Ultramarathoner sets Appalachian Trail record

Jennifer Calfas | USA TODAY

It only took 2,189 miles to get there.

Ultramarathoner Scott Jurek set a record for completing the full Appalachian Trail after summiting Mount Katahdin in Maine on Sunday. The journey took 46 days, 8 hours and 8 minutes – besting the previous record by more than 3 hours.

Jurek, 41, began the trek on Springer Mountain in Georgia on May 27 at 5:56 a.m. ET, according to his website.

The historic trail crosses 14 states, and winds through Vermont's Green Mountains, New Hampshire's inclement Mt. Washington and Tennessee's Clingmans Dome – which is the highest peak in the Smoky Mountains.

Jurek averaged around 50 miles a day with varying degrees of elevation to set the record.

Jurek is best known outside of the running world as a prominent character in Christopher McDougall's New York Times bestseller Born to Run. Jurek also wrote his own bestseller Eat & Run, which chronicles his journey in ultrarunning and vegan dieting.

Jurek is no stranger to long distances. The runner has seven consecutive wins from 1999 to 2005 in the Western States Endurance Run – a prestigious 100-mile race held in California. He also holds two titles from the Badwater Ultramarathon, a 135-mile course that markets itself as "the world's toughest footrace."

USA TODAY named Jurek the Athlete of the Week in 2010 after he set a U.S. record at the World 24-hour Run Championships in Brive, France, where he ran over 165.7 miles in just 24 hours.

Jennifer Pharr Davis, an American long-distance runner, is the previous holder of the Appalachian Trail record, which she set in 2011 in 46 days, 11 hours and 20 minutes when she was 28 years old.

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy, which preserves and manages the trail, says only one in four hikers who set out to complete the journey actually finish it. Over 15,000 people have completed the trail, according to the organization.

Jurek doesn't win anything for his record-setting journey. The Appalachian Trail honors folks with the fastest known times, or FKTs, but they're determined on an honor system. Jurek tracked his journey for the full 46 days with the trail online, and chronicled his journey on Instagram and Twitter.

The trek wasn't done alone. A crew, which included a rotation of friends, his wife and other runners, accompanied him on the trail.

For Jurek, this journey may be one of his last, according to Runner's World.

"This is the summer before my wife and I want to have kids so I am pretty close to my retirement," Jurek told Runner's World in May. "I would say this is going to be my masterpiece."