Dix Takes XTERRA Win Streak to Pocono Series

Solomon tops women's field at Hickory Trail Run

It was a different XTERRA series, but the same result for Dan Dix last weekend.

Dix won the XTERRA Hickory Trail Run on Saturday, June 4, at White Haven, Pa. He is a standout runner in the XTERRA Philly Trail Run Series, and this was his first entry across the state in the XTERRA Pocono Trail Run Series.

Dix, 32, completed the 10-kilometer course at Hickory State Park in 43 minutes, 31 seconds. "Trail conditions were great with a mix of rocky single track, double track and a couple of rock gardens mixed in," he said. "The highlight was in the last mile where the trail went through a tunnel of rhododendrons."

Dix resides in Coatesville, Pa., and made the two-hour drive to White Haven on Friday night with his wife, Stephanie, and their dog, Carbon. They camped overnight at Hickory State Park, then Dix went out and led the race from start to finish.

Dix (pictured at right) is the top-ranked runner in the XTERRA Philly Series, and said he made the drive to the Pocono Series because he had an open weekend and wanted to experience a new course. He has finished first overall at the last seven XTERRA races he has entered, a streak dating to last year.

Paul Jesse from San Diego, Calif., placed second with a time of 45:22, and 51-year-old Tony Korch of Nanticoke, Pa., was third in 47:18.

Korch created a buzz before the race when he warned officials that he encountered a rattlesnake on the course earlier in the week while on a training run. "He was big and dark, and I gave him a wide pass" Korch said. Fortunately for the runners, there were no such sightings during the race.

Nadalie Solomon from Nuangola, Pa., placed ninth overall with a time of 51:47, and was the first female finisher. It was the second XTERRA Pocono Series victory of this season for Solomon, 30.

Jaclyn Shokey was second in 53:49, and Jen Stec-Gagliardi was third in 57:06.

For complete results, click HERE.

The race was the third of five events on the 2011 schedule for the inaugural XTERRA Pocono Trail Run Series. The next event in the series is the XTERRA Gouldsboro Trail Run, a 10-kilometer trail run at Gouldsboro, Pa.

To register for a race in the XTERRA Pocono Series, or to learn more about it, please visit www.wilkesbarreracing.com or www.xterratrailrun.com.

(Photo courtesy Stephanie Dix)

© 2013 TEAM Unlimited LLC