ATHLETE BIO
|
Age: 36
Occupation: Creative Strategist, Design Principal Residence: Salt Lake City, UT Year started AR: 2003 Favorite Discipline: Race Strategy Favorite Piece of Gear: Dry Socks |
For Fletcher Hamel, a Kansas native and transplant to the Wasatch Mountains of Utah, Adventure Racing has become more than a hobby, it’s a lifestyle/addiction/love. Lifetime athlete and adventurer, Fletcher found his endurance and multisport passion in college and the AR bug bit shortly after. Racing on and off for nearly 15 years and 60+ events including numerous podiums and top ten finishes in several local/regional races, he adds experience to the Journey roster.
As former captain and navigator of Team Torti, a Midwest and top Kansas Adventure Race team, Fletcher brings leadership and strategy to the team. As a member of multiple orienteering clubs, he continues to hone his map and compass skills, but it’s his humor and genuine care of this comrades that often finds him being dubbed the “heart” of the team.
Designer by day and adventure seeker at all other hours, he is constantly balancing family, work and his passion for AR. More recently, in his move to Salt Lake, he has taken up Ultra and Mountain running and plays in the surround canyons and ridgelines with the local Wasatch Mountain Wrangler group. He shares this new passion and playground with his wife (Patty) and kids (Turner & Reece), hoping to instill a sense of pride and adventure in the self-reliance during extreme conditions in majestic environments down to the next generation.
Notable events and finishes from Fletcher’s race “career” include the following: Competing on Team USA at the World Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships, Raid the North Extreme, Gold Rush Mother Lode and Primal Quest. His team earned 2nd Place at the NAARS Championship in both 2014 and 2016 and he’s grabbed a spot in the PQ records with a 3rd place finish at Tahoe in 2015. He continues to earn top spots in the races he enters, all while introducing new athletes to the sport and coaching/cheering his teammates through dark patches and triumphs.
Fletcher grew up playing traditional team sports, excelling specifically in soccer, but put these aside for more adventurous pursuits of rock climbing, trail running, and mountain biking all fostered by family trips "West" to the natural wonders of our National Parks. These interests coupled with the study of design and complex patterns, has developed his interest in strategy based competitions - Orienteering & AR. Fletcher continues to explore and push his physical limits as well, researching and testing various nutritional regimens in the pursuit of a specific allergen free endurance supporting diet.
As former captain and navigator of Team Torti, a Midwest and top Kansas Adventure Race team, Fletcher brings leadership and strategy to the team. As a member of multiple orienteering clubs, he continues to hone his map and compass skills, but it’s his humor and genuine care of this comrades that often finds him being dubbed the “heart” of the team.
Designer by day and adventure seeker at all other hours, he is constantly balancing family, work and his passion for AR. More recently, in his move to Salt Lake, he has taken up Ultra and Mountain running and plays in the surround canyons and ridgelines with the local Wasatch Mountain Wrangler group. He shares this new passion and playground with his wife (Patty) and kids (Turner & Reece), hoping to instill a sense of pride and adventure in the self-reliance during extreme conditions in majestic environments down to the next generation.
Notable events and finishes from Fletcher’s race “career” include the following: Competing on Team USA at the World Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships, Raid the North Extreme, Gold Rush Mother Lode and Primal Quest. His team earned 2nd Place at the NAARS Championship in both 2014 and 2016 and he’s grabbed a spot in the PQ records with a 3rd place finish at Tahoe in 2015. He continues to earn top spots in the races he enters, all while introducing new athletes to the sport and coaching/cheering his teammates through dark patches and triumphs.
Fletcher grew up playing traditional team sports, excelling specifically in soccer, but put these aside for more adventurous pursuits of rock climbing, trail running, and mountain biking all fostered by family trips "West" to the natural wonders of our National Parks. These interests coupled with the study of design and complex patterns, has developed his interest in strategy based competitions - Orienteering & AR. Fletcher continues to explore and push his physical limits as well, researching and testing various nutritional regimens in the pursuit of a specific allergen free endurance supporting diet.
