It's an XTERRA World

By WINA STURGEON | Adventure Sports Weekly (www.adventuresportsweekly.com)

XTERRA has snuck in under the radar. Arguably the largest race series in the world, it is changing the face of triathlons.

It's certainly not a city series, because the competitions are off-road triathlons and trail runs, and the constantly increasing competitor base shows the growing popularity of racing in the wilderness

The organization describes itself as holding races "at sea level and altitude, with swims in lakes, rivers, and oceans - in big cities and small towns - from the desert to the mountains." The series was started a dozen years ago by Tom Kiely, who began a race organizing group called TEAM Unlimited. He held the first event in Maui, Hawaii, which is now the location of the XTERRA World Championships.

There are now 160 XTERRA off-road triathlons in America, with more held in Europe, New Zealand, South Africa and other international locations as part of the XTERRA Global Tour. Racers can compete in three tri's to become a regional champion and earn the qualification to race in the Hawaii World Championships, plus four regional championship races throughout the United States.

The recent regional race at Snowbasin Resort in Ogden, Utah, is an example of how tough - and well organized - these events are. It began with a one-mile swim in the choppy waters of the Pineview reservoir, a 19-mile mountain bike ride that included 3,000 feet of vertical and a rocky, technical downhill, followed by a five-mile run up and down a mountain-ski trail, which in winter is a black diamond run. The field had hundreds of athletes from all over the world.

Men's pro winner Conrad Stoltz, 34, is from South Africa. He's been a professional triathlete all his life, lives off his winnings and has never had a job. He won $2,500 for his grueling time of 2:21:32.

"This is the most difficult race in the whole series because of the altitude gain, swimming at altitude. We even had to push the bike up some of the hills. It was a very close race, and coming in, I thought I was going to be sick. Then I said to myself, "You're the current (XTERRA) world champion, behave like it, dammit," Stoltz said.

Women's pro winner Melanie McQuaid, 35, of Victoria, B.C.,Canada, looked fresh and rested when she ran through the finish in 2:40.17. On the victory stand, she smiled and thanked her competition for "working me over." She also won $2,500.

Local physicians and medical assistants fill the medical tent to offer care to worn out and injured athletes. This year was a change from the frequently overheated athletes that collapse on a cot in medical. It's been a sweltering summer in Utah, but there was a one day break in the heat for the XTERRA; temperatures were cool and comfortable. But that wasn't always a good thing. Volunteer Shelley Larsen said, "There were lots of scrapes and bruising, but the most common thing was hypothermia. People were running and sweating, then they cool down and are also dehydrated, and they get chilled."

Cody Waite, 29, of Golden, Colorado, came to Utah carpooling with his team of six others. He's also their coach, and he finished 7th overall in the pro division. It was his ninth XTERRA . He said, "With this race, I might make it in the top ten in the pro division."

Teammate Cary Kinross-Wright, 36, was overjoyed at her own result; she finished as the top amateur woman. "It's becoming more and more my life," she said of the XTERRA races. And that, according to many, is the point. Few of these racers will ever make a national team, but XTERRA gives them a dream; to be an athlete, to have a life made up of training and competing.

Now it can be a year around dream. Last winter, the XTERRA premiered a winter series. The debut event, also at Snowbasin, included four legs: snow mountain biking, snowshoeing, running and ski mountaineering. For XTERRA racers, it's a dream come true.

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