Jacobi and Peluse Run Their Way to Wins at XTERRA Renegade Trail Run

(Palatine, IL) - Severe morning thunderstorms were not enough to stop runners from lining up on the start line at yesterday's XTERRA Renegade Trail Run. Andrew Jacobi, 19, proved to be the hometown hero beating 128 runners from 7 states to finish first overall while Buffalo Grove resident Sarah Peluse, 14, took the women's race.

A sophomore at the University of Illinois, Jacobi walked onto the school's cross country team last year and is training and racing non-stop to secure his spot again this season. He won the 10-kilometer course in 36:51, more than three minutes ahead of second place finisher Steven Oliver, 36, from Chicago.

Peluse may have been the youngest competitor at the race, but the Buffalo Grove High School sophomore proved her skills as she placed first for the women with her time of 43:35. On her school's cross country team, she signed up for the race as a training run, but after catching up with the woman in front of her, she picked up the pace and beat Rachel Horvatch, 23, from West Chicago by just 6 seconds. "I was just cruising along until I realized I had a chance to win, so I kicked it into high gear" said Peluse.

After the morning storms left the trails muddy and slick, the weather let up just in time for the start and the temperature remained pleasant in the mid-70's.  XTERRA Trail Run Series manager Kristin Francis commented that "All finishers agreed it was a challenging, muddy course. A few athletes grumbled about the slick conditions resulting in slower times than they expected, but everyone finished with muddy grins and were happy to have finished the tough course. It was a great event."

This was the second of three races in the XTERRA Chicago Trail Run Series. Runners only have one more race to accumulate points toward their series total, and stakes are high with top runners receiving free entry to the first-ever XTERRA Trail Running National Championship on September 27 in Bend, Oregon. From there, runners can race at the spectacular Kualoa Ranch in Hawaii on December 7 at the XTERRA Trail Running World Championship. For more information, visit www.xterratrailrun.com.

Next up for the 2008 XTERRA Chicago Trail Run Series is the XTERRA XTREME Trail Run 12K in Palatine, Illinois on August 9, 2008.

Complete results from Saturday's race are attached and more information can be found online at www.xterratrailrun.com. Media interested in photos from this event should contact emily@xterraplanet.com.

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