After a few decades away from running, Brent Hutchinson got re-acquainted with the sport after moving back into the County of Brant.
Hutchinson moved away to Toronto in 1980, then came back in 2002 to take over his father’s farm and eventually got into running again.
“When we moved back, I decided to introduce my son Scott to the Brantford Track and Field club as he was very athletic; and he did very well for a few years. And then I got involved at the club [and] I found out about masters running…which you can run cross country or an indoor track as well as outdoor tracks, [and] compete against five-year age groups. So, I started running with my son to help him out. And that’s sort of how I got back into the sport,” Hutchinson said. “I missed around 22 years there, basically. But when you start to run and work at it, even in your early 40s, you can become very competitive in a hurry. It was easy for me to get back in shape because I was used to the physical work on the farm and that type of thing. I’ve been back in the track club since 2002 and now I’m its president and treasurer for a few years now.”
However, Hutchinson initially started running in high school, and was drawn to it because of its individualistic aspect.
“I had the cross-country coach approach me because he needed a couple more guys to round out the junior boy’s cross-country team. And basically, I’ve been running ever since…and when I was 15, I got introduced to the Brantford Track and Field Club. That was around 1972. The club was relatively new then…I think it was around for about a decade at that point,” he said. “I was always in shape from the farm work I did and then when I was introduced to the different aspects of training, I really took to it. I also really liked it because it was an individual sport [and] really liked the fact that I could take control of my own destiny so to speak. By Grade 11, I was junior boys’ cross-country champion of Brant County which I consider my first breakthrough. And then in track and field, I ran the steeplechase [and] became Brant County champion at that too.”
After returning to the club in 2002, Hutchinson trained steadily and eventually won a few Canadian championships, as well as finishing strong across events.
“I’ve been Canadian champion twice in a couple different events. In 2012 I was Canadian champion for the indoor 800 meters and in 2017 I was Canadian champion for outdoor track in the 1500 meters that was held down at the new track at York University which they constructed for the 2015 Pan American Games. Also in 2021, I went out to Saskatchewan for the Canadian master’s track and field outdoors event, and I come in second place in the 5,000 meters and in third place in the 1,500 meters for my age group which was 55 to 59,” recalled Hutchinson. “Right now, I am competing in the 65 to 69 group…but the interesting aspect about master’s cross-country running is all age groups line up at the same starting line. So, you have about 100 to 150 people, men and women, all running together from 35 years of age and up. I really enjoy running against big groups like that and when you get older, you’re sort of at the back of the pack but you still have some people that you can pass near the finish line and give yourself a feeling of satisfaction.”
Nevertheless, because of his knowledge of running and track and field, coupled with his passion for it, Hutchinson was asked to become a coach at the club in 2012.
“The club’s president reached out to me to see if I wanted to coach the minor track group. I have coached this group since then. It is composed of mainly elementary grade-kids ranging from grade one to eight…and it’s been very rewarding. And the number of kids signed up for this indoor track season is close to 50. The club has really been growing especially after the pandemic…and we’ve surpassed the pre-COVID levels that we had back in about 2019,” said Hutchinson. “I started off coaching by myself, but through the years we have so many kids that several parents have gotten involved, and some of them have taken or are taking coaching certification courses. So, we need a lot of help right now as our club is growing rapidly, so we welcome any extra help we can get from the parents.”
Along with being a coach, Hutchinson also continued to hold various executive positions for many years, however, he is looking at spending a bit more time training for future competitions and building on recent success.
“This winter, with the very cold weather, I haven’t been able to get out for my runs as much, and for the last couple years during the winters, I have gotten a fair number of colds which has slowed me down a bit. But recently I have been in good shape and even went to the Ontario cross countries where I surprised myself by beating a competitor who had beat me the previous year,” he said. “Back in 2023. I came second in the Ontario’s to him who is running out of the Newmarket club. He was ahead of me by about a minute, so he’s sort of the main challenger now in my age group [and] I managed to defeat him which is good as the Canadian championship is so close.”
In 2022, Hutchinson was recognized for his dedication to the running community by winning the The George Jones Memorial Award for Lifetime Sports Volunteerism, which was presented by the Brantford Sports Council.
“I’ve been involved with the club since 2002 and by around 2003, I became vice-president to help out a bit more and then I got involved with the coaching. I’ve been part of the club for over 20 years now [and in] 2013 I became president and held that position along with being treasurer ever since then. So, it was quite an honor…to be recognized as the volunteer of the year for that category,” explained Hutchinson.
Despite some setbacks with the pandemic and finding facilities to train, Hutchinson sees positive things for the club in the future.
“When I first started coaching, I had some young girls that were in grade one or two, and they progressed up through the club…they’re doing very well in high school now. And another gratifying thing is that some of the younger kids who have gone through the club have become coaches like Marqus Daniels and Josh Bolton…I coached Josh for several years right up until high school. It seems that the club gives so much back…if you have even a little bit of success and you really enjoy running…it really sticks with you,” he said. “And running has stuck with me my whole life. I have seen the value of being involved with the club and as a kid, and you would see how hard the coaches would work [and] how many hours he put in…I’ve sort of emulated that as I became older and when I started to coach myself…it’s nice that some of these athletes are coming back and helping coach…and feel that the club’s future is definitely in good hands.”
