Team Dobbins competes in Savage Race

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Lauren Douglas
  • 94 Airlift Wing
Your heart is pumping, adrenaline rushing, and you’re pushing to your limit as you trek through an unfamiliar, wooded terrain. Your wingmen are at your side experiencing the same challenges, but still encouraging you to press forward. Your shoes are full of mud, your clothes soaked and clinging to your flesh. With all the seemingly difficult tasks ahead of you, you still manage to smile and enjoy the struggle alongside your teammates.

Members of Team Dobbins experienced this and more when they participated in the spring Savage Race April 9, 2016, in Dallas, Georgia. The Savage Race is an obstacle course and running trail designed to push people to their physical limits and encourage teamwork.

“The Savage Race was a lot of fun,” said Maj. Stephanie Hahn, 94th Airlift Wing executive officer. “It was my first one and I am hooked.”

The Air Force Reserve-sponsored Savage course consisted of 25 obstacles over a 7.5-mile course through which racers had to run, climb, crawl, swim, swing and slide. It also included heavy lift-and-carry obstacles and an ice pool with 60,000 pounds of ice, in which participants must fully emerge themselves.

“This is my fourth time running the race,” said Senior Master Sgt. Eric Jones, 94th Logistics Readiness Squadron vehicle operations superintendent. “I wouldn’t say that it’s gotten any easier. They did add some additional obstacles that I wasn’t prepared for so I fell in the water a little more than I had anticipated.”

Participants took part in strenuous workouts with the Human Performance Center staff at Dobbins ARB prior to race day and constantly showed their support of one another. It is outlined in the Airman’s Creed that no Airman shall be left behind by another, and the obstacle course racers showed that spirit throughout the race.

“I plan to do many more obstacle races in the future,” said Hahn. “It was made even greater by being able to accomplish it as a team with my fellow Airmen from Dobbins.”

“The team wasn’t that big but we did have quite a number of folks from Dobbins that ran, so we had a good contingent of people to run in the race,” said Jones. “I keep trying to get folks to join the team. It’s a pretty fun event but everybody seems to be a kind of paranoid about running six miles and doing an obstacle course race.”

The race isn’t only for military members or people who are physically active. Anyone can participate. There is a smaller kids’ course and several spectators attend to support their racers.

“You have people that are in shape and people that are not so in shape that get out there and do it,” said Jones. “I’m going to continue to run the Savage Race and continue to try to recruit folks from Dobbins to get out there to run the race.”

Georgia’s fall Savage Race will take place Sept. 24, 2016. For more information on the challenging obstacle course visit the SR website at http://savagerace.com/.