Scott Jurek comes to the end of his 2,189-mile journey on the Appalachian Trail,
with his wife, Jenny, by his side. Photo by Kit Fox
Posted on 07/14/2015 7:30:50 AM PDT by Perseverando
By noon Sunday, 50 people had reached the summit of Mount Katahdin. They hiked a trail through the woods, up boulders, and across a windy ridge to camp out on jagged rocks overlooking the lake-dotted Baxter State Park in central Maine. They waited to see ultramarathoning history. They all had the same question.
Where is Scott Jurek?
At 2:03 p.m. ET, they got their answer.
He was clutching a faded wooden sign, his cheek brushing the engraved letters that read, “KATAHDIN, Northern Terminus of the Appalachian Trail.”
Scott Jurek comes to the end of his 2,189-mile journey on the Appalachian Trail,
with his wife, Jenny, by his side. Photo by Kit Fox
Forty-six days, eight hours, and seven minutes earlier, Jurek ran away from a similar sign in Springer Mountain, Georgia. He headed north on foot for 2,189 miles, across 14 states, and 515,000 feet of elevation change. He averaged nearly 50 miles a day.
By nuzzling his bearded face into the engraved wood on the highest peak in Maine, Jurek became the fastest person to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. He beat the previous record, set by Jennifer Pharr Davis in 2011, by a mere three hours and 13 minutes.
“I can’t believe I made it to this sign,” he said, out of breath with a weary smile.
(Excerpt) Read more at runnersworld.com ...
And that’s including torn muscles & other medical maladies along the way. Beat the record by just a few hours.
This guy basically turned the Appalachian Trail into a programmed run on an advanced treadmill: so many miles with so much elevation gain here and so much elevation loss there, etc.
I got into this world of ultrarunners about 2 years ago. He is one of the masters. Congrats to him. Truly awe-inspiring.
Jurek’s amazing, especially winning not one but two Badwaters. Good for him.
That's how I see it too. I'm the enjoy the scenery type. I've hiked small stretches. Just wonderful.
Kudos to him though. Something for everyone.
“...set by Jennifer Pharr Davis in 2011, by a mere three hours and 13 minutes.”
Wow! I bet Jennifer is po’d!
Wonder if he ran into Mark Sanford along the way?
Made me LOL - a little bit of a memory reach but definitely a good zinger there! Maybe one of the editorial cartoonists near there will pick up on that.
While his experience was not that of a typical hiker, I’m sure it was as exceptional as anyone has ever had on the A.T.
And no, it’s not at all akin to a treadmill. Weather, injuries, terrain, illness etc., all came into play. So did the scores of people who came out to support his effort - be it cheering as he passed, bringing food for him, or running miles along with him. All part of the experience.
His last few days were a great testament to how hard one can push oneself in the face of defeat, and overcome it.
HYOH
Fast hike.
I'm American. I love my country and I love my fellow Americans but we take the pleasure out of a lot of things and turn them into punishment. I have a theory as to why this is but I prefer not reveal it as it would anger many on this site.
As do I, folks like this are doing the same thing on the Mt. Whitney trail as well...
Good for them, but they have a negative impact on climbers when coming downhill as they don’t like to yield to folks going uphill...
For me, it is about the journey, the scenery and accomplishment.
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