XTERRA Georgia Trail Run Series is Off to a Fast Start

Former Yellow Jackets prevail at Harbins Park

The 2011-12 XTERRA Georgia Trail Run Series got off to a fast start at the XTERRA Harbins Park Trail Run on Saturday, Sept. 24.

Former Georgia Tech cross country runners Matt Rivers and Elena Linn made quick work of the 10-kilometer course at Harbins Park in Dacula, Georgia. Rivers was the overall winner, completing the course in 36 minutes, 46 seconds. Linn was the top female, with a time of 40:32.

More than 220 runners participated in the race, and they represented six different states and ranged in age from 16 to 74. It was the opening event of the 2011-12 season for the XTERRA Georgia Trail Run Series.

"The course was great; there was a good variety of hills and we had good weather," said Rivers, who last competed for Georgia Tech in 2009.

(Rivers pictured here courtesy www.greatactionportraits.com)

It was the first XTERRA Trail Run experience for Rivers, who is from Duluth, Georgia. "I really enjoyed it," he said. "I'm pretty sure I'll be doing the other (XTERRA) races as well."

Rivers, 21, took the lead early in the race and never relented. Runner-up Stephen Mayer of Dacula, Georgia, came in at 37:36 - 50 seconds behind Rivers.

Linn placed seventh overall, and continued her momentum from a week earlier. On Sept. 17, Linn placed first overall at an XTERRA Trail Run in Alabama. She made the two-and-a-half hour drive to Dacula, Georgia, for the Harbins Park race.

"I'm actually from Georgia, so it was like going home for me," said Linn, 24. "I really liked this race. They kept saying in the advertisements that this is a good for beginners and I agree because the trails were wide and not too technical. It was a good, fast course."

Linn last competed at Georgia Tech in 2008, and is now a graduate student at the University of Alabama-Birmingham.

(Linn pictured here courtesy www.greatactionportraits.com)

Tara Mooney of Kennesaw, Georgia, placed second in the women's division with a time of 42:38. She was the top female runner in the Georgia Series last season.

For complete results from the Harbins Park Trail Run, click HERE.

The 2011-12 season for the XTERRA Georgia Trail Run Series will feature six races. The next race in the series is the XTERRA Fall Fitness Trail Run, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 1, at Buford, Ga.

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

Georgia is one of 12 regions that will host an XTERRA Trail Run Series in the 2011-12 season. The others are Alabama, Arizona, Southern California, Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, Southern Ohio, Pocono, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

At the end of the season, the age-group champions from each region will earn free entries to the XTERRA Trail Run National Championship in 2012.

For more race photos, please visit www.greatactionportraits.com

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