Famous Vegans - Scott Jurek

Scott Jurek, 2011.

Scott Jurek

Born Scott Gordon Jurek on October 26, 1973. He is an American ultramarathoner, physical therapist and motivational speaker. He is considered one of the best ultrarunners of all time. He has won many ultra running events, including the 153-mile Spartathlon, the Hardrock 100, the Badwater 135-mile Ultramarathon, the Miwok 100K, and - his signature race - the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run, which he won a record seven straight times. He has written the book Eat & Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness. You can find his website at this link.

The Washington Times named him one of the top runners of the decade, Runner's World awarded him a Hero of Running and Ultrarunning Magazine named him Ultra-Runner of the Year three times. In 2010, he set a new US all-surface record in the 24-Hour Run with 165.7 miles, for which he was named USA Today's Athlete of the Week. He was prominently featured in the books Born to Run and The 4-Hour Body.

He grew up hunting, fishing, and running through the wooded trails of his native Minnesota. While completing his Masters Degree in Physical Therapy, Scott continued running and soon began competing worldwide. His growing conviction that processed, low-quality food was keeping his physical therapy clients sick led him to adopt a vegetarian diet in 1997, and a vegan diet by 1999.

Quotes by Scott Jurek:

"I started doing ultramarathons in '94, but all my major victories happened after I changed my diet. ... It’s been a big reason for why I’ve been so consistent with races and pumping out serious results. I’m 37 and my knees feel great, my body isn’t destroyed."

When asked why he became vegan, he answered:

"A major turning point, besides having disease in the family, was reading Dr. Andrew Weil’s book Spontaneous Healing, and then Howard Lyman's Mad Cowboy. Weil’s book got me really inspired, and then the turning point in going vegan was Mad Cowboy. Not only seeing the health benefits and issues with eating animal foods, it was the environmental edge too that made me really start to realize, OK, how can I have a bigger impact? Because I love and enjoy the wilderness and the wild places that I run in."

When asked whether his vegan diet is connected to health, the environment or ethics, he answered:

"Definitely it got spurred from the health standpoint. But then as I read more and became more educated, I realized that our three meals per day play a huge role environmentally. So those are the two mainstays, and I’ve definitely come to appreciate the ethical issues too. As a former hunter and fisherman, I'm sympathetic to people who do those activities, but I'm also sympathetic to the fact that we do mistreat animals raised for food. I have a very close relationship with animals, so I’m definitely not a fan of how we do that."

"The impact of my original choice has expanded beyond my individual health to include the well being of people, animals and the environment. This is in line with my holistic philosophy and keeping aware of the bigger picture. I come from a family that has hunted and fished for generations and I respect the past, but now I have a different vision for the present and future that has big picture implications."

"On a vegan diet I was improving not only my body composition, but I was increasing muscle mass. And a lot of people assume that one needs to eat animal products to gain a lot of muscle mass or sufficient muscle mass for even power sports, and that's definitely been proved false time and time again."

"I noticed changes in my body's ability to bounce back after hard workouts. Following a vegan diet got me eating more whole foods, and because of that, my muscles don't get as sore and tired. I can complete my workouts and also do back-to-back days, which are important with ultramarathoning: I work out hard two days in a row to simulate what it's like to be at the 80th mile of a 100-mile race. I've spoken to fellow vegetarians who went back to eating meat because they felt like they weren't as strong. But many people just don't take in enough calories and variety of foods."

"I think that’s one of the benefits of a plant-based diet, it encourages you to make your own food, and you’re much more involved in the process. As an athlete, I want to know exactly what I’m putting into my body."

"Maybe I missed a few things initially but after a while, it brought so many more opportunities to explore new foods, to explore new ways of cooking."

"You can eat a really crappy vegetarian diet. It can be very deficient. But eating a well-rounded array of fruits and vegetables and legumes and minimally processed soy food is key."

When asked what he eats before, during and after a long run, he answered:

"Before, I usually do a smoothie. That’s a way for me to combine a dense source of calories. I put in everything from Udo's oil to fruit, almonds, coconut, usually a protein powder, and just create this dense liquid meal. That’s a staple. Sometimes I’ll do sprouted wheat bread with almond butter or a multigrain porridge, but a smoothie is my staple breakfast.

During runs, I use sport foods and am a big fan of the Clif products. ... But it’s always good to add things like a burrito. People are always surprised when they see me during a race eating a burrito or a falafel wrap. But when I’m out for six, seven hours, I love to sit on a mountain pass and just enjoy a good hummus wrap or a bean-and-rice burrito. Real food like that. I just pop it out of my waist pack.

After a run, it’s really important to get a good mix of a little bit of carbohydrates mixed with protein. So I’ll whip up a post-run recovery smoothie or a good burrito. Mexican food is always good. If I’m at home making something, it’ll be tempeh or a good grain like quinoa, plus steamed vegetables, like a stir-fry."

"The one thing a lot of endurance athletes sometimes cut way too low when they go vegetarian or vegan is their fat intake. So when they do feel low in energy, a lot of times it’s because they’ve cut out so much that they actually are on a lower calorie intake, so of course you’re going to feel tired and not have much energy. A lot of people say, "Oh yeah, once I started eating meat I started feeling so much better." So that’s the thing with the Udo's oil, it gets all my essential fatty acids in."

"I just try to eat as much wholesome nutritious food as feels right. I love to prepare food and I love to eat. I don’t count my calories, but I have before, and I know I’m getting between 5000 and 8000 calories per day. My favorite foods are greens, especially dinosaur kale which I eat raw in my salads. Lately, I’ve been incorporating a lot more raw, unadulterated, fruits and vegetables into my diet which feels really great."

When asked if he has advice for people who want to switch to a vegan diet, he answered:

"I think Number One, transition slowly. Give yourself some time. Some people work well with going cold-turkey, changing things right around the next day. I think it's always good to have a gradual transition. PCRM does a great 21-Day Vegan Kickstart program and giving support along the way. ...

Number Two, the biggest mistake I think a lot of plant-based eaters make initially is that they eliminate versus integrate new foods into their diet. ... And they end up undereating, which some people say that might be a good thing if one wants to lose weight, but it's not the healthiest. ... So I definitely emphasize quantity of calories first, over quality, so make sure that you have foods that replace the foods that you used to eat.

And ideally, Number Three, you will boost your quality of foods that you're eating. So if you have to eat some processed foods and products and foods that you're used to eating, that's totally fine, as far as transitioning. But ideally, you work on the quality of the ingredients and the foods that you're incorporating into the diet. "

"My big piece of advice is: Anybody can run an ultramarathon. Of course it takes some training, but in the end, it boils down to more of a mental challenge. People say running 100 miles is crazy, it’s hard, I could never do that, but when you open your mind to the possibility of doing something like an ultramarathon, it’s completely possible. ... The key thing is, keep it fun. Always try to find the joy in it."

Quotes are from his interview with Jai! Magazine, his 2007 interview with Vegetarian Times, his 2010 interview with No Meat Athlete, his 2011 interview with Sierra.