important concept | cannibalizing ... energy sources / muscle
August 17, 2015
ByRochelle Bilow
Masaomi Matsuda
In a sport that already dances on the fringe of society, ultrarunner Scott Jurek is a true rarity. As one of the athletes who helped make ultramarathonsâany race longer than 26.2 milesâmainstream (well, more mainstream), Jurek has smoked the competition in some of the world's most punishing trail and mountain races. Not only did he take home the win at the prestigious Western States 100-miler seven years in a row, he also set a course record in 2005 for the Badwater 135, an epic 135-mile race through Death Valleyâand it was 130°. In July, he completed a run across the entire Appalachian Trail, breaking the speed record by over three hours. He finished in 46 days, eight hours, and seven minutes.
On top of all this, Jurek also happens to be an accomplished home cook and veganâhe shared his story and favorite recipes in his book, Eat and Run. The plant-based diet, he says, has contributed to his success as a runner, allowing him faster recovery times and better endurance on the trail. So, with all this in mind, we were curious to chat with Jurek about how he eats on the run (heh, heh), what foods fueled his AT record, and what he likes to cook at home.
Whatâs your morning routine?
I exercise before eating in the morning, unless I'm doing some huge, six- to eight-hour run. I donât need coffee or caffeine to wake up, so Iâm more of a tea or yerba mate-type person. I do enjoy a good cup of coffee or espresso when Iâm out with friends. For breakfast, Iâm really into green drinks, so I might do barley grass, or blend greens into my smoothieâsomething as simple as kale, arugula, or spinach. If I have spirulina or chlorella on hand, Iâll put those in, too. I make sure to replace the carbohydrates I lost on my run with banana, frozen pineapple, or frozen mango, and then Iâll mix it up with whatever berries I have. I use brown rice and pea protein for my protein powder, and I also incorporate 7 Sources, which is an essential fatty-acid blended oil. Sometimes Iâll throw in coconut or avocado.
One thing thatâs misconstrued about a plant-based diet is that itâs all just fruit and nuts. People assume that you canât get full off a plant-based diet, but it really comes down to the amount of food you eat, and getting enough healthy fats. Iâm one of these people that likes to eat. Thatâs the beauty of a plant-based diet; unless youâre eating junk food, you get to eat a lot.
As an ultrarunner, your caloric needs are different from the average athlete. Can you tell us about that?
When I'm training to come out on top and win races, Iâll need 5,000 to 6,000 calories a day. But someone whoâs newer to runningâsay, training for a marathon or triathlonâmight not need that many. The key thing is you have to eat while youâre running; you burn through the glycogen [a form of glucose that is easily processed] as you exercise. Marathoners can squeak by with a gel or two, although I think theyâd have better results eating more often. But when they move on to their first ultraâsay, a 50Kâthey spend more time on the trail. More time on the trail means more calories. It really comes down to your brain and nervous system needing those carbohydrates. You have to find the type of food thatâs easiest for you to digest, consume 25 grams of carbohydrates every 20 to 30 minutes, then wash it down with plenty of water and electrolytes. Itâs based on body weight, though, so larger individuals need more calories per hour than somebody whoâs smaller. Itâs not a blanket recommendation!
When I race, I'm eating a lot of "sports food" that's carbohydrate-dense, like gels and energy chews. One of the cool things I worked on with Clif during the last year was something called Organic Energy Food. Itâs basically food in a pouch thatâs blended to a consistency thatâs easy to get down. There are even savory flavors like pizza and sweet potato.
On your longest races, you're actually eating while running. How does that work?
People are shocked (and competitors are jealous) that I can eat a burrito at seven- or eight-minute-per-mile pace. It does take practice, but getting solid or real food down is so important. It's about trial and error, though. In Eat and Run, I wrote about how I tried to drink straight olive oil during a training run before my first 100-miler. I hardly knew what I was doing, and I was like, âWell, olive oilâs this amazing food and Iâm gonna need a lot of calories, so why wouldnât I drink that on my run?â I ended up with extreme nausea, basically just puking in the bushes.
You lost a lot of weight during your Appalachian Trail run. How much were you eating?
I was on the trail for 13, 14 hours a day at firstâand then, later, it became 16, 18 hours a day. Sometimes 20. I was getting less and less sleep, and my metabolism was just raging. I needed to consume 7,000 calories or more a day. A lot of thatâaround 3,000âof that was in Clif products. Jenny would supplement that with sandwiches or toast drenched in olive oil. Sometimes she'd get me hash browns or greasy home fries from a local diner. Or, after eating pasta with olive oil and vegan sausage, I would down a whole pint of coconut milk ice cream and it didn't even make a dent. But my time was so limited, the question Iâd have to ask was: âDo I spend more time on the trail or more time sleeping?â [Jurek's wife and friends drove their van along the trail as he ran, and he slept there after logging his miles.] I know it looks shocking, but itâs the nature of activities like this. People might think, âOh these crazy runnersâŚâ but I missed cooking so much.
I weighed around 173 going into the trail. Iâm 6â2â and, as a larger individual, could afford to lose some of that. People were surprised I lost almost 20 pounds, especially when they saw pictures, but unfortunately thatâs just what happens. The body is trying to get all the calories it can, and when youâre sleep deprived and put these huge stresses on your body, it goes after every little calorie it can getâeven the muscles youâre not using. My body started cannibalizing itself a little bit, but thatâs where the recovery comes in.
What was the first thing you cooked at home?
I think it was the Swedish pancakes. Well, the day before we had made a huge salad from the farmersâ market. I hadnât been to a market all season, so being able to pick all these amazing vegetables, fresh here in Colorado, was so great.
Hikers and locals brought you food along the way, right?
Yes, some did. This one family from Pennsylvania brought us fresh fruit and meat substitutes, and it was amazing because we were having a hard time to find things I could eat at small grocery stores. Somebody delivered me two boxes of cinnamon rolls and caramel rolls from Vegan Treats based out of Pennsylvania. Just amazing. One individual brought me avocado maki and vegan pizza, which I was really craving. He hiked up a crazy technical trail for three miles to deliver these random foods. That was one cool thing about the AT. Even though itâs in a remote location, itâs a really social environment. Itâs kind of amazing sharing that experience with people.
You mention in your book that you used food to woo your wife Jenny. How'd you do it?
Jenny was a typical female bachelor. She had basically condiments and frozen veggie burgers; very âcereal-for-dinnerâ type girl. Iâm a big believer that food is the way to a womanâs heart, so it was pretty easy to woo her. Food was so integral to my familyâwith our garden, and hunting wild game and fishing growing upâand it was fun to share that with Jenny. She had never seen that side of me; she had always just seen me as this quirky ultrarunner.
Any parting words?
So many people think cooking has to be this exquisite, elaborate process, but itâs really about just getting in there. Itâs about not being afraid to try things. My mom would say, âIf you can read, you can cook.â As an athlete, I pay a lot of attention to how I fuel my bodyâŚbut itâs also just really fun.