The Costco Connection

food consumption. He still enjoys cooking, often creating his own recipes.

His mother also influenced his career path.“Being interested in whole health was influenced by having a mother who had multiple sclerosis,” he says. As a boy, he watched a physical therapist work with his mother in their home. Inspired, he would go on to earn a master’s degree in the field and open his own practice.

As a physical therapist, Jurek became concerned that some of his patients’ poor diets were affecting their ability to heal. He started to convert his own diet. “I found my body would recover [from runs] faster on a plant-based diet,” says Jurek, who has been vegan since 1999.

As he continues to talk about the importance of eating whole foods and integrating movement into daily routines, I start to wiggle in my seat. “Want to go for a run?” I ask.

On a day that is sunny in most of the country, it is snowing in the mountains of Boulder. The snow slushes under our running shoes.

I almost expect his feet to fly above the ground.
Graciously, though, he lets me set the pace. I am
training for a half marathon at the end of the month.
Jurek is preparing for 24 The Hard Way, an ultra-
marathon in Oklahoma City in October at which he
will attempt to break the American record by run-
ning more than 172.5 miles within 24 hours.
“He previously held this record. [Jurek’s record
was broken in 2012 by Mike Morton.] I do think he
can do it again. If anybody has the ability to dig deep
and go beyond, it’s Scott,” says ultramarathon runner
Krissy Moehl, who calls Jurek a mentor and friend.
“I’ve seen him do it many times.”
Jurek hopes that his goal setting will provide
inspiration for others to make lifestyle changes. “I
used to hate running and I used to hate vegetables.
Life is about learning. Life is about being open to pos-
sibilities,” he says.

“One of my biggest goals is to pass on my experience and knowledge, to motivate and inspire others, not necessarily to go win an ultramarathon, but to go out for that first workout, to get interested in moving their bodies, in eating well.” C

Julie Hagy ( www.freelancewriterdenver.com) is a running enthusiast and writer in Boulder, Colorado.

Name: Scott Jurek

Member at: Boulder, Colorado

Member since: 2003

Contact: scottjurek.com

Comments about Costco: “I think it’s great Costco is focused on organic food, and making it more accessible. I’m a big fan of buying in bulk, because there are certain ingredients that you can get in larger quantities that make eating healthy affordable.

“In the past, I have put on trail-running camps. Costco was instrumental in bringing in enough food to feed 30 people for five days. Putting on events like ultramarathons requires a lot of food. I have made many trips to Costco, helping friends set up for ultras. Fueling runners for 50K to 100-mile races, with anywhere from 200 to 500 racers in a field, takes a lot of food. We’re setting out bananas, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Clif Bars, and cooking up pierogies and potatoes.”