Vine, Grosse Win XTERRA Black Diamond

By Andrew Marsh, Manager XTERRA Points Series

How many monkeys were on the island?

If you have three big toes does this give you an unfair advantage in the swim?

How awesome was the 1st Annual XTERRA Black Diamond off-road triathlon?

For the first two answers you'll have to ask one of the truly fortunate that came out to Sawyer Lake Park to experience this race. As the 3rd question - one answer = totally!!! A stunning setting - beautiful lake - jamm'n bike - ripp'n run - and great post-race food and fun pushed this inaugural event high on to the "Don't miss this race!" list.

Early morning fog gave pre-race moments of concern but cleared shortly before the 9:00 start to reveal a truly gorgeous Swim course. The glass flat 68 degree clear water was adorned with flowering lily pads and several curious ducks.

One thousand meters, one wave, one loop, one island, one Wilson, and one dude off the front kept athletes, spectators, and lakeshore neighbors fully entertained. Considering he chose to plow through the lily pads instead of going around them - local swim stud Brad Williams (Covington, WA) of Team Raise the Bar did the race organizers, Raise the Bar, proud by exiting the water first in 14:05. XTERRA Pro Mike Vine (Victoria, BC, Canada) chased him into T1 via a 14:22. Matt Berg (Milwaukie, OR) 14:27 and Erik Deroche (Bellingham, WA) 14:53 were the top amateur men to hit the Bike. Susan Deschenes (Bellingham) 17:13 and Mary Fordham 18:39 (Seattle) took the early lead in the ladies race.

With some authority it can be said that this Bike course is like no other. Epic?  No - not really. It's not Tahoe's Fume Trail.  Fast? No - not really. It's not quick/open like AZXTR. Scenic? While certainly pretty - no - it's not Crested Butte. What do you call 15 miles of roots, rocks, bumps, jumps, logs, bogs, short ups, quick downs, screaming straights, and a mandatory calf-deep creek crossing? The two loop format gave riders the opportunity to test their oxygen depleted memories and/or take a new line over the roots they wiped out on the first time.  Technical?  Yeah - but it's not over the top crazy. Fun? Depends who you ask!?! This 100% off-road, 95% single track course was a momentum killing ride that worked you over and was totally doable at the same time. We'll just simple call it ear-to-ear grin, Grade A, 210% XTERRA!!!

Mike Vine gave a MTB clinic this day - negative splitting the course in 1:18:26. Particularly impressive given that he pre-road a lap 40 minutes before race start. Jason Jablonski (Wenatchee, WA) posted a 1:23:32, 2nd quickest, to move into 2nd and give chase as the only other Pro in the field. Team Raise the Bar maintained via Pat Dale's (Olympia) 1:29:07. Berg and Deroche kept pace and position. Berg had the best non-Pro, non-Relay Bike split of 1:31:39. David Spenser (Kirkland, WA) passed 24 fellow competitors to move into contention with a 1:32:37 but couldn't quite catch Deroche. Keri Grosse (Leavenworth, WA) moved into the women's lead (and 11th OA) with a 1:41:43. Kelly Hovland (Portland, OR) was closing fast - (1:45:51) - picking up 18 post-swim positions to give chase on the Run. Sandra Insbell (LaGrande, OR) home of XTERRA Solstice gained 33 spots to take over third spot.

The Run was a total of 4.25 miles. Two loops, semi-rugged, and fun. As Jason Jablonski was heading out onto the first loop he asked "Does Mike look as bad as I feel?" "No." was all we could say - not having the heart to tell him that we were expecting Mike to start his 2nd lap anytime. Mike did pop outta the woods about 1 minute later and we thought he might lap Jason. Mike ran a 26:05 to Jason's 26:49 and took the tape in a total time of 2:00:36. He was so unexpectedly quick that there was hardly a soul at the finish the cheer him in. Sorry Mike. Jason took the the Runner Up Pro spot in 2:09:32. Team RTB crossed in 2:15:04. Matt Berg led all amateur men from the gun and took top AG honors in 2:16:34. Erik Deroche picked up 2nd OA AG in 2:24:28.

Kelly Hovland ripped a 30:53 Run split, 9th best of the day, but ran out of real estate to finish 2nd to OA AG women's champ Keri Grosse. Total time for Grosse 2:37:06. Hovland: 2:40:34. Sandra Isbell (2:51:43) stayed just ahead of fellow LaGrander and XTERRA Ambassador Korrie Dubray (2:54:11) to take the third podium position.

Post race festivities were fun filled and well fed. Mama Passarell's put on a spread that couldn't be beat. XTERRA Black Diamond pint glasses were awarded to the AG winners. OA champs took home the $$$$. The XTERRA Wetsuit "Dash & Splash" featured a wall touch finish that Michael Phelps would have been proud of. 

So many stories - so much fun! Check out the race website for links to awesome pix, racer blogs, and a post-race survey. Be certain to check out Tara and Alison's tale of perseverance.

Thanks to the Black Diamond community, the local sponsors, volunteers and fans for supporting the RTB gang in their efforts to bring another XTERRA event to the Seattle area. Awesome job!

XTERRA IS Living More in the PNW!!

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