Scott Jurek finished pounding out his record-setting run of the Appalachian Trail on Sunday surprised at how hard the trail hit back.
The 41-year-old world-class ultramarathon runner weighed 153 pounds, about 20 pounds less than when he started on May 27 in Georgia, he said. Jurek had nursed an injured right knee and left quadriceps, weathered a stomach bug and downpours, and had slept no more than 10 hours during the final four days of his journey.
But he had his record, traversing the 2,180-mile trail in 46 days, eight hours and seven minutes.
“Maine is definitely the most rugged part of the trail,” Jurek said during a telephone interview on Tuesday. “The timing of it was also what made it so hard. I thought I would be stronger than I was at the end. The Maine part is notoriously slow. There are a lot of rocks and roots. I wasn’t able to do the pace that I thought I would.”
A resident of Boulder, Colorado, Jurek broke the record held by 28-year-old Jennifer Pharr Davis of Asheville, North Carolina, set on July 31, 2011, of 46 days, 11 hours and 20 minutes. The unsupported record, set by Matt Kirk in 2013, is 58 days, nine hours, 38 minutes. A supported run occurs when a runner has an entourage providing food and shelter.
Jurek’s support included his wife, Jenny, who spent the most time with him. Aron Ralston, who inspired the movie “127 Hours” by being forced to amputate his own arm after getting trapped in a canyon in 2003, was also there for a spell, as was another famous long-distance runner, Karl Meltzer.
A 21-year veteran of ultrarunning — races against competitors or the clock that are more than the usual marathon length of 26 miles — Jurek averaged about 50 miles a day. Much of his trek was spent fast-walking or hiking, depending on the terrain and his level of fatigue, he said.
Jurek was ravenously hungry during much of his run, he said. Under near-constant strain during his waking hours, his body became a singularly focused machine during the run. His job was to keep it operational, and he got help from the trail’s other occupants — through-hikers.
They gave him food and, almost as important, emotional sustenance.
“The support was overwhelming. I was blown away with people cheering me,” Jurek said. “They would say, ‘Are you Scott Jurek?’ and they are like, ‘Yeah, man, rock on.’ We would chat for a few minutes. People like to think that hikers don’t like runners on the trail, but that’s not really true.”
One truth of the trail was proven to Jurek, he said. Through-hikers say you should never attempt to run the entire length of the Appalachian Trail in less than top physical shape. The mind-boggling distance and the wicked terrain will exacerbate an injury or, if a hiker is poorly equipped or careless, create one.
“You will experience some injuries, and have to adapt and correct some injuries. Otherwise the trail finishes you off. The challenge of dealing with the trail day in and day out is enormous,” Jurek said.
Jurek hopes his journey will inspire others to exercise.
“I think the overwhelming reason I was doing this was to encourage people to go after goals, getting people to just get outside or get off the couch and do something they didn’t think is possible,” Jurek said.
“I am no different from anyone else. We all have challenges to overcome.”