James, Frost Ice the Competition at XTERRA O.N.E.

Ravenna, Ohio -  Have a hard time visualizing one of America's best XTERRA courses in Ohio? Come to the XTERRA O.N.E. race and become a believer. Just forty minutes from the city, this race could be described by saying "Cleveland Rocks!"

This year's race had perfect weather at West Branch State Park. It began with a one-loop half mile swim. Geoff Harrison of Cleveland Heights took a narrow lead into transition for the men's wave, while Columbiana, Ohio's Amanda Frost rocked the swim. She passed many of the men in the wave ahead and established an impressive two and a half minute lead among the women.

The 11-mile bike course is not for wimps. That was clear from the start with a stone-strewn hill climb to get the heart pumping before hitting the narrow, twisty, haunted, and often rocky singletrack. Haunted? The trail travels near a witch's site where there have been sightings of a woman clad in a flowing black gown and a black scarf.

One might expect local riders to have the fastest bike splits on such a demanding course, but that was not the case today. Jim James from Ann Arbor, Michigan blazed the course in under an hour to take the overall lead. Ted Ramos from Berwyn, Illinois had the second fastest split to move into a close second, just 90 seconds behind James.

Among the women, Frost again set the fastest bike split of the day to maintain her overall lead. Ellen Sauter from Powell, Ohio rode within a minute of Frost's split and moving her into second place.

The 4.5-mile run course was equally challenging with more rocks and roots. Melissa Liebling of Akron, Ohio was the fastest woman runner today and that put her in second place. But Frost had too big of a lead. She finished in 1:58:31 more than five minutes ahead of Liebling with Sauter following in third.

The big question in the men's race was could James hold of Ramos? While Ramos had the fastest run split overall, it was not enough to catch James. Afterwards, James said he just didn't want to get caught. He kept the pace high, especially on the less technical trail segments. His finishing time was 1:39:50.9. Tony Marut from Painesville, Ohio posted the second fastest run split to finish third place overall.

A duathlon was also run simultaneously. The highlight was seeing thirteen-year old Joshua John Park take command on the run course and take first overall. Watch out if he starts swimming!

The general opinion after the race was the XTERRA O.N.E. courses are some of the best you'll find. Challenging but doable. The kind that justify a little chest pumping at the finish.

Without a doubt, Cleveland Rocks.

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