Young trailblazer: 14-year-old ultramarathon runner finishes 100 miles

Fourteen-year-old Hunter Hart completed the Brazos Bend 100 on Jan. 7, with a completion time of 31 hours, 34 minutes and 54 seconds.

The race featured 134 runners and 77 finishers ranging from 14 to 74 years of age; Hart, an eighth-grade Buna Junior High School student-athlete, was the youngest to finish the 100-mile race.

Hart said he trained for approximately six months to run the race, his first ever. Hart’s interest in running began merely two years ago and, before the 100-mile ultramarathon race, his longest run was 30 miles. Trekking across Southeast Texas and running anywhere he could, Hart kept his focus on his goal to finish the Brazos Bend 100.

The Brazos Bend 100 is part of the Trail Race Over Texas (TROT) organization hosted by race director and four-time Guinness World Record Holder Calum Neff. “I’m not sure if he’s the youngest ever, but Hunter is definitely the youngest runner to finish a TROT 100-mile run, and we are so proud of him,” said Neff.

“It was rescheduled and held at the 7IL Ranch in Cat Spring, Texas instead of Brazos Bend, so the course was significantly harder, and Hunter faced some rough terrain.”

Hart is a member of the BJH eighth-grade cross country team and, after a third-place district finish in the local division, he is looking forward to a challenging high school season and his next ultramarathon. He is the son of Jonathan and Amanda Hart.