Brownsville runner completes Boston Marathon, moves on to longer races

Apr. 24—With a time of 2:54.12, Brownsville native Art Hurtado finished 2,056th among 25,314 runners overall in the 126th Boston Marathon, as the race returned April 18 to Patriot Day on a picture perfect day for racing.

COVID-19 delayed Hurtado's Boston Marathon debut but helped him become an ultra marathon specialist pointing toward the grueling Habanero Hundred later this summer, by reputation the hottest race in Texas.

Hurtado, who got back into running three years ago after dropping it after high school, is savoring his accomplishment, but has bigger plans for longer races.

By making it to Boston, he checked off a goal he set for himself when he won first overall in the 2019 Harlingen Marathon. He ran one more marathon that winter, the Rock 'N' Roll San Antonio.

"But then COVID happened and kind of shut everything down and I didn't get to do Boston (as planned,)" Hurtado said. "Everything got pushed back and postponed. I started taking up ultra marathons because that was really all I could do is run longer distances for fun, so I signed up for a 100K and a 100-miler and several other marathon distances."

In the last year and a half, he's done more ultra marathons than actual marathons, and he was ready for Boston.

"It was exciting the whole way through," he said in an interview this past week. "In Boston the people are energetic. You can feel the love they have for the community. Knowing everybody had worked so hard to be there, I was happy to be part of that and to represent Brownsville."

Hurtado expressed thanks for the support he's received from friends, businesses and the community, and paid tribute to his father, a runner in his own right.

"I am particularly proud because my dad, Arturo Hurtado, was such a great runner in his day. He coached for 39 years for BISD, so I'm happy to carry on his tradition of winning," 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.

Hurtado credited Brownsville's M2M running club for support when he decided to get back into running. "They're the main community for us here in Brownsville. They welcome you with open arms," he said.

Asked how he perseveres over extended distances, he said a steady approach is the key.

"What worked for me is consistency and finding a proper plan. There are plans for all levels, and I just had to get up and do it every day. It's a part of my life to perform, even my job depends on my athletic performance. ... I made it such a high priority to stay in shape and perform at my best. To me it's just like everyday life. I can't imagine going for a long streak without exercise or activity," he said.

Hurtado credited open-water swimming and strength training at Hardknox Strength & Performance with helping him avoid injury.

"Along with the running, the swimming and strength training have helped me tremendously," he said. "Strength training, a lot of runners ignore it, but it's helped me a lot with performance and injury prevention. I'm very thankful that I haven't gotten injured despite these distances that I'm doing. I've taken a few spills, especially with the trail races, because its inevitable ... but I've been lucky enough to not get seriously injured and I cop that up to the swimming and strength training."

His next race is the 100-mile race during the Habanero Hundred, a trail race in Cat Spring, Texas.

"It's supposed to be the hottest race in Texas, so we'll see. When I did my last two 100-mile races it took me about a month before I really felt normal again, but I'm finding my recovery is getting shorter and shorter as I've gotten more experience," he said. "When I did my first 50K and 100K, they were all in a period of about the same three-month span, so I may have jumped the gun, but I'm performing well and I'm injury free. It's working for me."

And how do you endure for 100 miles?

"It's just like anything else. I just work up to it. I work on my form, I look for training plans, I work on my nutrition and my hydration," he said. "I believe that anybody with enough time and discipline can do these races. That's what happened when COVID happened. I just had a lot of time to train. That's what helped jump up my performance."

Hurtado said once it's race time, you have to pace yourself.

"You just push when it comes to shove. It does get hard. No matter how well you train for it, you just have to prepare yourself for you will suffer," he said.

As much as he runs, Hurtado also loves swimming. In the summers he runs the South Texas Surf Swimming Club at Isla Blanca Park.

"I don't charge. Its just like come in, well keep an eye on you. ... As much as I run, I'm huge on swimming, specially open-water swimming. I think it's something that does need more attention and more participation so people can enjoy it," he said.

Beyond the Habanero Hundred, he said he's working toward 200-mile races, and eventually the Mohab 240 in Mohab, Utah

That would be in the summer of '23 or '24. "Races like that take years to prepare for," he said.