Snoble, Hardin Win XTERRA Schiff Scout

By Chad Denning, XTERRA Rep

XTERRA Schiff Scout, held on Sunday August 24th, 2008 has been the largest attended XTERRA on the East Coast to date in 2008.  It also gets the title of the driest course on the Northeast circuit this year as it has avoided the recent rains.  This event has become a major staple on many calendars around the region as it is a very well run race from start to finish thanks in part to its director Brian Brett.  The course also lends itself to cross over triathletes and first timers….  But don't be fooled by the less technical course - it is downright fast!!  Some serious point chasers toed the line for the 15th installment of this little gem here on Long Island.

The Swim Course was slightly modified to now include two laps including a beach run which most people seemed to like!  The water temp was rather balmy but still within the wetsuit parameters so most athletes were obliged to wear them.  The competition in the water was fierce as Nathan Chubet and Brendan Mims battled for 1st and 2nd out of the water closely followed by David Hollely.  Rebecca Manning from NY held off a strong surging Suzanne Snyder, CT by a mere 17 seconds out of the water and Connie Bazos, NY exited third overall for the ladies.

The Mountain Bike course for Schiff Scout is tight, FUN, Fast, sandy and will keep you grinning from ear to ear the whole loop, actually two loops.  I went out and previewed this ride at a leisurely pace and it was so exciting that I had to do it at a race pace to really appreciate the whole enchilada.  Needless to say I was envious come race day but the action was really fast at the front of both the men's and ladies overall.  Ken Robins showed that he is indeed the local leading on lap one with the other local Anthony Soble right on his heels.  The third spot on the guy's side was Joe Pawlish just a minute back.   At the end of the second loop the guys had moved around a bit and Anthony Soble took the lead of the race for good having Ken come in second and Joe third.  On the ladies side the lead changed a few times during the bike course with Valerie Hardin taking the lead and never looking back.  Suzanne Snyder was not about to give up without a fight coming in one minute down.  Annette Macniven showed her biking experience with a strong finish in third off the bike.

The Schiff Scout Run course is probably hillier than the bike course and throws a water element at you and some sand but BEES?  This year the athletes unearthed a large bee's nest on the course that literally became a reason to run faster.  Anthony Soble finished off the race with a finish time of 1:18:29 to take the overall crown with Frank Febbraro (1:19:21) showing a last minute kick to overtake Ken Robins (1:20:05) in the last half mile of the run.  Valerie Hardin (1:33:04) finished very strong with Suzanne Snyder (1:38:59) and Annette Macniven (1:41:05) rounding out the top three ladies.

Congrats to all of the participants on what was an amazing day on an amazing course.  Hope to see you all back next year with a lot less buzz!

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