THIS WEEK: An invitation from the Ogden/Weber Convention and Visitors Bureau for media interested in checking out the XTERRA Mountain Championship this August, a pair of trail runs on Saturday signify the start of one series and the end of another, reviews from last weekends’ Dawg Dayz and Garnet Hill races, a preview to the 07-08 XTERRA South Africa series, and this weekend’s XTERRA TV lineup.
UPCOMING RACES:
6/30 – XTERRA Wildwood Romp Trail Run (St. Louis, MO)
6/30 – XTERRA I.C. King of Trails Race (Knoxville, TN)
7/8 – XTERRA M2Xtreme (Ellicottville, NY)
7/8 – XTERRA Lock 4 Blast (Gallatin, TN)
7/8 – XTERRA Loon Mountain Trail Run (Lincoln, NH)

ST. LOUIS SERIES: The XTERRA Trail Run Series has a new partner in St. Louis, Missouri and as such, the citizens of St. Louis now have three chances to hit the trails. Although just minutes away from downtown St. Louis, participants will feel worlds apart from the hustle and bustle of the city as they traverse through this heavily wooded, peaceful courses. If you are in the neighborhood, get wild at the Wildwood Romp 10k Trail Run through Babler State Park this Saturday. Click here to register.

After Saturday’s race there will be two more for area residents – the XTERRA Rock in the Woods Trail Run on July 21 and the XTERRA Trail Blazer Trail Run on August 26.

Whether running for health, adventure, fun or competition, this series has a place for people of all ages and skill levels. Lace up those sneakers St. Louis – XTERRA has arrived!

TENNESSEE TRAILS: The finale of the XTERRA Tennessee Trail Running Series is this Saturday at the XTERRA I.C. King of Trails race in Knoxville. After the race points will be tallied up to crown the regional champions and see who is eligible to compete for the title of XTERRA National Champion in Lake Tahoe, NV in September.

The crowd favorite for the title of "Queen" is Sally Evenden of Knoxville, the women's overall winner for the first two races. "I'm excited to compete in this final trail run," said Evenden, "this race series is exposing the running community to different parts of the trail system in our various parks in the community. The first two races were absolutely beautiful."

The XTERRA I.C. King of Trails Race is approximately 7-miles in length through rolling paths of I.C. King Park, where the air is perfumed by an abundance of hardwoods, cedars and pines. Trail running is a wonderful way to get active outdoors and appreciate the jewels of nature. This event is perfect for runners of all ages and skill levels looking for some fun and adventure.

All proceeds from this race go directly to the Knoxville Track Club's Youth Athletics Program, helping thousands of area youth ages 5 - 18 achieve their fitness goals through indoor track, outdoor track, and cross-country running. The Knoxville Track Club, one of the largest per-capita running clubs, is host to the XTERRA Series in Tennessee. For more information on the event check out www.ktc.org.

XTERRA Dawg Dayz Recap: Post Race Story by Circ Toepel, XTERRA Rep - Fred Phillips has an uncanny ability to find sweet single track tucked away in the South with a body of water next door just right for an XTERRA triathlon. On this day he also had the uncanny ability to schedule the whole thing including awards right before the sky let loose. Bummer for the guys breaking down the event but the racers enjoyed/endured a typical hot humid day in the south with temps in the upper 80’s.

This course, located in Burns Park, just outside of Little Rock is short and sweet. Swim about 850yds in the Arkansas River, ride 11 mi among towering oak, elm and maple trees, then finish it off with another 3.75 mi on the same trails as the bike. Perfect for the many new athletes who showed up. As you enter the oak gateway into the twisty flowing single track one completely loses any thought of the sprawling metropolis just a few miles away. The rolling hills provide a few healthy climbs to make it even more interesting.

Kyle Grieser from Marble Falls, Texas was the top Dawg for the day. He covered the distance fastest with a time of 1:30:36. Local boy Craig Zediker, was 2nd with Luke Porter nipping at his heels another 6 seconds back.

Lucia Colbert came over from Tennessee to show the younger women how it is done. She finished in 1:47:13. Christiane Reetz finished 2nd with a time of 1:48:39. 3rd place was taken by Veronica Battaglia in1:55:52.

