The second of my summer running books was Scott Jurek’s Eat & Run. Once again, the author successfully managed to motivate me to make a change in my life. Eat & Run challenged me to rethink my approach to eating and running. Jurek highlights his success in transforming his diet and mindset to take better care of himself mentally and physically and subsequently improve his performance.
Throughout Eat & Run the author describes the circumstances of his life and how he came to achieve the unparalleled success as an ultra marathoner through becoming a vegan and overcoming the mental challenges he faces as an ultra runner. In spite of routinely accomplishing super human feats by running 100-miles in a race as if it was a walk in the park, Jurek shows that he is human after all. Throughout the book, he describes the sad but courageous fight his mother had with MS and the impact that her life had on his. He also recounts the lasting lessons his strict and unwavering father taught him, like “Sometimes you just do things!”.
I was surprised how Jurek, one of the most decorated long distance runners, has the same thoughts I do when I run my mortal 6-miles in the morning. Scott does a great job speaking to the reader no matter if they are new to running or an experienced marathoner.
Again, the greatest compliment I can give the author is that because of his book, I was motivated to improve my diet. Eat & Run does not preach my way or the highway…merely that these techniques work for me and maybe some of them can work for you. Scott also peppers the book with some of his favorite vegan recipes and some training words of wisdom that all runners should heed.
This summer I’ve read two excellent books related to running. First was Christopher McDougall’s 
