Hartley Hill
Junior David Hutchinson has competed in many obstacle course races, preparing for his debut on American Ninja Warrior in 2021. He competed in his first Savage Race last March which was 7 ½ miles with about 30 obstacles.
On his fifth mile, junior David Hutchinson scales a wall and then bolts through mud, making his way to the finish line where he will forever be labeled an obstacle course racing (OCR) “Savage.”
“When I was in middle school, my brother was interested in doing an OCR race, which made me interested in it,” Hutchinson said. “So one day in freshman year, I woke up and ran Bayshore. I thought it was easy.”
Right away, Hutchinson brought up mud racing to his mom, and he signed up for a Savage Race which he found on an Instagram advertisement. The first Savage race he competed in was seven and a half miles with about 30 obstacles.
“I had been training for American Ninja Warrior, and my buddy Morgan the Moose, who has competed on the show, said the obstacles would not be a problem even though I was worried they would be.”
In his first race, David Hutchinson finished in the top 40 out of 8000 people. This was just the beginning of his Savage Race career filled with countless miles and obstacles.
“Competing gives me a title name of ‘Savage,’ which is a title for being fast, strong and crazy,” Hutchinson said. “It’s cool when OCR professionals, brands and companies reach out to me on social media and tell me that I should sponsor them because they know I am growing into a competitive racer.”
Hutchinson is currently training with the boys cross country team. In addition, Hutchinson has his own course built in his backyard consisting of different obstacles, including a salmon ladder.
“I like to swing around on bars and do pull-ups while just going around town and messing around,” Hutchinson said. “Stretching is the worst. I’m not flexible.”
Each course varies between five and eight miles. There are also 25 or more obstacles which range from monkey bars to mud to ice pits and consist of different challenges such as crawling under barbed wire and climbing up a wall.
“My favorite obstacle is ‘Wheel World,’ where you grab on wheels that spin and have to make your way across a bunch of them or else you fall in the pool underneath,” Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson has competed in six Savage Races so far and has improved each time.
“Before the race I am really hyped and excited.” Hutchinson said. “I am not worried about anything. I just look forward to crushing it and sharing a new post to show people what is going on with Savage Racing to influence them to come out and join me to do one. It motivates me knowing that I am accomplishing things while growing into a community of runners that like me.”
Savage Races are not the only OCR races Hutchinson competes in. For example, Hutchinson has an upcoming half-marathon Spartan Race with about 60 obstacles. He was invited to participate with a team, contrary to his typical Savage Races where he competes independently.
“The most rewarding part is knowing that you finished an OCR race and just knowing that you are capable of doing it,” Hutchinson said. “You get a great feeling inside of you that you can share and motivate people with.”
Hutchinson intends to be on American Ninja Warrior in 2021 and travel to different OCR races around the country. Not only will Hutchinson continue racing, but he also plans to attend Florida State Fire Academy.
“I think I have the strength and capability to be a fireman, and I want to help people,” Hutchinson said. “My main objective is to retire as a fireman, open up a ninja gym and still compete on Ninja Warrior.”
Hutchinson’s next event Nov. 3 is a new event called Savage Blitz, a 3 ½-mile course with 15-20 obstacles.
“Come out and do a race with me or hit me up to run Bayshore or go to a ninja gym,” Hutchinson said. “It will inspire you and make you feel awesome.”