Teen Runner Surprises Field at XTERRA Austin Trail Run

Dylan Johnson showed that youth and inexperience were not barriers during his victory at the XTERRA Austin Trail Run on Aug. 21.

Johnson, who is 16 and a junior at Dripping Springs High, placed first overall in the 18-kilometer race at Emma Long Park in Austin, Texas. Johnson is a member of the Dripping Springs cross country team, but the Aug. 21 race was his first attempt at a long-distance trail run.

"I was pretty surprised," Johnson said. "This was my first really big race and I just went out at a comfortable pace and just kind of pushed it to my limits."

Johnson took the lead early in the course and won by a relatively-comfortable margin. His winning time was 1 hour, 5 minutes, 49 seconds. Matt DeMartino, 24, placed second with a time of 1:08:06, and Eduardo Castillo, 27, was third with a time of 1:12:30.

Johnson had entered XTERRA trail runs before, but never on a long-distance course.

Texas Series director Mike Carter described Johnson's victory as "incredible."

"Let's put it this way, there are a lot of elite runners in the Austin running community," Carter explained. "So for anybody to come out and win a race in their first try would be an accomplishment. For a kid that young to do it is an incredible accomplishment."

In the women's field, it was more of the same as Claudia Spooner of Cedar Springs finished first overall. There were three races in the 2010 XTERRA Texas Trail Run Series, and Spooner was the first female at all three races.

"It was a great race, but it was a hot one," said Spooner, 40. "It was probably 100 degrees out there … by the end of the course, it was tough."

Spooner finished with a time of 1:15:24. Bridget DeLaRosa-Lopez was second in 1:22:25, and Casey Shoemaker was third in 1:25:12.

The XTERRA Austin Trail Run was the third, and final, race in the 2010 Texas Series. For complete results and more information on the Texas Series, visit www.xterratrailrun.com or www.racerevolutions.com.

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