Ready to get motivated to chase a big scary goal this year? Enter this month’s super-inspirational (but also fun-to-read and running-oriented) Athletic Bookworm pick. I wanted to take a break from the uber-motivational self-development genre and go more memoir to start the year on a fun note, so we’re reading North: Finding My Way While Running the Appalachian Trail by Scott Jurek and Jenny Jurek. You might remember Scott from Born to Run (you can hear about that on our podcast with Chris McDougall!) but if you don’t, Scott is an ultrarunner who’s run pretty much every race there is to win. And in North, his second book, he and Jenny chronicle his attempt to set the FKT (fastest known time) on the Appalachian Trail.
For someone who spends a lot of time both supporting and being supported by her equally active spouse, I am loving the format of the back and forth between Jenny and Scott. (Obviously I fond myself on Jenny’s side in 100% of their arguments.) The book is really easy to read—I started it already!—and in addition to being inspirational, it’s super honest and highlights the crappy moments as well… plus has some FKT tips I definitely am stealing!
Not interested in reading, or want a complimentary movie to watch? Netflix has a documentary on Karl Meltzer’s FKT attempt (he actually took the title from Scott a few months after Scott’s finish). I’m definitely going to watch that this month too!
OK, the book: get North by Scott and Jenny Jurek here
