Over 2,189 miles, 14 states, and 515,000 feet of elevation change, Scott Jurek is currently attempting to become the fastest person to ever complete the Appalachian Trail. The current record, held by Jennifer Pharr Davis, stands at 46 days, 11 hours, and 20 minutes.
Jurek started at Springer Mountain in Georgia on May 27. He hopes to arrive at the trail’s end at Mount Katahdin in Maine by July 7—a 42-day journey that would shatter the current record.
The 41-year-old ultramarathoning legend, with seven Western State Endurance Run wins to his name, calls this latest challenge his “masterpiece.” Published: Jun 05, 2015 4:35 PM EDT.
Jurek will periodically check in with Runner’s World Sara Hall Smashes American Masters Marathon Record.
July 7 Trail Update:
To break the Appalachian Trail speed record for a supported thru-hike, Scott Jurek needs to summit Mt. Katahdin in Maine by 5:15 p.m. on Sunday, July 12. With just under 230 miles remaining, Jurek will need to average about 45 miles a day to make it. (Editor's note: A previous version of the map incorrectly said he needed to average 53.4 miles a day.)
Speaking on the phone from the support vehicle at a rest stop in Maine late Tuesday morning, Jurek’s wife, Jenny, told Runner’s World Newswire that Scott's spirits are high, but the long slog is taking a toll on him mentally.
“I think his body is worn down,” Jenny said. “We are trying to stay positive. He is psyched to finish.”
Jurek is still on record pace, but elite ultramarathoner Karl Meltzer, who joined Jurek’s crew for a portion of the trail in June, told Newswire over email that it is going to be close.
“If he breaks the record, I'd say it'll be by less than five hours,” Meltzer said.
As Jurek chronicles his trek on social media, many have noticed he’s lost a lot of weight.
“I know it’s a hot topic,” Jenny said while laughing. According to her, Jurek expected this to happen even with his voracious diet.
“You can’t not lose weight; thru-hikers get emaciated,” she said. His weight loss is not from a lack of eating or his vegan diet. Jenny makes him a fatty smoothie filled with three different kinds of proteins at every stop. She said other hikers have brought vegan desserts and pizza along the route as well.
And besides losing weight, Jurek has picked up another thru-hiking hallmark—the Appalachian Trail beard. “The thru-hikers would not accept him into their tribe without it, but he has a baby face so that is all he can grow,” Jenny said.
Are Average Runners Getting Faster? It Depends:
With more than 250 miles to go, Scott Jurek only has five days to break the Appalachian Trail supported speed record. He reached Maine—the 14th and final state of the 2,189-mile trek—Sunday, the 40th day of his quest.
Jurek hoped to complete the attempt in 42 days, but early injuries slowed him down. He recovered ground in Pennsylvania, but appears to have lost a little momentum this weekend.
With long stretches between rest stops and technical, hilly terrain, the final stretch is often considered the most difficult on the trail. Jurek will have to average at least 53 miles a day to reach the summit of Mt. Katahdin by Sunday, when the current record—which stands at 46 days, 11 hours, and 20 minutes—will pass.
Although if he does, the current record holder for a supported run, Jennifer Pharr Davis, has offered to As Jurek chronicles his trek on social media, many have noticed hes lost a lot of weight.
(A supported run is one in which a crew provides food and supplies to the runner along the way. The record for an unsupported run–meaning the runner carries all their own gear–is 58 days, nine hours, 38 minutes, set by Matt Kirk in 2013.)
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Jurek continues on record pace. He has completed 12 of the 14 states, with a portion of New Hampshire and Maine still to go.
All About 75 Hard
After trailing his planned itinerary for nearly three weeks, Scott Jurek is back on pace to complete the Appalachian Trail in fewer than 43 days—a number that would shatter the current record of 46 days, 11 hours, and 20 minutes, set by Jennifer Pharr Davis in 2011. Jurek battled an injured quad and knee during his first week, losing ground as he recovered.
He remained roughly 50 miles behind his goal of finishing the trek in 42 days until this week. Fellow ultramarathoner Karl Meltzer joined Jurek’s crew, encouraging Jurek to put in extra miles every day to bank distance before the final stretch.
