In 1985, Chris Hinshaw finished the Ironman in second place, and at the peak of his career, he was one of the best triathletes in the world. But years of endurance training left him brittle and barely functional.
Today, at 50 years old, Hinshaw runs a 4:58 mile.
“The only thing that I’m doing differently is adding CrossFit. That’s it,” he says. “I’m not only functional, I can do things that I could never have imagined myself doing even back when I was a triathlete, back when I was one of the best in the world at it.”
Hinshaw trains at NorCal CrossFit, home of Jason Khalipa, who placed second at this year’s CrossFit Games. Khalipa credits Hinshaw with helping him get to the podium.
“He’s just like the Rich Froning of running to me,” Khalipa says of Hinshaw.
For his part, Hinshaw has equally complimentary words for the 2008 Games champion.
“Look at him,” he says as Khalipa begins a track workout. “This is his fifth mile. Fifth mile. Jason Khalipa, 220-lb. man, sub-six-minute pace.”
Video by Jordan Gravatt.
17min 52sec
HD file size: 325 MB
SD mov file size: 123 MB
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Additional audio: CrossFit Radio Episode 288 by Justin Judkins, published Aug. 9, 2013.