Ultramarathoner Jurek talks the talk, runs the run

CAMBRIDGE – Ultramarathoner Scott Jurek could best be described as “a man of many miles.”An ultramarathon is defined by Merriam-Webster.com as “a footrace longer than a marathon.” Jurek is no stranger to completing distances over 26.2 miles. Two years ago, he set a national record for longest distance run (all surfaces) in 24 hours ? 165.7 miles. (For comparison, according to the Secretary of State’s office, the State of Massachusetts at its widest section is 190 miles, east to west.) Jurek has dominated the ultramarathon scene, including winning the Western States Endurance Run, a 100-miler, seven consecutive years from 1999 to 2005. In his 2004 win, he set a record (15:36:27) that stood until 2010.Jurek is now adding writing to his portfolio. He stopped by Cambridge last Wednesday – on National Running Day, appropriately – as part of a tour to promote his new book, “Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness” (written with Steve Friedman). Jurek spoke to a full house at the Brattle Theater about how he perseveres through triple-digit distances and how he uses a vegan diet to help his running.”If you look at my body, I’m not a perfect specimen,” Jurek said. “I was not destined to be a great athlete. I’m somebody who just decided to become a great athlete.”Jurek’s talk consisted mainly of an onstage interview with author Chris McDougall, whose book “Born to Run” is about ultrarunners such as Jurek. McDougall described Jurek as a “guy who can run hundreds of miles at a time, not getting tired, not losing.” He quipped: “Lance (Armstrong) without synthetic assistance.”Maybe not synthetic assistance, but perhaps nutritional assistance. Jurek discussed his transition to veganism, which did not happen overnight.”In Minnesota, I hunted and fished all the time,” Jurek said, adding that he ate pot roast growing up and that his taste for pork chops in college earned him the nickname “The Grillmaster.”He did have some vegetarian fare growing up, though. He said that in northern Minnesota, he ate local favorites like mashed potatoes, French fries and scalloped potatoes, noting, “Jell-O is considered a salad.”Today, his tastes run more to quinoa, tempeh and tofu.”On race day,” he said, “does my diet make me faster? Probably not.” However, he added, “it lets me recover faster. I just feel energetic.”He expanded on vegan options during the audience Q&A, when a self-described “vegetarian runner” lamented that she “can’t run on French fries, and I’m not a fan of eggs.”Jurek mentioned options like adzuki beans and brown rice, and added, “So many people think vegetarianism/veganism is a limiting diet.” However, he said his approach to it was: “Wow, there are all these new foods to eat.”Yet he admitted there are limitations, saying that consuming olive oil on long runs was, to put it mildly, a bad idea.And some meat-lovers just won’t go the vegan route.”I pushed four people out of my way to get to Bartley’s as quickly as possible,” McDougall said, referring to a popular Harvard Square burger joint.Before Jurek’s talk, he and McDougall led a fun run (about 6 miles) from Harvard across the Charles River that attracted a healthy turnout. He told a reporter that mental preparation is vital to his ultramarathon success.”Tapping into that mental strength,” he said. “The more I race, the stronger mentally I become. You learn to deal when your brain is telling you it’s too far, it’s too hot, stop.”He added, “The human body actually bounces back quicker than you think. The body learns to adapt.”He said he feels more or less at 100 percent “sometimes up to two weeks” after an ultramarathon, and that he could be up and running again “up to two days” after such an event.Shortly after the interview, the man of many miles got ready to run a few more before the main event started.Rich Tenorio can be reached at [email protected].