Meltzer, who spoke with Runner’s World Newswire last Saturday from a rest stop on the trail, does expect Jurek to fall behind his target pace again because the most difficult portion of the trail is yet to come. Hilly and technical terrain, along with greater distance between support stops, in New Hampshire and Maine may slow Jurek down. But as Meltzer said, the extra miles gained now provide a cushion to break the record, even if Jurek falls off his goal pace.
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From a rest stop along the Appalachian Trail in southern Pennsylvania, Scott Jurek’s wife Jenny Jurek caught up with Runner’s World Newswire. She has been supporting her husband, largely alone, from their modified van in which they sleep, quickly providing fluids and food before he heads back to the trail.
“He’s doing great,” she said. “He’s moving along and it has become more like a routine. He is in a good groove.”
As word continues to spread about Jurek’s record attempt, more people are meeting him along the way. Jenny Jurek said they appreciate the support, but ask that people don’t stop him on the trail for photos or interrupt them while he recovers at the van. This is, after all, still a speed record attempt.
“Sometimes it is difficult for Scott and me to focus with so many people, so he forgets things,” she said. Last week he had to finish a 52-mile day in the dark with only his cell phone flashlight because he forgot to grab a headlamp.
While Jurek is more than halfway to Mount Katahdin in Maine—well on record pace—the trail only gets more difficult. “It’s definitely getting more rocky; everybody calls this Rocksylvania,” Jenny Jurek said.
For the past few days, elite ultramarathoner Karl Meltzer has joined the support crew, helping Jurek push through a few extra miles each night. Meltzer attempted his own Appalachian Trail speed record last year only to drop out after 32 days because he fell off record pace.
“I know exactly what Scott is going through,” Meltzer told Newswire from the rest stop. “The farther you get into this, the faster the days go by. You will wake up and get going and all of a sudden it’s 3 p.m. You just have to tell yourself to keep moving forward.”
Meltzer is planning a new record attempt next summer, but for now he hopes Jurek can make it more of a challenge. He’s encouraged Jurek to put in extra miles now because he knows the pace will slow down in New Hampshire and Maine.
“It’s a different climate. It’s steeper and slippery and there are a lot more miles in between rest stops,” Meltzer said about the final stretch.
On Friday, Jurek logged 60 miles, nearly 10 more than his planned itinerary. He was hoping to beat some bad weather and bank extra miles before the difficult finish.
June 9 Trail Update:
Runner’s World Newswire spoke with Jurek by phone this morning as he hiked along a ridge on the Appalachian Trail about 11 miles from Pearisburg, Virginia.
“Things are going well,” he said. Last week Jurek started having pain in his quad and knee, forcing him to scale back mileage and only hike, rather than run sections of the trail. “My quad’s recovered and my knee has been feeling better. I am just trying to keep going forward because I lost a little ground there.”
To heal properly, Jurek said he is icing heavily at night and wearing compression socks and braces to prevent shinsplints. “I look like a mummified runner out there, like a wounded warrior,” he said. “But I am trekking along and my spirits are high.”
From a McDonald’s near Pearisburg, Jurek’s wife Jenny (who was there solely to use the free wifi) also spoke with Newswire. She is leading Jurek’s crew, driving the support van, and meeting him at stops along the trail to replenish his food and fluids.
“He was kind of worried,” she said about Jurek’s injuries. “But now he is feeling more optimistic. He does need to sleep more.”
Both of them are sleeping in the support van in campsites along the trail. She said it has been difficult for him to get proper rest. “He tosses and turns all night.”
But the duo has been amazed by the support. “There have been people in the most remote sections to see him,” Jenny said. “Sometimes they have driven like six hours, so props to them for finding him.”
Kit has been a health, fitness, and running journalist for the past five years. His work has taken him across the country, from Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, to cover the 2016 Olympic Trials to the top of Mt. Katahdin in Maine to cover Scott Jurek’s Major Changes Hit Northern Arizona Elite in 2015.
