Hunter McIntyre: Inside The Mind of a Champion

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A few weeks ago on a brisk fall morning, I got a random text message from Hunter McIntyre. “You want to do a track workout with me!!??”  WTF. I want to better my own fitness and I have a real problem saying no so of course I said yeah. I really need to work on that.

45 mins later we take off from Hunter’s house en route to the track a mile away at a pace which I am sure was a seven minute mile pace –  a pace that usually IS the work out for me! We get to an exercise park next to the track and do some dips and pull-ups. I at least hold my own at muscle ups.  We fill our upper body muscle with blood. Then we hit the track.

Well, to better put it – then Hunter hit the track. His work out, which he stuck to meticulously, called for 8x 100 meter sprints, 6x 200 meters, 4x 400 meters and a mile sprint with like 30 second rest in between each.  Forgive me if I missed a segment or if the rests were shorter! I made it through about two 100 meter sprints before I was toast, took a rest break, did some pullups on the soccer goal post, jogged a slow mile all while being lapped numerous time by this shirtless freak tearing up the track making the other runners on the track all wearing winter gear look like they were standing still.  His mile time (after all the sprints): 545. 

I was like geez dude, that is mind blowing. Hunter wasn’t happy with that at all. “I need to work harder. People like Brakken are getting better.

After “our” workout we run home. About a quarter of a mile into the run back, Hunter yells back to me “hey, you know the way back to my place right? I am going to sprint back.”

I had thought several times about sharing this experience and didn’t because Hunter, who I once thought was some just some cocky wanna be jock, is now my friend.  I didn’t want to do a post about ooh look who Paul hangs out with at Hunter’s expense.  But the experience struck a chord with me. I am forever reading up and trying to understand the various mindsets behind success and this was a firsthand look at one of them.

Today Hunter posted a very open post about his past year of trials and success in racing to his Facebook profile.  Again, it sheds some more light into the mind of a champion. Hunter is human but he puts in necessary work for what wants. While he isn’t an official champion at the moment he definitely has the championship mindset and is one in my mind. I am not a betting man but if you were to ask me who is going to win next year’s Spartan Race World Championships, it is definitely going to be Hunter. I am pretty sure the next time we go to the track together he will do more muscle ups than me too. He is going to have to train a little harder  though if he wants to do more pull-ups  than me 😉

Reprinted with Hunter’s permission: 

Dear spartan world,

I have a few things to say…. It has been just over a year now that i discovered the sport which has completely changed my life. I have made friends and connected with the world in a way i never thought possible. If you have a lot of free time please enjoy the words below.

One year ago I signed up for the Sacramento beast, telling myself i would become the best athlete the sport has ever seen. I will admit that i am a cocky person but I back my words up with hard work and results. I didn’t have the funds to chase this ridiculous dream so my father Douglas McIntyre and brother Garrett McIntyre payed for me to travel the country and one trip to Mexico to get me into the center of the fight for the title. I CAN NEVER THANK THEM ENOUGH FOR THIS.

I had no proper understanding of what it would take to be the best so i did my research and lifted my weights like a good boy. at this point in my life I was still struggling with my love for alcohol and drugs, so much to the point that I almost overdosed on cocaine in Miami the weekend before the Temecula super. After this harsh experience i have been clean from all hard drugs except for the occasional protein shake.

As the months rolled on I battle for the podium against the best in the sport Hobie Call Cody Moat Brakken Kraker. These men have had the greatest influence on my life in the past year more than anyone could understand. I go to bed every night thinking of what they ate, drank, lifted, ran or read that day to make them better than me. these men haunted me but made me stronger because of it, for that i am truly grateful. my girlfriend always catches me doing deep dark stare off into the distance, if you ever see me doing this you know its these three men.

After a difficult summer of racing i decided to leave everything behind to go train for GREATNESS. I left my gf Cassidy Watton something im pretty sure she will never forgive me for. I quit my job and packed up everything into a car driving to killington vt. Alex Ducruet thanks for the ride!

IT WAS TIME TO TRAIN FOR THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS!!! I dropped everything to have chance for the win. no booze, women or any other kind of dirty distraction you could think of. it was just food, weights and the mountain. Joe desena was kind enough to house and feed me during this crazy adventure. He is truly an incredible person who helped motivate and build the man i have become today. He continues to workout more than i do while running 10000 other businesses and a family. my coach Brian Mackenzie taught me what it would take to become a podium athlete in an event like this, if you ever want a taste read his book POWER SPEED ENDURACE.

After the hard months of training i was able to pull of a third place finish in an event which i believe will become known as the hardest endurance race in the world. I got punked by the old man Hobie Call and the incredible Australian Matt Murphy. ill get my revenge in 2014!!!

I decided I wasn’t happy with this finish, so I went on a rampage and won my last 5 spartan races in a row. If you’re reading this and you’ve ever been beaten at your best, don’t let that stop you just let it fuel the fire. I have never been so dedicated to anything in my life and it all come from the great friends and family that enjoy the experience with me. I want to thank everyone I’ve met in this past year for making my life the best it could be!

Alexander Nicholas and Miguel Guillermo Medina the greatest training partners in the world
David Magida and Brad Fredricks for always picking up the phone when I called!
Pawler Ann Garrahan for being the greatest mom ever!
Reebok and Spartan Race for supporting me as an athlete in my journey!!

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