XTERRA Nationals: Burgunder Brings Two Regional Titles to Utah

If there's an XTERRA Trail Run close by, Richard Burgunder will try to enter it. In his case, "close by" can be a relative term.

Burgunder, 31, made history in 2011 by winning XTERRA Regional Championships in two different regions. He won his age group in both the XTERRA Pocono Trail Run Series and the XTERRA Northern Ohio Trail Run Series. He is the first runner in XTERRA Trail Run history two win titles in two different states in the same year.

To do so, Burgunder had to carefully plan his schedule so that he could attend races in both the Pocono and Northern Ohio regions.

"Being able to successfully pull off winning two regional championships in one season took many sacrifices," he said. "Believe me, this wasn't easy to swing. I gave up many weekends and had to drastically alter my schedule on numerous occasions in order to train and compete."

His next goal is to win an XTERRA national championship. He will take a shot at it on Sept. 25, when he will be one of more than 300 runners from around the country competing in the XTERRA Trail Run National Championship at the Snowbasin Resort near Ogden, Utah.

"My goal for XTERRA Nationals is to improve on how I've finished in past years," said Burgunder, who placed sixth in his age group at the 2009 XTERRA Nationals, and missed it last year due to an illness. "I've consistently underperformed at Nationals and am hoping that I can carry my regular season success into both this race and worlds."

Burgunder's home in Pittsburgh is situated somewhat in between the Pocono and Northern Ohio regions, but neither is easy to get to. He often drove for three hours the night before a race to get to the destination. He would then sleep in his car for a few hours before competing in the race.

"At times, I started to feel burnt out, but didn't want to give up on my goals, no matter what," he said.
"The races didn't have much impact on my weekly schedule, because I mainly left between 8 and 10 p.m. on Friday nights. Also, being a self-employed consultant granted me a lot of flexibility for traveling."

Burgunder clinched his Pocono Regional Title in June, and that allowed him to focus on the Northern Ohio Series in July and August. His age group for the Northern Ohio Series came down to the final race in the series, and Burgunder came through in the clutch. He placed first in his age group (and sixth overall) to claim his Northern Ohio Regional Title.

"Actually, it was a little nerve-racking and forced me to really focus on the final race," he said. "About midway through the series, I knew that the title would come down to the last race. The men's 30-34 age group was extremely competitive, as was the entire field in the Northern Ohio Trail Run Series."

With his two regional titles in 2011, Burgunder now has three XTERRA championships in his career. His first came in 2009 from the XTERRA New England Trail Run Series, which means his three titles were from three different regions. Perhaps not surprisingly, he would like to add at least one more region to his collection in 2012, when he plans to enter races in the XTERRA Southern Ohio Trail Run Series.

But before that, he will also compete in the 2011 XTERRA Trail Run World Championship at Kualoa Ranch, Hawaii, in December.

"I absolutely love the lifestyle behind XTERRA and the sense of adventure that the events create," he said. "Also, the people are truly amazing, from the staff, to the athletes, race directors, and volunteers. Additionally, traveling to races in some of the coolest and most exotic places in the world is something I probably would never have done had it not been for XTERRA."

Twelve regions across the United States hosted an XTERRA Trail Run Series in 2011: Alabama, Arizona, Southern California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Northern Ohio, Philadelphia, Pocono, South Carolina and Texas.

Entries for the 2011 XTERRA Trail Run National Championship are still being accepted online.

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