Michael Hutsel

From 4LPH41337.com

Bio

Mike was born and raised in Ballwin, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. With highly active parents and a younger brother by two years, Mike immediately developed a competitive, yet teamwork-oriented spirit. In his formative years, he played little league baseball and basketball and was a regular on the kickball field and four-square court.

In junior high and high school, Mike took up running and competed in cross country and track, where he favored sprint and middle-distance events. Highlights include placing 4th in the 4x800m state finals as a senior on a team which included his brother and placing 2nd and 4th as a junior and senior in the 800m finals.

Becoming disillusioned with running at the end of high school, Mike picked up mountain biking in college and was immediately addicted. Preferring recreational to competitive riding, he logged thousands of miles in Missouri, Colorado, New Mexico, and California and passed the addiction on to countless others. The desire to run slowly returned to Mike as he finished college, and he participated in several recreational events including his first adventure challenge. The challenge involved mountain biking, kayaking, trail running, and ropes in a solo, poker run format.

Post-college, Mike moved to Atlanta to pursue a graduate degree in electrical engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Not sure what to expect from Atlanta and the southeast, he slowly realized the vast outdoor recreation opportunities all around Atlanta. Riding and training frequently for the past three years, Mike is picking back up where he left off with the adventure challenge. He participated in his first true adventure race as a last minute replacement for the 2007 Siege on Ft. Yargo. He is now fully hooked and can no longer imagine a week without biking, running, hiking, paddling, or climbing.

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