Monday, April 8, 2013

Hanging Out With Scott Jurek

Scott Jurek has always been the runner I have looked up to the most. Here are a few reasons why:

  • He won the Western States 100 an incredible SEVEN times in a row.
  • He has won the Badwater Ultramarathon a few times.
  • He has a reputation of being kind, compassionate, and friendly.
  • He has a tradition of staying at the finish line for hours to cheer for late finishers.
  • His new book Eat & Run is one of the best books I've ever read.
Scott came to Salt Lake as part of his book tour last week and I knew it would be worth the trip up north to attend. I arranged with his manager to meet before the appearance for an interview. Unfortunately he was running behind and there was already a huge crowd at Wasatch Running Center when he arrived.

I was talking to some friends when he arrived. Someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and there was Scott. He said "Hi Fast Cory!" He apologized for being late and said he was running behind from another interview. By then it was time to start the fun run that had been organized before the speaking engagement.

I was still a bit sore from the 100 miler ten days earlier but I wasn't about to miss an opportunity to run with Scott.

I was also happy to be hanging out with my sister Hollie who came along.

After the run, Scott talked for a while about some of his experiences. The building was jam packed but we were lucky to get some seats toward the front.

Then there was a fascinating question and answer session.

We hung around to spend a little bit of time with Scott afterward. Waiting around was just as fun because I was able to talk with lots of friends like Susette who ran 47 miles a few days beforehand.

And my perma-happy 100 mile running friend Andrea with Galen in the back (by this point our cameras were having wardrobe malfunctions):

Once everyone had cleared out, Hollie, Andrea, Susette, and I got to hang out with Scott for a bit. I was impressed with how personable and down-to-earth he was. Scott was also ready to get a jumping picture. The wind up.........

And the pitch!

I had such a fun, fun night with everyone. If you're in to running, check out Scott's book HERE. You won't be disappointed.

14 comments:

  1. Very cool! I'm glad you got to meet him and hang out with him too. Plus, it's pretty rad that he did a jumping pic with ya. :) I always like athletes that are friendly and willing to connect with their fans.

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  2. You have such great enthusiasm and positive energy, just like most of the running population. It was definitely a joy to hang out there with you and so many others feeling that same vibe going on.

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  3. Gah I love it when you meet someone you admire and they are just as awesome as you had hoped! Sounds like a great night!

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  4. That's totally awesome! Especially cool that his was game for the jumping pic!

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  5. Wow! Sounds like so much fun! I really love meeting people who are famous for what they do but are more impressive with who they are.

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  6. What an amazing opportunity and experience Cory. Just for the record I think you could beat Scott in a jumping contest. :-)

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  7. No freaking way! Scott is the zen master of long running. That's awesome that you got to hang out with him! AND the jumping pic! What a good sport!

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  8. He seems like a great guy. I really like that some people can be so incredibly successful at what they do and yet remain grounded and personable.

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  9. Love it! I saw him when he was in my hometown of Chicago and he was just as friendly and personable and awesome there! Sadly, no jumping picture for me...;)

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  10. Very cool! I recently downloaded his book and plan to read it soon.

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  11. Fun night. Great people. Fabulous memories.

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  12. How fun was THAT!!! I would have made that long trek up to see him, too. Awesome.

    You'd better not make me jump with you when I see you NEXT WEEK (woohoo!). My 50-year old OLD OLD OLD body can't jump. Maybe we can crawl. Well, maybe if you show me where I can get one of those purple rocks, then I'll jump like 3" for you :). btw, let me know where I can go for a long on Thursday - vertical and long would be good. Can't wait!

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  13. Just finished his book on audible. Great life story. Thanks for the post and the jump.

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