One of the reasons I love vacations is that I get to read some great books that I normally wouldn’t find the time or energy to get to during normal work weeks. I found this great book called ‘Eat & Run’ by Scott Jurek as I was meandering through the Beaverton Library and came across the ‘exercise’ section of the adult non-fiction books. For those that don’t know of Scott Jurek, he is considered (in my opinion) to be one of the gods of ultra marathon racing. Born and raised in Minnesota, he discovered a gift of endurance and fortitude that is partially inspired by the lives of his family members, especially his mother.
I don’t mean for this to become a book review, but as great books tend to do, it left me thinking about things well beyond the words on the pages.
One of his passions in life is vegan eating. In fact, it is a rarity to hear of individuals who accomplish what many would consider super human feats on such a diet. I’m inspired to get back to some of the eating practices that he espouses, especially eating simply, with perhaps a little less meat, and a few more greens. He also mentions that he credits his diet with how fast his body recovers from physical training. I wonder if such practices would bring the same results in my own life. (There are great recipes at the end of every chapter!)
He also writes about his passion for running. I grew up running, mostly as a means of staying in shape for sports I played: baseball, soccer, and basketball. But running for running’s sake; this is something that I have come to embrace over the years. Reading this book inspired me to run with a running group for the first time ever. While I really enjoy running by myself as a means for retreat and renewal (which I’ll continue to do as well), I found running alongside others to be an opportunity to enjoy the communal aspect that Jurek alludes to. I know it’s hard to convince someone of this about running, but I speak from experience; running has not only made a significant impact on my overall health (despite the warnings of irrecoverable knee problems like people say), but it has also become something that I have come to absolutely love as a part of my daily being. Running can be not only fun, but life-giving!
Beyond the obvious conversation points of eating and running that this book elicits, there is something a bit deeper that I think Jurek points to—his search for peace and happiness. It is nice to find kindred spirits when it comes to these things. So many people are so overwhelmed by the rat race of daily living that we fail to take a moment to speak to such a yearning. I hope that I always take the time and energy to maintain such focus on peace in my life, and those whom I love. Scott Jurek searches for such things in the simple activities of eating and running. Some choose other options: art, religion, community, to name a few. If you are asking such questions, even if you’re not a vegan or a long distance runner, you may enjoy reading such a journey from a fellow traveler on life’s journeys.
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