XTERRA Dirty Race Report

By Circ Toepel, XTERRA Rep

Mid May is a perfect time to take a trip down to Canyon Lakes, just outside of Austin, Texas for a Spring tune-up.  The weather isn't too hot yet (mid 80's) and the rolling bike course won't trash your legs like the hills of the Rockies.  You will be treated to some very cool single track weaving through the oak and mesquite trees.  To keep things interesting, there are numerous "Texas Granite" rock gardens to negotiate and plenty of wildlife.  There were at least a dozen deer prancing in the woods each time I went out on the bike course. The scenic run course skirts the lake and meanders through the trees as well.

At 26 years of age Kyle Grieser is a rising star who dominated this event from start to finish.  He was first out of the 72 degree water in 19:05, captured the prize for fastest bike* with a1:21:14 then went on to beat Diego Leskovar by 1 second on the run with a 50:57.   Maybe 1 second isn't total domination but it was good enough for 1st place overall.  If  Kyle decides to turn Pro he could very easily be a contender.  Diego finished 2:26 behind Kyle to take 2nd and Chuck Olinger finished the podium positions in 3rd with a 2:44:10.  After the race Kyle said he liked the change in direction from last year (the course was reversed) and he particularly enjoyed the woop-de-dos on the run.

Karen Robertson took the top spot on the podium for the women.  She was 1st out of the water in 20:18, put the hammer down on the bike and never looked back.  Karen's total time of 3:06:30 was almost 3 minutes ahead of 2nd place Kim Jennings.  Kim came out of the water in 23:57 and used her mountain bike skills to catch everyone but Karen in less than 10 minutes of the bike.  Kim may have just needed a bit more real estate because her run time of 1:05:58 was 5 minutes faster than Karen's.  Post race Kim said she thought Canyon Lakes was a fun interesting trail.  She recommends this race to anyone who hasn't been here and will definitely do it again next year.  3rd place went to Maria Hernandez from Reklaw, Texas with a finish time of 3:32:17

This is a great venue which provides competitors and their families plenty of nearby camping or motels.  It is very spectator friendly because each leg is 2 laps, keeping the competitors centrally located.  Elena Perales took the reigns from John Hill 2 years ago as race director, and is turning this venue into classic Texas staple for early season XTERRAists.  Post race festivities included grilled burgers and the usual generous XTERRA giveaways of free entries, wetsuits, shirts, shoes and socks.

*Diego's bike time was adjusted for a wrong turn due to a course marshal error.

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