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. Then answer the questions.

Running the Distance

Running a hundred kilometers a day is normal for Scott Jurek. He's one of the most successful long-distance runners in the world. 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 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 place anywhere, and many races are held in places like deserts and mountain areas. Many of these races go on for days. The longest official ultramarathon is The Ultimate Ultra, in New York. It is 1,300 miles (2,000 km) long, and participants have to run more than 110 kilometers 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 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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