Torchia Completes Summer Internship with XTERRA Win

On the last day of his summer internship in New Hampshire, Mike Torchia ran out and won the XTERRA STOAKED Trail Run on Saturday.

Torchia completed the 16-kilometer course in 49 minutes, 7.8 seconds, to finish well ahead of the rest of the field. Runner-up John Dudley came in more than five minutes later at 54:27.6.

"We had some fast runners there and Mike still ran away from everybody else, so that shows you fast he is," race director Chad Denning said. "I think he can compete on a national-level."

Actually, Torchia does compete on a national level as a member of the University of Minnesota's cross country and track teams. He will be a senior this season, and was working as an intern in New Hampshire for the past few months.

"The course was dry, well cleared, but most importantly, well marked," Torchia said. "The race was held under blue skies, non-humid air, and temperatures in the mid-70s. You really couldn't ask for a better day than that."

Shortly after winning the race, Torchia made a 26-hour drive to to the University of Minnesota campus.

"Luckily no major debilitating cramps came up during the ensuing car ride," he said.

It was Torchia's first experience in an XTERRA race, but he said he would like to enter more in the future.

"The entire experience was excellent," Torchia said. "I'd like to give a huge shout-out to Chad Denning, the race director, who put on one of the more quality events that I've ever experienced. I think the most memorable aspect of the experience was the festival-like atmosphere of the entire day."

Sara Graves, a resident of Croydon, N.H., was the first female to finish with a time of 1:02:59. She also finished well ahead of her competition. Andrea Banks was second in 1:08:25.

Around 100 runners participated in the race, which was held in conjunction with the XTERRA STOAKED Triathlon.

Complete results can be found at www.xterratrailrun.com.

© 2013 TEAM Unlimited LLC