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Colorado man sets Appalachian Trail record on 2,189-mile run

In this Sunday, July 12, 2015, photo released by the Brooks Running Company, Scott Jurek, of Boulder, Colo., climbs to the summit of Mount Katahdin near Millinocket, Maine, before completing the Appalachian Trail in what he claims is record time.
In this Sunday, July 12, 2015, photo released by the Brooks Running Company, Scott Jurek, of Boulder, Colo., climbs to the summit of Mount Katahdin near Millinocket, Maine, before completing the Appalachian Trail in what he claims is record time. In this Sunday, July 12, 2015, photo released by the Brooks Running Company, Scott Jurek, of Boulder, Colo., climbs to the summit of Mount Katahdin near Millinocket, Maine, before completing the Appalachian Trail in what he claims is record time.

By Associated Press 3 min read

PORTLAND, Maine — An ultramarathoner overcame an early injury, difficult terrain in New England and sleep deprivation on the final stretch of the Appalachian Trail to complete the trek in record time.

Despite getting about 10 hours of sleep over the final four days, Colorado resident Scott Jurek reached the summit of Mount Katahdin on Sunday afternoon to finish the 2,189-mile run from Georgia to Maine in 46 days, eight hours. That bests the previous record held by Jennifer Pharr Davis by three hours.

The 41-year-old Jurek nearly aborted the run in the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina because of knee pain and a muscle tear that required him to walk for several days.

But he kept going.

“The biggest thing I’m looking forward to is putting my feet up, being home and enjoying some downtime,” he said Monday after getting his first seven-hour stretch of sleep since starting the run.