XTERRA Four Corners Race Report

By Circ Toepel, XTERRA Rep

Wicked fun bike course!  Best XTERRA course ever! These are just a few of the comments after the inaugural XTERRA Four Corners race.  The whole city of Farmington got behind this event to make it happen. The Fire Dept provided EMT service, the police helped with the traffic control, the parks and recreation provided access to some of the finest single track in NM and quite possibly the entire US!

The race started like normal with a swim.  A chilly 66 degrees, 1400 yard, 2 lap swim, in which almost everyone wore a wetsuit.  Eric Snowberg made it out first in 17:52 followed by Karl Edgerton and Carl Abrams.  A few short minutes later Julie Bruckman emerged as the first female with Molly Hummel and Kim Katko right behind.  In an effort to get in as much of the classic Road Apple Rally bike course, the organizers wisely chose to place the run portion of this race next. 

Jason Michalak entered T2 first by running up the 5.5 mile hill from Farmington Lake to Lyons Wilderness Park in 36:36.  Several top dogs came into transition shortly after but Jason had what many would consider an insurmountable lead.  Even Ed Oliver thought there was no way he could catch him.  Ed's forte is the bike and he made the most of it by relentlessly attacking one of Ned Overend's favorite bike courses.  Ed laid down a 1:04:24 bike split, over 4 minutes faster than anyone else, to catch sight of his training buddy on the pavement leading to the finish.  With one last push, Ed made a final pass just before the dismount to run across the finish line in 2:10:16, just a few feet before Jason.  Tom Ober rounded out the top 3 by finishing less than a minute later in 2:10:59

The women were charging hard to overcome Julie's killer swim.  Amy Regan from Los Alamos posted a 43:55 run split and Caroline Colonna out of Taos whipped off a 1:18:39 bike ride on the 16.5 mile course.  In the end, nobody put it together like Julie who finished in 2:30:26, nearly 4 minutes ahead of 2nd place.  Caroline crossed the line next and Molly Hummel from Durango worked her way up to 3rd with a 2:35:18 finish.

The bike course was definitely the shining star of this race with all its nuances and challenges at 5500'.  There was even a no passing zone mid course where riders negotiated a 100' stretch of 2 way traffic on the single track.  The local WalMart was on hand to keep the riders in line in the safety zone.  Some competitors were wary of the changed format but most everyone found it an interesting change after racing it.  Ed likes the swim, run, bike and said it was one of the best courses he has been on.  Julie loved the whoop de dos and said the course was quick, technical and fast.  Both riders hail from the Wheat Ridge Cyclery Team and are making plans to return next year for more fun.  The rising star of this race was Christopher Holt from Littleton.  Chris ran the grueling uphill leg in 37:39 to tie for the 3rd fastest run of the day.  Maybe not that exciting except that Chris is 17!

Post race, the top 3 in each age group were treated to some very cool local Southwestern pottery.  There was a great culinary feast (did you expect anything less?) topped off with ice cream and a ton of XTERRA gear given away to needy competitors.  Many thanks to all the volunteers who made this race happen.  Especially, to Pete Emery who had to fix the bike course race morning due to some late night hooligans.  Pete went on to race the event and finish 2nd in his age group.

Fastest Swim - Eric Snowberg 17:52, Julie 22:36
Fastest Bike - Ed Oliver - 1:04:24, Caroline Colonna - 1:18:39
Fastest Run - Jason Michalak - 36:36, Amy Regan 43:55

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