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Recent race results, part one: Jurek
I
first became aware of Scott Jurek at about the same time that
I became aware of 100-mile races in general. My initial reaction to the
existence of such races was a mixture of incredulity and defensiveness:
"Why would anyone want to run 100 miles? Maybe some people are just too
slow to run a decent marathon, so that's the only way they can feel like a
champion."
As
for Jurek himself, it was easy enough to put him in a box. He was "that
Western States guy." He captured a few other titles here and there, but
the main thing he did to distinguish himself was win the Western States 100
year after year. A notable achievement, and yet I wondered whether he had any
special aptitude for anything beyond this one particular race.
These
days, it's getting a lot harder for me to dismiss Scott's abilities and
accomplishments. This is partly due to my own firsthand exploration of
ultramarathons; like many others before me, I've discovered that having more
road speed than someone else does not necessarily allow me to keep up with
him (or her) on a
rugged trail. But it's also because Scott has recently displayed much more
versatility than I originally gave him credit for.
In
the summer of 2005, a couple of weeks after his seventh consecutive Western
States victory (ho, hum), Scott made his Badwater debut. This 135-mile road
race through Death Valley and up the side of Mount Whitney bears little
resemblance to Western States, aside from the heat, yet Scott won handily and
set a course record (24:36). The following year, he defended his Badwater
title and also triumphed at the Spartathlon, an even longer road race (153
miles), against an international field including four former victors.
This
past July, he took on the Hardrock 100. This absurd competition includes
33,000 feet of total elevation gain, almost twice as much as Western States,
and takes place entirely at high altitude (average elevation: 11,186 feet).
Another win, another course record (26:08).
Then,
two weeks ago, he won the Spartathlon again over another stellar field.
Since
it no longer seems reasonable to minimize such feats, I guess I've started to
envy them instead. Questions such as "How come he won his European road
race, and I was only 11th in mine?" come to mind.
The
answer to that question may be extremely complicated and not fully known to
me. But one component of it is simply the fact that Jurek has paid his dues.
He's been an ultramarathoner for over a decade. Upon a foundation of hard
training and healthy living, he's done the necessary experiments to figure
out what he can do and how he can do it.
In
comparison, I've been doing ultras for about three years.
Maybe
I'll eventually enjoy success that, in my mind, is comparable to Scott's.
Maybe I won't. Whatever my own potential is, I won't achieve it unless I do a
better job of controlling the
impatience that I've displayed this year.
Patience
can take many forms. One form is to train more and race less, which I hope to
do next year. Another is to pause to reflect on what's already happened and
to seek out good examples to follow.
Congratulations,
Scott, on another fine summer of racing. And thanks for continuing to be an
example worth following.
Posted by
crowther on October 13, 2007
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