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Scott Jurek Breaks Record in 46-Day Appalachian Trail Run

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Scott Jurek

By Judy Harrison, Bangor Daily News

BAXTER STATE PARK, Maine — Ultramarathon runner Scott Jurek reached Katahdin’s Baxter Peak at about 2:03 p.m. Sunday, setting a new record for the fastest hike of the entire Appalachian Trail.

Jurek, who began his 2,180-mile journey north May 27 from Springer Mountain in Georgia, ran the entire trail in 46 days, 8 hours and 8 minutes, according to social media reports. The previous record of 46 days, 11 hours, 20 minutes was set by Jennifer Pharr Davis in 2011. To break that record, Jurek had to reach Baxter Peak by about 5:15 p.m. Sunday.

“During his journey, Jurek experienced a knee injury on Day 7, stifling heat and humidity in the mid-Atlantic states, the rainiest June in Vermont in 130 years, and challenging footing and steep climbs and descents in New Hampshire and Maine,” Bob Najar wrote Sunday for the blog iRunFar.com. “He also found overwhelming assistance and graciousness from many people along the way.”

Photos taken by Najar and posted on the blog’s Twitter feed showed Jurek kissing his wife, Jenny Uehisa, atop the mountain and popping open a bottle of champagne.

Jurek had never been on the trail before, Najar wrote, but set a goal of traveling approximately 50 miles per day, Najar said. Jurek came close to meeting that goal, averaging 49.4 miles per day. He was slowed by the difficult terrain in his final days in New England.

Efforts to reach Jurek on Sunday afternoon were unsuccessful.

The ultramarathoner’s trek was sponsored by Brooks Running Company of Seattle. In a news release issued Sunday afternoon, Brooks Sports Marketing Manager Jesse Williams praised Jurek’s accomplishment.

“We are so proud of Scott,” Williams said. “He pushes his body to greater limits with each new adventure and he sets out to inspire runners along the way. Whether it’s the Western States 100, Badwater or the Appalachian Trail, Scott is always going to do something special.”

Saturday evening Jurek tweeted that he got his first look at Maine’s highest mountain. According to Delorme, Jurek left the 100-Mile Wilderness and got onto the Golden Road early Sunday morning, approximately 14 miles from Baxter Peak.

Running the Appalachian Trail was not the first record Jurek has set. In 2010, he set the U.S. record for most miles run in 24 hours — 165.7 miles. He has also won the 153-mile Spartathlon, according to his website.

This story appears through a partnership with the Bangor Daily News.