2006 Gator Terra Off-Road Triathlon

GATOR TERRA WEATHERS HISTORICAL 10TH YEAR!

By Chris Cusimano, XTERRA Rep

Many of you who know and have lived the history of XTERRA KNOW Ruston, Louisiana. For those of you who didn't - the hidden paradise of Lincoln Parrish Park is site of the VERY FIRST XTERRA RACE (following the name change from Aquaterra)!

On this day, Gator Terra celebrated it's 10th year as an XTERRA race, despite Mother Nature's attempt to rain on the parade. Steady down-pours and persistent thunderstorms created a true challenge, but lalso made lasting memories for everyone who attended. As rain removed reflections from the surface the lake and the threat of thunder and lighting approached, athletes removed their wetsuits and strapped on their shoes to begin the race with a 3.5-mile run in the most challenging of conditions.

The course is fast, twisty single track with lots of elevation changes…from short to long, and from straight, to tight switch-backs, Lincoln Parrish Park has it all with more to spare. It has a great combination of technical sections, speed sections, and straight-aways that your big ring begs for on a mountain bike course! Rooted sections proved to be challenging to negotiate for both cyclists and runners - especially in these conditions.

The competition at this race was awesome! At times, the first two athletes were merely seconds apart! In the end, USAT pro Jamie Cleveland from Austin, Texas was first to cross the line at 1:38:47, followed by amateur from Grand Island, Florida, Rick Copely (1:40:46), and another Austin, Texan, Mike Carter(1:46:19) in third. The top women to finish were Kristi Darby(2:09:17) from Baton Rouge, Christiane Reetz(2:12:20) of San Antonio, TX, and Shannon Knott(2:13:19) of Brookhaven, MS.

The age of participants ranged from 15 to 66! The youngest, Ben Hall, posted an impressive time of 2:04:31 and the eldest, Kurt Truax finished equally impressive with a time of 2:43:30. A special mention is deserved to Wilburn Powell (63) of Mount Ida, AR as the ONLY athlete to have competed in all ten years of this event. Congratulations also to the athletes, sponsors, volunteers and directors of the 2006 Gator Terra.

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