Backpacker Radio 37 | Jenny & Scott Jurek on the Appalachian Trail Speed Record, Parenting, and What’s Next

In 2015, Scott Jurek was the most talked about person on the Appalachian Trail, even the hiking community at large.  As soon as the legendary ultrarunner announced that he was bringing his talents to Appalachia, a flurry of fanfare and press followed suit.  Though his record has been broken a pair of times since, the swell of attention has yet to be matched.  Today Jabba and I sit down with Scott Jurek and his wife, and head crew member, Jenny Jurek, to learn about all this FKT, what the undertaking was like from each of their perspectives, how it’s prepared them for parenthood, their new book “North: Finding My Way While Running the Appalachian Trail“, and much more. We also get an introduction to our newest Thru-Hiker of the Week, “Sochi”, who’s attempting to become the first amputee to thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail.

Subjects discussed in the episode include:

Subjects discussed in today’s interview:

• Book giveaway
• Use code “TREK15” at GossamerGear.com to save 15%
  • Gossamer Gear The One
  • Gossamer Gear Gorilla
• Sawyer’s International Website
• Sawyer Squeeze vs. Sawyer Micro Squeeze
• Check out Scott and Jenny’s new book, North: Finding My Way While Running the Appalachian Trail
• What it’s like to run a 24 hour race
• Jabba drones on about Pennsylvania
• How he hiked through a torn quadriceps
• What is was like thru-hiking with so much fanfare
• Was Jenny caught off guard by the smell of thru-hikers?
• Hiking through Vermont in a high rain year (Vermud!)
• Scott’s Advice to future FKT attempters
• Dealing with weight loss
• Physical and mental toll of his journey
• Life since his FKT
• The World is Our Classroom by Cindy Ross
• Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness by Scott Jurek
• Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall
• Thru-Hiker of the Week
  • Follow Sochi on Instagram

Have any praise, questions, praise, comments, praise or praise for Backpacker Radio?  Reach out to [email protected].

Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes (and please leave us a review)! Download this podcast.  Find us on Stitcher and Google Play.

Support us on Patreon to get bonus content.

A super big thank you to our Chuck Norris Award winner(s) from Patreon: Michael W Hinkley, S11N, Sawyer Products, and Travis Smith

A big thank you to our Cinnamon Connection Champions from Patreon: Gregory Gardner and Peter Leven

Follow Scott Jurek, Jureks on the Run, The Trek, Chaunce, Badger, and Trail Correspondents on Instagram.

Follow The Trek and Chaunce on YouTube.

Follow Scott Jurek, The Trek, Backpacker Radio, and Chaunce on Facebook.

Follow The Trek on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.

Intro music via.