Bruce Berkheimer got his whole family involved. Bruce did the whole event by himself but tagged his 10 year old son John who took off on the bike with dad in tow. They came in to T2 together and John tagged his 12 year old brother Kevin who then took off on the run. Kevin proceeded to show dad how it is done by coming in a full 9 minutes ahead of him. With 3 triathletes in the family, that $25 XTERRA Gift Certificate they won in the raffle will come in handy.

A huffy toss was held to give away the free entries into the remaining championship race at Ogden. Armando Guerrero let one rip that sailed almost twice as far as the nearest competitor. With those arms he would have been untouchable in a pushup contest. Linda McCall Williams got a bad bounce when her handlebar dug in and got edged out by not much more than an inch or 2 from Lisa Longinotti.

The local Pacifico rep was on hand at the awards to hand out some cool Pacifico Schwag and then accompanied us to a post race party at Cornerstone Bar and Grill for some much needed refreshments!

XTERRA Garnet Hill Recap: By Dick Carlson, Race Director - On Sunday, June 24th Garnet Hill hosted a stop on the XTERRA America Tour – the 3rd annual XTERRA Garnet Hill. Competitors from nine states and from as far away as Colorado and Texas came to North River to challenge the Garnet Hill course that consisted of a 1K (.6mi) swim on 13th Lake, a 16K (9mi.) mountain bike leg, and an 8K (4.8mi.) trail run.

Under a beautiful blue sky day the swim start of the race on Thirteenth Lake began at 10:30AM. First out of the water was Kevin Crossman from South Glens Falls, NY in 15:44. He was followed in a minute by Brian Emelson of Rochester, NY in 16:44, and third out of the water was Ryan Kelly of Concord, NH in 16:49. The first woman out of the water was Elizabeth Vineis of Albany, NY in 18:25 followed by Sydnie Lieb of Saranac Lake (19:03) then Mara Fronhafer of Argyle (19:13). After a 1 mile ride up from the beach the bike leg featured two loops of a challenging 4.2 mile course with 500 feet of climbing per lap. Racers then switched out their bike gear for a 8K trail run on the Garnet Hill Trails. The bike and run separated out the men’s field and the overall winner was Ryan Kelly of Concord, NH (1:41:25) followed by a fellow pro racer Will Kelsey of Divide, CO (1:44:53). The third spot was captured by Ian Sullivan of Jerico, VT (1:45:56). The women’s race was very tight with the lead changing a few times. Over the same course, 1st place was won by Audrey Huffman of Waitsfield, VT in 2:05:57. Second place went to Elizabeth Vineis of Albany, NY in 2:08:07, and third place was won by Mara Fronhafer of Argyle in 2:11:38.

It was Thoreau that said “What people say you can’t do – you try and find that you can.” That was certainly true of the youngest athletes at XTERRA Garnet Hill. It was the youngest racers and finishers Jonathan LaBrecque age 12 of Minerva and Julia Slyer age 11 of Averill Park that provided the most inspiration for everyone. Racing over the same challenging course as the adults, Jonathan overcame a broken bike and completed the swim, bike, run course to a chorus of cheers in 4:28:11. Julia finished with her dad John Slyer in 3:25:20.

SOUTH AFRICA SERIES STARTS: The first leg of the 2007-2008 DUESOUTH XTERRA will take place at the magnificent PEZULA Private Estate on Thursday, July 12 as part of the Pick 'n Pay Knysna Oyster Festival.

Top local XTERRA athlete Michelle Lombardi will once again put her endurance levels to the test as she is hoping to participate in all four legs of the South African XTERRA.

"Since the DUESOUTH XTERRA SA finals in April this year, I have taken part in the European XTERRA Championships in Sardinia where I came 4th. I will also be doing a further three European races namely in Austria, Wales and France before heading to the World Championships in Hawaii in October. I have taken a two-week break after Sardinia, but hope to be back on form for the DUESOUTH XTERRA Knysna. I feel it is really important for athletes to support the local XTERRA and not only focus on overseas racing, therefore I have committed myself to taking part in all the XTERRA SA events," says Lombardi.

Well-known XTERRA men's athlete Lieuwe Boonstra will make a comeback to the SA circuit after he had to withdraw from the DUESOUTH XTERRA South African Championships in April this year due to illness. According to Boonstra, he was forced to take a breather after falling ill just before the SA Championships.

