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Brownsville’s Art Hurtado is one of 135 distance runners hand picked to compete in the Hurt 100, a mountain trail endurance race through the semi-tropical rain forest above Honolulu, Hawaii.
A landslide two weeks ago in the mountains north of Honolulu caused officials to reroute the race, increasing the cumulative elevation gain and drop from 24,500 feet to 26,750.
“It’s going to be harder. … That’s the equivalent of going up and down the Empire State Building more than 20 times while running 100 miles on the trail,” Hurtado said earlier this week.
The race starts at sea level, then goes up and down mountains over five laps through roots, rocks, puddles and mud wallows. Narrow trails go through the forest, along exposed ridges and past vertical embankments.
“It’s going to be gorgeous. It’s one of the most gorgeous races in the world.” Hurtado said, adding that he’s looking forward to meeting the other runners after submitting his qualifications and being chosen to run.
“It’s a bit of an imposter syndrome sometimes, but I got chosen for a reason, so I’m going to go ahead and do my best. I’m proud to represent Brownsville and the RGV at these really extreme challenges,” he said.
“It’s pretty prestigious. There’s going to be some world class athletes there. … There’s a world record holder, Candice Burt, who holds a record for running 200-mile ultra marathons and co-founded the Mohab 240, which is on my bucket list. I’m still building up to it for training and for cost,” he said.
In 2023, Hurtado ran in eight major races of marathon and ultra-marathon distance.
Those included Piney Woods Ultra, a 50K trail race in East Texas that he finished in four hours, 48 minutes.
His time in the New York City Marathon was 2:54, and he ran 2:50 in the South Texas Marathon, a new race that started in Donna and ended in Harlingen.
His time in the Brownsville Marathon was 2:49, a course record and personal best.
Hurtado, 38, took up running again in 2019 after dropping it after high school. His father Arturo Hurtado coached running for the Brownsville Independent School District for 39 years.
“I’ve learned to get really consistent for the long distances. My training involves a lot of cross training because you can only run so much,” Hurtado said. “I do running. I do swimming, cross training at Hardknox, hot yoga, other mixed trainings just to get ready for it. I’ve also incorporated a lot of stair climbing to try to make up for the elevation.”
The Hurt 100 starts at 6 a.m. next Saturday Honolulu time, 11 a.m. in the Valley. Hurtado plans to arrive Thursday and it will be his first time in Hawaii.
“I’ve tried to incorporate more strength training and stair climbing to get ready for it. There’s only so much you can do here, but so far it’s done me well and I think continuing that formula will help, and since it’s Hawaii it’s going to be hot and humid … that’ll be my advantage,” he said.
Hurtado said finishing in under 30 hours would be spectacular but just finishing would be an accomplishment. The race has a 36-hour time limit.
“I’m always looking for the next challenge. I just want to finish this race first and then decide what comes next. If I complete this race, I meet the standards for applying for Badwater 135 … so If I complete this race I will go ahead and submit my application for the Badwater 135 in Death Valley, California. That is not until July, but the application window is currently open and it closes a couple of days after the Hurt 100 race. It will depend whether I finish this race. If not, I will do some other challenges I have on my bucket list.” he said.
Hurtado swims for a living as the head of beach patrols for Cameron County on South Padre Island. Being a first responder on emergency and medical calls requires him to be in top shape and physically ready to respond quickly, he said.
In previous interviews, Hurtado credited open-water swimming and strength training at Hardknox Strength & Performance with helping him avoid injury.
Hurtado will represent Rabbit running performance gear of California. Other sponsors include Rav Adventure Races, a race organizer in Brownsville, the financial adviser Humphrey Thomas, Hardknox Strength & Performance, Footworks in Harlingen, Sheralee at Breathe Hot yoga studio, and Los Rukos Barbell.
