My evening with Scott Jurek

For anyone who has read Born to Run the name Scott Jurek will mean something to you. Scott is one of ultra running's elites having victories in the historic 153mile Spartathlon, the Hardrock 100, the Badwater 135mile Ultra and the Western States 100mile Endurance Run.

Having read Born to Run (see my review here) and being completely inspired by it I was excited to read Scott Jurek's Eat and Run which didn't disappoint. I will write a review of this at another time.

When I saw that Scott was due to be speaking at the Bloomsbury Institute I jumped at the chance - it is one thing reading an inspirational story and another meeting a real life legend in the flesh.

Scott was charming, funny, open and honest. He answered questions, which undoubtedly he had been asked a million times before, as though he were answering them for the first time. What I found most striking was the way he looked back on all of his victories and what he hoped he would be remembered for:

"I want to be remembered as somebody who has been true... true to the sport... to being real and who hopefully inspires other people to find their own path"

He openly admitted that he was competitive and winning was important but that now he feels that he may have lost the ego to be so focused on winning. Scott definitely seemed keen to inspire other runners something that kept coming through when talking about his career now, the purpose for his book and his legacy:

"I'm doing my thing and maybe it will inspire someone to do their thing"

And that is exactly what Scott is doing. Hearing him talk didn't make me want to go out and run ultras but it did make me want to go out and run, get out into nature, explore, have my own adventures and find friends a long the way just as he did. The way he talks about his journey into running and the impact this had on his life is eye opening and many runners can relate to these sentiments:

"I was running toward something. It was helping me to sort out my life. You get those moments where you just have to survive on the trails just like life. Racing helped me push through the boundaries that I thought were there"

It truly was a privilege to hear Scott speak and he took the time to talk to and sign everyone's copies of Eat and Run. The message he wrote means a lot to me and he wished me good luck with my first ever marathon in April 2014. With Scott's blessing the only option is to do well, surely?