"I took things easy for a week or two and then hit the training ground again with a new goal in mind...XTERRA Italy. I managed to finish 7th in a highly competitive field, which shows that my training has been going exceptionally well. I think my fitness levels are peaking at a great time and am excited and confident for the DUESOUTH XTERRA Knysna", says Boonstra.

Other top XTERRA athletes that will be on the starting line include Hanlie Booyens, Jeannie Bomford, Russel and Tyronne White, Roan Exelby and Adam Grant. Former DUESOUTH XTERRA Durban champion Dan Hugo has been forced to pull out of the Knysna event due to a serious crash during the recent XTERRA Southeast Championship in Pelham, Alabama. Hugo sustained a broken scaphoid bone, as a result his wrist will be in a cast until the end of July.

The DUESOUTH XTERRA consists of four events hosted across the country in the Garden Route, Gauteng, KwaZulu Natal and the Western Cape. The DUESOUTH XTERRA Knysna features two disciplines where individual athletes or teams of two can tackle the challenge of the XTERRA, which consists of a 3km trail run, 20km mountain bike route and 7km trail run. All three legs of the event will take place in and around the spectacular PEZULA Private Estate. Newcomers to the sport can compete either as individuals or in 2-member teams in the DUESOUTH XTERRA LITE, which involves shorter distances in the same disciplines, namely a 3km trail run, 12km mountain bike and 3 km trail run.

The South African XTERRA finals will take place in March 2008 and form part of the XTERRA Global Tour. By competing in the SA XTERRA finals, athletes will have the opportunity to qualify for the world championship final in Hawaii. For more information on the DUESOUTH XTERRA visit www.duesouth.co.za.

XTERRA TV: XTERRA Planet, XTERRA Saipan, and XTERRA USA shows are hitting markets across the country this weekend:

Date City Network Time Show
6/30 Monterey/Salinas, CA KION (CBS) 10:00-10:30 am XTERRA Planet from Hawaii
6/30 Monterey/Salinas, CA KION (CBS) 10:30-11:00 am XTERRA Saipan Championship
6/30 Albuquerque, NM KOAT (ABC) 12:00-12:30 pm XTERRA Planet from Hawaii
6/30 Waco, TX KWTX (CBS) 12:00-12:30 pm XTERRA Planet from Hawaii
6/30 Great Falls, MT KFBB (ABC) 12:00-12:30 pm XTERRA Planet from Nevada
6/30 Helena, MT KHBB (ABC) 12:00-12:30 pm XTERRA Planet from Nevada
6/30 Waco, TX KWTX (CBS) 12:30-1:00 pm XTERRA Planet from Nevada
6/30 Orlando, FL WFTV (ABC) 12:30-1:00 pm XTERRA Planet from Nevada
6/30 Albuquerque, NM KOAT (ABC) 12:35-1:05 am XTERRA Saipan Championship
6/30 Tyler, TX KFXK (FOX) 2:00-2:30 pm XTERRA Planet from Hawaii
6/30 Traverse City, MI WGTU (ABC) 2:00-2:30 pm XTERRA Planet from Hawaii
6/30 Tri Cities, TN CW4 (CW) 2:00-2:30 pm XTERRA Planet from Nevada
7/1 Omaha, NE KETV (ABC) 1:00-1:30 pm XTERRA Planet from Nevada
7/1 Reno, NV KOLO (ABC) 1:00-1:30 pm XTERRA Planet from Nevada
7/1 Greenville, SC WNEG (CBS) 1:00-1:30 pm XTERRA Planet from Nevada
7/1 Wausau, WI WSAW (CBS) 10:30-11:00 am XTERRA Planet from Hawaii
7/1 Wausau, WI WSAW (CBS) 11:30am-12:00pm XTERRA Planet from Nevada
7/1 Orlando, FL WFTV (ABC) 2:00-2:30 pm XTERRA Planet
7/1 Omaha, NE KETV (ABC) 2:30-3:00 pm XTERRA Planet from Nevada
7/1 Salt Lake City, UT KSL (ABC) 4:00-4:30 pm XTERRA Planet from Hawaii
7/1 Eugene, OR KEZI (ABC) 4:30-5:00 pm XTERRA Planet from Nevada
7/1 Medford, OR KDRV (ABC) 4:30-5:00 pm XTERRA Planet from Nevada