Seaveys Racing in Santa Cruz This Weekend

Having grown up in Alaska, Darian Seavey (pictured) is no stranger to the wilderness. But at age 49, he is still considered a newcomer to trail running.

And he's loving every step of the way.

"Honestly, I wouldn't even think of doing this if it weren't for my son," Seavey said. "In fact, that's essentially the only reason why I'm doing it. But now that I have done a few, it's great."

Seavey will be one of more than 120 runners who will participate in the inaugural XTERRA Santa Cruz Trail Runs on Saturday, May 14, at Wilder Ranch State Park in Santa Cruz, Calif. He is considered one of the top runners in his age group for the 20-kilometer championship course, which will traverse along the beaches as well as into the open fields at Wilder Ranch.

"It sounds beautiful to me," Darian said. "Why wouldn't you want to do this race?"

His son is 19-year-old Taylor Seavey, an aspiring professional on the XTERRA triathlon circuit. Taylor will compete in the XTERRA Pacific Championship off-road triathlon on Sunday, also in Santa Cruz.

Taylor was born deaf, but it never stopped him from chasing his triathlon dreams. He started entering XTERRA triathlons four years ago, and his parents travel with him to every race.

"I obviously can't keep up with him, but I train with him a little bit," Darian said. "And about a year or so ago, we saw that there were these trail runs the day before (the triathlon), so I decided why not try it since I'm here anyway."

At the XTERRA Lake Las Vegas Trail Run last month, Darian placed an impressive 13th overall and first in his age group. The next day, Taylor won his age group at the XTERRA West Championship triathlon.

"It's all about Taylor," Darian said. "He pushes me."

That they are in Santa Cruz this week as top age-group contenders in their respective events is a story in itself. The Seaveys are a well-known family in Alaska in the sport of dog sledding.

Dan Seavey - Darian's father and Taylor's grandfather - is one of the founders of the world-famous Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Mitch Seavey - Darian's brother and Taylor's uncle - won the Iditarod in 2004.

Darian dabbled in the sport and was always involved in it through his family, but he never competed seriously. Likewise, Taylor grew up around sleds but opted for triathlons as a young teen.

"In our family, you're kind of born into (sledding)," Darian said. "But it never really grabbed Taylor like it did some other people in the family. Once he started getting serious about his training (for triathlons) we put our focus on that."

In fact, the Seaveys have been away from their home in Seward, Alaska, for more than a year. They spent much of the 2010 fall and winter training in Hawaii, and more recently in Seattle.

"It can be a little tough to train outside in Alaska, even in the summer," Darian said. "So we're enjoying this while we can. I'm not competitive by nature, so I wouldn't be traveling to all these places on my own to do trail runs. But since Taylor is traveling to all these different races around the country, I get to follow him and these trail runs have been a fun thing to do for me along the way."

For more information on XTERRA's first events in Santa Cruz, visit www.xterratrailrun.com or www.xterraplanet.com.

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