Hal

I know Hal. No I don't but he raced and won the World of Hurt 50k last October. I placed 5th in the 25k. I got a chance to meet Jurek at the race and sorta rubbed shoulders with Hal, but no exchange. Still, I sorta know the nut, yeah? He smoked quite a field this year at the WS 100. Thanks to GZ for the forum. Great sipping a beer and following that little window when Hal apparently blew up the field including Mackey. Anyways, great stuff and thanks to Anton Krupicka too for the insight. Here's Anton's response to Justin Mock regarding Hal's training. By the way, Hal is not a 130 lbs. feather weight that floats up the climbs. He's a beast, which Anton sorta reiterates.

"Justin,

Regarding Hal and 100 mile weeks. Haha, no. Hal's training is: run three days in a row of 1-2hrs with mostly big vertical (that's all there is in Ashland), take two days off because his foot has blown up. Go win a 50K. Take two days off because he's limping. Run up a couple more peaks, go charge a local road race, take two more days off with exploded foot/knee. Repeat.

I'm only kinda joking. The dude just goes running. No speedwork, just whatever mileage his various chronic injuries will allow. I do know he was able to get in a couple legitimate long runs (30-50 miles) this build-up, which is notable for that cat. But, if you look at his ultra racing schedule: Chuckanut (50K) in March, 35 miles or so at American River before DNFing in April with blown knee, wins Macdonald Forest 50K in May, WS training camp over Memorial Day, f--ing people up at a STACKED WS100 a month later. Honestly, how he even finishes 100 milers is beyond me. Actually, I'll tell you how: he's a badass.

Seriously, Hal just rolls with it. I remember crewing for him at the North Face 50 in December. He just charges until he can't charge anymore and lets nothing rattle him. Messed up fuel, no big deal. Screaming plantar? "Well Tony, if I run the downhills hard enough, it'll just go numb." Need anything, Hal? "Yeah, a new pair of legs, dude." Keep in mind, this dude ran the Colorado Trail in 9 days back in 2003. A week after placing 2nd at Leadville. He's wearing M1 for a reason."

--Anton Krupicka

Hal before the race. Thanks to Matt Hart.