard to remember where they were, as my crew would tell me what lap I was on and approximate distance.

Somewhere around the 40 mile mark I started to notice the effect of the hills more and more. I was holding 8:15-30 pace and well ahead of American record pace, but I began to question whether this was a course for an American record. I also was feeling the effects of my Spartathlon performance from six weeks prior. The effort I would have to put out on this hilly course would be even greater than what I did at Spartathlon. As I went by my crew I told them I was contemplating dropping from the race and saving myself for another day and another course. Of course they were tough on me, encouraging me to go on saying I couldn’t drop now as I was still on American record pace. I told myself I would continue until 50 miles and be done. I knew what would lie ahead and it was not worth risking injury for a below American record performance. At 49 miles I called it a day.

When I stopped, I felt good about my decision. It is never easy dropping from a race and I have only done this a handful of times, but in those instances it has been a wise choice. It was clearly a wise choice in this case, as I checked my altimeter to see how much elevation gain I experienced. In 49 miles I climbed and descended 1069 meters! Yes, 3,500 feet, 71 feet per mile! To break the American record of 162 miles I would have climbed over 11,500 feet! Despite being a seasoned trail and mountain runner, 24-hour with elevation gain are not desirable. In order to achieve my best possible performance and compare against the world’s best, the course needs to be flat as possible.
Despite all the negative criticism that has surrounded Ultracentric I would like to compliment Robert on his efforts to offer prize money at the 24-hour distance and encourage top athletes to go after American records. This is seldom seen in the sport of ultrarunning.

So what I have learned? The most important lesson learned for me going forward in 24-hour record attempts is to check out a course before competing. I trusted that the course would be flat and fast with nine and a half feet of elevation gain. I went off what the RD had told me in a phone discussion and the info posted on the Ultracentric website. In retrospect, I should have had someone in the Dallas area check out the course before I committed and spent the time and money. Most importantly, I only have so many great 100 mile plus performances left in my career and I need to be selective when I put my body, mind, and soul on the line.

I want to thank my crew Justin Angle and Dusty Olson for taking time to come and support me. They did a great job making sure smooth transitions were made for aid and calculations made on distance updates. Although they were bummed that I did not succeed, I am sure they were happy they didn’t have to spend a sleepless night in windy 32 degree weather…

Finally a big thank you to my sponsors Brooks Sports, Green Foods, and Pro-Tec for the generous support this season!

Reporting live from McKinney, Texas… I am feeling ready to go. A few thoughts before I set off…

The weather looks good with temperatures near ideal, high of 60 degrees and low of 32 degrees. Wind is supposed to be blowing 15 to 20 miles per hour with occasional gusts of 30 miles per hour, so the wind will be making me earn my keep.

The 1.15 mile course is not flat, but the undulations (or hills as we normally refer to them) may be welcomed to vary the repetitiveness. Or, that “special treat” of variation may be loathed as the hours click by and the climb seems to grow in size.

The current American record is 162.46 miles, set by Mark Godale. Mark gave me a call this past week to wish me good luck and it is comraderie like this amongst fellow competitors in our sport that has always impressed me.

The world record is held by Yiannis Kouros at 180.33 miles and only one has come within 10% of this legendary mark. My goal is to see where I stack among these marks and measure myself in an event that has been testing athletes since the ancient Greek games to indoor 24-hour races in Madison Square Gardens to modern day world record performances by the great Greek, Kouros.

Like me, Nikki Kimball will be making her debut in the 24-hour event and she is ready to go after the American record. Although both of us have a wealth of ultra experience, we are embarking on an adventure in uncharted territory.

And finally, it occurred to me the other day that I have never done a race where there is no finish line. 24-hour races have a starting line and that is it. The finish line will be elusive, a moment in time that I will chase around and around the one mile loop.

On the inside cover of Ultramarathon is the following text that serves as a reminder of what will lie ahead in my 24-hour adventure.

To Go On.
When Everything Else
Wants To Stop…

It is not pain I feel but sinking.
My involvement with the world grows dimmer.
It occurs to me that it would be nice to keel over.
A barely audible whisper says it would be a nice way out.
It seems almost impossible to bother any more…
but I do.

My season comes to a close this weekend with a new adventure, The Ultracentric Experience, a 24-hour race in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. It will be my first 24-hour event.

