XTERRA North Carolina Series is Underway

Hovis and Dorough win opening race at Whitewater Center

The opening race of the 2011 XTERRA North Carolina Trail Run Series took place at the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, where the famous whitewater rapids were running.

But it was the rapid running of Ben Hovis and Ashley Dorough that took the spotlight at the inaugural XTERRA Whitewater Trail Run on Saturday, July 9.

Hovis was the runaway overall winner, completing the 13-kilometer course in 53 minutes, 58 seconds. He finished nearly five minutes ahead of the runner-up, Justin Tucker.

"The race went well for me," said Hovis, 33. "The first 300 meters or so was along the Whitewater Center rapids and then it ducked into the woods. I could hear a couple people with me for the first 600 meters or so, but once we hit the first uphill, I no longer had anyone to run with. It became me versus the course, which I enjoy."

Hovis (pictured at right) is from Charlotte and often trains at the Whitewater Center, so his familiarity helped him maintain a fast pace from start to finish. "I know the trails fairly well, as I've run out there numerous times," he said. "I had run a race out there about a month ago, but it wasn't along the same trails."

Dorough was an impressive seventh overall and the first female with a time of 1:03:30.

"Whew - humid!" Dorough said of the conditions. "Gills may have served better for breathing ... the course was nice, especially because runners did not have to make multiple loops. Given the storm that came through the night before, I was actually surprised the trails weren't in worse shape -- it was muddy though, the kind that cakes up on your shoes muddy."

Dorough stayed close to Kimberley Hefner for the first half of the race before pulling away. Hefner placed second among the females with a time of 1:04:13.
"I was able to keep a good pace the rest of the race and finish strong - that was nice," said Dorough, who is from Asheville, N.C.

Interestingly enough, it was the first XTERRA Trail Run for both Hovis and Dorough (pictured at left).

Hovis works as a teacher and cross country coach at Providence Day School; Dorough works as a clinical health psychologist.

The XTERRA Whitewater Trail Run was the first of three events in the 2011 XTERRA North Carolina Trail Run Series. Around 350 runners participated in the race, ranging in age from 12 to 73. For complete results, click HERE.

The next race in the North Carolina Series will be the XTERRA Beech Mountain Trail Run - a 10-kilometer race at Beech Mountain, N.C., on July 24.

To register for a race in the North Carolina Series, or to learn more about it, please visit www.dirtyspokes.com or www.xterratrailrun.com.

Race photos courtesy www.greatactionportraits.com

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