The Archer Report - Southeast

On the Road Again

Often the toughest part of being a pro athlete is all the travel. Even though I live in the triathlon mecca of Boulder, CO there still aren't a lot of local races to choose from.  Only three of my 25 scheduled races this season are local. Actually, let me clarify; there are local races. Tons of them, really. And they're great races. Triathlon is booming and it seems you can find four or five races every weekend within a hundred mile radius. The thing is they aren't the races I have to do. They aren't the series races, or the big money races, or the prestige races. Those are the races I want and need to do. Those are where I race the best of the best, find out where I stand, and hopefully pay some bills (or at least cover the travel expenses). Therefore, I find myself in my current situation: a three week road trip covering two-thirds of the country and 23 states. Next stop ... the Nissan Xterra Southeast Championship in Pelham, AL.

'Bama or Bust

The travel can be tough, but being on the road has its benefits. I arrived in Pelham earlier than usual to check out the new venue. We (the pros) were on a mission to scout this course as soon and as much as possible.

Once I saw the course, I new I had made the right decision. The Pelham course is awesome. The swim is in a rather warm (this year) lake with no boat traffic, clear visibility, and flat water. However, the bike and run are where Pelham really steps up. The bike offers a bit of everything. You start out on tight, winding single track that demands you know the trail if you want to hammer without catching a bar on a tree, over-shooting a corner, or bouncing off one of several bridges. The course then opens to double track, giving racers an opportunity to take in some nutrition and rest the mind. The break is short-lived, as this is where the climbing begins.

The double track opens up with two steep climbs that can easily fry those leg muscles. The course dives into a section of trail called Blood Rock, and for good reason. It's a mile-long string of drops and sharp rocks that left nearly every one I know with at least one wheel ding and a slap on the wrist for running too little PSI. After Blood Rock, the course finishes up with more tight, winding single track and rolling climbs.

The run repeats the first single track section of the bike, which might actually be trickier to run than ride. The final 5K on foot dishes out some truly daunting hills that tests both skill and fitness.

At the Races

Race day arrived with a hot and very humid 95 degrees. The air was heavy and the lake was like a bath (I think it was about 80 degrees). The swim started on a chaotic note. I don't know if it was just me, but everyone seemed to be all over the place.

As we rounded the first buoy and entered the open water section, the usual suspects took the lead. ITU standouts Seth Wealing and Brent McMahon set the pace with Conrad Stoltz determined to stay on their tail. By lap two the swift South African had fallen back to the second pack with Dominic Gillen, Jim Vance and Andrew Noble.

On the ladies side Janae Pritchett and Candy Angle worked their way up to the men's lead group and came out of the water with a few minutes on Jamie Whitmore and Melanie McQuaid.

On to the bike Conrad took off like a man possessed, ripping through the course three minutes faster than the chase pack. The only close contender was mountain biking pro Brian Smith, who passed more than 50 racers to make up his swim deficit and put some heat on Stoltz.

The rest of us produced splits close to Stoltz's, which goes to show that the mix of skill and fitness needed to excel at XTERRA was put to the test.

As I made my way through the lead pack in the women's race, it seemed as if Candy Angle was a bit further ahead than usual and still had power to spare. I remember thinking, "Candy might break the cycle (of  Melanie -vs- Jamie) today and hang on to pick up the win." But Mel was strong on the hilly sections and passed Candy and Janae on the bike, then hit the trails hard to take home her first NXPS win of the season. The hilly run played to the strengths of Whitmore's fleet feet, allowing her to move past Janae and Candy. She might have caught Melanie if the run were a half-mile longer. Whitmore took home silver and Angle scored the bronze.

After a stellar bike Conrad led the race through T2, only to be run down first by Brent, then Seth, and finally Andrew Noble. Blazing the hills on the second half of the run, Noble was evidently flying downhill at breakneck speed. He finished third behind Wealing, with the overall win going to McMahon.

This new Pelham course proved to be an excellent venue providing great races with lots of lead changes and opportunities for surprises and breakthroughs. In short, pretty much everything you want in a race course.

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