Page 122 - Active Skills for Reading Intro Book

Review Reading 5: Running the Distance

Fluency Practice

Time yourself as you read through the passage. Try to read as fluently as you can. Record your
time in the Reading Rate Chart on page 176. Then answer the questions on the next page.

Running the Distance

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Running a hundred kilometers a
day is normal for Scott Jurek.
He's one of the most successful
long-distance runners in the world.
5 He often competes in races and
breaks records. In 2010, Jurek set
an American record by running 266.6
kilometers in one day. During the race,
he ate while running and only stopped
1 o to use the bathroom.
Jurek runs in what are called
ultramarathons. An ultramarathon is
any race that is longer than a marathon
(42.2 km). Ultramarathons can take
15 place anywhere, and many races
are held in places like deserts and
mountain areas. Many of these races
T
go on for days. h e longest official ultramarathon is h e Ultimate Ultra, in New York. It
T
is 1,300 miles (2,000 km) long, and participants have to run more than 110 kilometers
20 a day. However, another event, the Trans America Footrace, goes from Los Angeles to
New York-over 5,000 kilometers!
To give his body enough energy to run such long distances, Jurek is very careful about
what he eats. He's vegan, so he doesn't eat meat, dairy, or eggs. He starts his day with a
smoothie made of ingredients like almonds, bananas, salt, vanilla, and dried coconut. For
25 lunch and dinner he eats huge salads, sweet potatoes, and beans.

Of course, running ultramarathons is challenging for Jurek's body. But he believes that
ultrarunning is actually more difficult for the mind than it is for the body.

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