Familiar Faces win XTERRA Alabama Series Opener

Mader and Coile take top honors at Cheaha Park

The new season for the XTERRA Alabama Trail Run Series started the same way the last one ended - with Brandon Mader running away from the competition.

Mader won the XTERRA Cheaha State Park Trail Run on Sunday, Sept. 19, at Delta, Ala. He completed the 6.2-mile course (10 kilometers) with an impressive time of 38 minutes, 27 seconds, which was almost four minutes faster than his closest competition.

"The real workload of the race was navigating through the technical challenges in footing - ruts, holes, very rocky, quite a few switchbacks," said Mader, 27. "I really enjoy technical trails though, so I was able to float through quickly."

It was the first race of the 2010-11 XTERRA Alabama Trail Run Series, and the first race in the entire United States for the 2010-11 XTERRA trail run season.

Mader, who is from Huntsville, Ala., is no stranger to victories in the XTERRA Alabama Series. He was the first overall finisher at two races last season.

Sam Silvey of Chattanooga, Tenn., placed second with a time of 42:05, and Mark Wood of Pleasant Grove, Ala., was third in 44:27.

Amanda Blake Coile of Birmingham, Ala., was the first female finisher with a time of 58:55. She also took top female honors at the XTERRA Cheaha Park Trail Run last year.

"Overall it was a challenging course," said Coile, 34. "At the end, I didn't know if any female had paced behind me or not, so I just kept coaching my legs to 'keep running.' As the other female runners approached, I was surprised, and I wanted to finish well and compete to the end of the race, so I sprinted the last stretch."

Nicole Dieckow of Anniston, Ala., placed second with a time of 59:03, which was just eight seconds behind Coile. Katherine Morgan of Birmingham, Ala., was right behind them as well, and placed third in 59:06.

The race drew close to 90 runners, ranging in age from 17 to 70.

It was the first of at least three races in the 2010-11 XTERRA Alabama Trail Run Series. The next race in the series is the XTERRA Monte Sano Trail Run at Huntsville, Ala., on Oct. 24.

Mader and Coile said they will both try to keep their win streaks going at the XTERRA Monte Sano Trail Run.

Coile said: "Trail runners like myself don't often have the opportunity to due to lack of events like this one. I'm planning on competing in all the races again this year."

Mader said he is actually using the Alabama Series as part of his training for the XTERRA Trail Run World Championship at Kualoa Ranch, Oahu, Hawaii, on Dec. 5.

For full results from the XTERRA Cheaha State Park Trail Run, and entry information on the upcoming races in the XTERRA Alabama Trail Run Series, visit www.xterratrailrun.com or www.dirtyspokes.com.

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