XTERRA Last Stand Race Report

By Todd Scott, XTERRA Rep

Cooler than average temperatures didn't scare away many die heard XTERRA racers from the XTERRA Last Stand just outside of Battle Creek, Michigan.

And fortunately, beautiful Lake Eagle wasn't all that cold at 64F and the sun shining through the clouds.  Matt West grabbed a quick lead and exited the swim first with five others not more than a minute back. Among the women, Keri Walker worked her way through the earlier starting wave, and after a quick transition, was also first out on the bike.

The bike trails at the Fort Custer are well-known, well-cared-for and well-loved by mountain bikers throughout the region.  Fort Custer was formerly owned by the U.S. Army and used for combat training.  There are still remnants of that.  The trail makes use of them by dropping into and riding the walls of the dug trenches.  While most of the trail is open and flowing singletrack, it is interspersed with challenging sections such as Granny's Garden and the Amusement Park.

Veteran two-wheeled speedster Jim James from Ann Arbor set the fastest pace on the bike and moving him into first overall on the course.  James averaged a blistering 15.6 miles per hour.

The women's field remained tight on the bike.  Shirlee Finch had the fastest bike split in her first XTERRA although she has a solid history of top mountain bike.  This catapulted her into first place on the course.  However, Melissa Hughes of Marshall, Michigan flew through the run course to beat Finch to the finish line with a time of 1:57:13.  Roxane Kruse came within a couple seconds of Finch to finish third overall.

Among the men, James posted a respectable run split to grab first place overall at 1:28:27.  In a tight battle for first place points in the 35-29 age category, Paul Dunn and Dean Hewson finished second and third overall behind James.

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