What took so long? To be honest, 24-hour events once seemed kind of nuts to me. I loved running 50 or 100 miles on a trail, spending a day and night in the wilderness following a ribbon of singletrack –- that seemed sane enough. But running around a small pavement loop or rubber track for 24 hours just to find out how many miles I could crank out, well, I didn’t really see it.

Then in 2000 while training for my second Western States 100, a coworker at Seattle Running Company, Jeff Dean, gave me his old paperback, Ultramarathon by James Shapiro. He said it was a must read, a classic from the early 80′s. It was worn around the edges and had that musty old book smell, and it took me a couple of months to get around to reading it.

Well, the book blew me away. The first chapter describes the author’s experience in a 24-hour race at the Crystal Palace in London, and the writing is some of the best I have read on what happens to the human psyche in an ultramarathon. After reading that chapter I started to think I could wrap my body and mind around a 24-hour race. And I began to appreciate the mystery and adventure of an event so many see as mind numbing and insane. Here’s how Shapiro says it:

“The 24-hour is one of the classics. Too many men and women I admired had done it and I hadn’t. It had too perfect a shape and handle for me not to yearn to pick it up and use it to pry myself open to see what I am made of. One learns to accept the destinies one creates for oneself. Besides, a race would be impossibly dull without some fear and doubts to wrestle against.”

So there are many reasons I’ll find myself on the starting line this coming Saturday: a book written three decades years ago, the challenge of seeing where I stack up against the legends of ultramarathoning, and a desire to pry myself open once again and see what I am made of.

If you can’t get your hands on one of the few existing copies of Ultramarathon, check out Shapiro’s article:“It’s Seven O’clock In The Morning” Sports Illustrated July 28, 1980. It’s an excerpt from the first chapter of Ultramarathon. It might just move you to run a 24-hour race!

Late last week UltraRunning Magazine announced their 2007 North American Ultrarunners of the Year. It was a great year of performances on the ultramarathoning scene. I feel honored to have received recognition as male Ultrarunner of the Year as well as male Performance of the Year for my course record run at Hardrock Hundred.

Congrats to Nikki Kimball for being named as female Ultrarunner of the Year and Krissy Moehl for receiving female Performance of the Year also for her course record run at Hardrock. Congratulations as well to all the other athletes receiving recognition for their great performances throughout the season.

View the complete press release here.

The Final Sprint just posted an interview I provided them with recently. We discussed my 2007 season, what’s coming up in 2008, mental aspects of ultrarunning, pain, and giving back to the sport.

2007 has turned out to be a year with many incredible performances in distance running, a sport which is making leaps forward with continually growing enthusiasm. This is partially due to the resurgence in performances of recent years. If you are a distance running fan, this is a great time for our country. There are many men and women inspiring some of us mortals to get out there, train harder, and live better.

Running USA, a non-profit association “dedicated to serve and facilitate the growth of all aspects and entities of running and its health and fitness benefits,” has been a much needed backbone to the development of the sport since 1999. Every year they recognize great performances. This year there were many! Of which, I’m grateful to receive an honorable mention in “The 10 Best Moments for Distance Running in 2007″ for my Spartathlon victory. (Last year I was honored with a #8 ranking for my win in the same event.) (more…)

I have always felt one of the beauties of running is the lack of required gear. Feel inspired, step outside, go. Unless we’re running barefoot and naked, which some of us nuts are, we require only simple clothing and shoes. I’ve commented some in previous posts about shoes I’ve raced with, but I’m frequently asked what shoes I wear for training. I’ll comment again on both. Here’s the scoop.

Most of us don’t have the exact same biomechanics side to side, which is also true for me. I am a strong supinater on one side and a neutral pronater on the other. I alternate a bit from a neutral cushion shoe to a mild stability shoe when training on the roads. For optimal performance on the trails I feel it’s important to run with a lower profile shoe without as much consideration to pronation and supination, unless severe, as the foot and ankle are continually adjusting to the varied terrain. (more…)

I recently received a copy of a new book featuring select endurance running events on all seven continents. “Extreme Running” is beautiful. The photography says plenty on its own. From the top of the world to the bottom, it captures the “extremes” in foot races- from the hottest to the coldest, the wettest to the driest, the highest to the lowest. Beauty everywhere. In addition, authors Kym McConnell and Dave Horsley capture the human spirit through the athletes’ experiences.

As well as making for a great coffee table book, it’s a way to travel from the living room, gaining inspiration to explore new environments and cultures, something I value greatly. When we travel and race in “extremes,” we explore inward, the ultimate journey.