XTERRA M2Xtreme Post Race Report

By Ellen Sauter, XTERRA Athlete (and women’s champ!)

Race morning was beautiful - not a cloud in the sky.  The swim was in Spruce Lake, at the top of the mountain at Holiday Valley Ski Resort. 
You just had to get there.  The nice man driving the shuttle bus dropped us off and said "it is just at the end of that dirt road."  Who knew the dirt road was 3/4 mile long and had 4 steep pitches!  No need for a warm up now.  The water was 74 degrees - wetsuit legal!  Haven't seen that since Tahoe last year, so I was glad to see the westuit still fit and worked.  The swim was 1.5K, two laps with a beach run in-between. 

Once out of the water, T1 was right at the lake.  A quick lap around the lake to catch your breath and then into the single track for an awesome downhill section.  Once down the mountain, a quick pass through the finish line/T2 area to wave hello to everyone and then back up the mountain.  95% of the bike was on single track - some of the best trails I have ridden!   Lots of roots, rocks and fun.  The climbs weren't too steep or long, except for the "wall", which you even got a chance to do again on the run!  Having got out of the water a little behind (big surprise there!) I was able to put the hammer down on the bike and move myself into first place.  Love, love, love that bike course.  14 miles on the bike and into T2. 

The 5 mile run was about 4 miles up hill, including the "wall", which was pretty much a straight up in the air climb, and then 1 mile down the ski slopes.  I don't know if it was all the hill repeats I have been doing or what, but it wasn't that bad.  Most of the run was on single track as well, which makes it a lot more fun and interesting.  Big Al was in front of me, which kept me going strong.  Held on for the win, which was really exciting since they were paying cash!  Bruce Pisarek – my hubby -  had an awesome race to finish third, also in the money!  It was a good day for the Sauter/Pisar k team! 

A big thanks to Holiday Valley and M2Xtreme for putting on a great race.

© 2013 TEAM Unlimited LLC