For nearly two decades, Scott Jurek has been a dominant force?and darling?in the grueling and growing sport of ultrarunning In 1999, as a complete unknown, he took the lead of the Western States Endurance Run, a 100-mile traverse over the old Gold Rush trails of the California Sierra Nevada He won that race seven years in a row, setting a course record along the way Twice he won the Badwater Ultramarathon, a 135-mile ?jaunt? through Death Valley He triumphed in the 153-mile Spartathlon in Greece three times And he was one of the elite runners who traveled to Mexico to run with the Tarahumara Indians, as profiled in the runaway bestseller Born to Run