McDewell, Lovelace Win First Trail Run in XTERRA Series

This past Saturday, XTERRA traveled to Clemson’s Issaqueena Forest to host its inaugural trail run in the brand-new XTERRA South Carolina Series. The XTERRA Doug Harris Memorial Trail Run presented area runners with 10 kilometers of challenging hills and single-track trails, but they were no match for Bryan McDewell and Erin Lovelace, both from Clemson, who took first place in their respective divisions.

The men’s race came down to a photo finish as McDewell, 20, recorded a time of 41:39, edging out Central’s David Roper, 38, by a mere 1 second and just 12 seconds ahead of Joshua Mitchell, 19 also of Clemson.

For the women, Lovelace, a 21-year old junior performing arts student at Clemson University, crossed the finish line in just 49:13. Taylors resident Jess Greer, 43, claimed the runner-up position in 55:39 while Molly Espey of Six Mile took third place with her time of 57:59.

While it was XTERRA’s first year with the event, this was the 3rd annual Doug Harris Memorial Trail Run. To honor Jerry Douglas Harris III, who died in a tragic accident in the fall of 2006, a memorial scholarship has been set up to benefit current and future Air Force ROTC students with tuition assistance. All proceeds from this weekend’s event will be given directly to this fund.

The XTERRA Doug Harris Memorial Trail Run was just the first event in the new XTERRA South Carolina Trail Run Series. Runners will have two more opportunities during the 2009 season to accumulate points toward their series totals and earn the title of XTERRA Regional Champion. These winners will receive free entry to the XTERRA Trail Running National Championship on September 13 in Bend, Oregon and from there have the chance to race at the XTERRA Trail Running World Championship on December 6 on the spectacular Hawaiian island of Oahu.

Coming up in the 2009 XTERRA South Carolina Trail Run Series…
5/30/09 – XTERRA Paris Mountain Trails 15km Trail Run – Greenville, SC
8/8/09 – XTERRA Paris Mountain Trails 7km Trail Run – Greenville, SC
11/14/09 – XTERRA Paris Mountain Trails 11km Trail Run – Greenville, SC (#1 for 2010)

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