World Mountain Running Champ Max King to Race for Fourth XTERRA Trail Run National Title

The XTERRA Trail Run National Championship will make its way to the Snowbasin Resort near Ogden, Utah, for the first time in the event’s history on Sept. 25. That’s about the only first that is guaranteed.

Runners from across the country will gather on the picturesque 21-kilometer trail off the Snowbasin Resort to determine XTERRA’s national champions of trail running for 2011, and the new venue has created a new sense of drama.

Oregon’s Max King (pictured) is the three-time defending champion of the XTERRA Trail Run National Championship, and he showed what kind of form he is in earlier this month, when he won the 2011 World Mountain Running Championship in Albania.

However, each of his previous three XTERRA National Trail Run Championships came in his hometown of Bend, Oregon. King, 31, will have to conquer unfamiliar territory to continue his streak of victories. “I know nothing,” he said of the new course. “I have never been in the area or raced on any terrain around there.”

Making it more interesting, King has opted to make it a full weekend of racing. The day before the XTERRA Trail Run National Championship, he will be in Oregon competing in the USA 50K Trail Championships. He is scheduled to arrive in Ogden late Saturday night, and the XTERRA race is set to start at 9 a.m. Sunday morning.

“My current marathon training works pretty well for this type of scenario, since there are days where a long run on Sunday will be followed by a workout on Monday,” said King.

There will also be a slew of contenders from around the country. Mario Mendoza from Oregon placed third at last year’s XTERRA Nationals, and will travel to Utah to take another shot at King.

Twelve different regions conducted XTERRA Trail Run Series in 2011: Alabama, Arizona, Southern California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, Philadelphia, Pocono, South Carolina and Texas.

Some of the elite runners from those regions will be in Utah, including Brandon Mader of Alabama, JJ Timphony from Southern California and Michael Madison from Texas. There will also be several elite Utah runners in the field, including Kevin Tuck and Taha Mahmood.

The XTERRA Trail Run National Championship is being held one day after the XTERRA USA Championship off-road triathlon, and some of the professional triathletes are expected to enter the trail run, including Josiah Middaugh – who is considered one of the fastest trail runners on the XTERRA triathlon circuit.

Of course, last-minute entries and dark horse contenders are the norm for XTERRA races, so the winner could literally come from anywhere in the country.  In the women’s field, a new champion will be crowned in 2011. Lauren Fleshman, who won the last two XTERRA Trail Run National Championships in her home state of Oregon, will not make the trip to Utah.

In her absence, the field appears wide open. Rachel Cieslewicz (pictured) of Salt Lake City, Utah, is the home-state favorite and she is one of the few runners who actually knows what to expect on the course. Liz Stephen is an elite runner from Vermont, and she has fared well in past races in Utah. Elite runners from the XTERRA regions across the country include Liza Hash of Florida and Dawn Stone of Arizona.

In addition to the overall national champions, age-group national champions will also be crowned. Returning age-group champions from last year include Mario Mendoza (men 20-24), Max King (men 30-34), Don Hildebrand (men 75-79), and Jessie Stratton (women 65-69).

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