Sevier, Colburn Race to Memorable Wins at Malibu Creek

XTERRA SoCal Series comes to a close for 2011-12 season

Malibu, California - The XTERRA Malibu Creek Trail Run provided a run of redemption for Michael Sevier and Mary Colburn.

Sevier was the overall winner of the 22-kilometer long course, finishing with a time of 1 hour, 35 minutes, 50 seconds. Colburn was the top female, finishing with a time of 1:50:07.

Both runners missed the XTERRA Trail Run racing season in 2011 due to injuries. "Just recently did it feel healthy enough to race on," Sevier said of his hip injury. "I'm a little bummed the SoCal Series is already over!"

Indeed, the XTERRA Malibu Creek Trail Run was the seventh, and final, race of the 2012 season for the always-popular XTERRA SoCal Trail Run Series. More than 800 runners registered for the Malibu Creek Trail Run, which was completed on April 29 at Malibu Creek State Park.

"It reminded me of being a kid again and exploring through 'off path' trails," Sevier said. "The weather was perfect. The views were amazing, especially at the beginning of the major descent where you could see the beautiful mountains on the left and ocean on the right. Unbeatable."

(Michael Sevier pictured, courtesy www.supersportsphot.com)

For Sevier, it was not only a comeback from an injury, but a breakthrough victory. He said it was the first overall win of his running career. Still, the 32-year-old from Redondo Beach was humble about the accomplishment.

"There are plenty of people who could crush me if they happened to race," said Sevier. "Plus, there's no telling how you feel on race day. For instance, Jonathon (Toker) was sick on Sunday. He probably would have smoked me if he was feeling well. So what made this race special was that the course was a lot of fun."

It was also a special race for Sevier for another reason - it was his first race as a father. He and his wife had a baby girl on April 2.

"When I eventually got home, I realized why a lot of new parents don't do big races," Sevier said. "I wanted to sleep, but baby Vivian wanted to party while my wife needed a break."

Runner-up Patrick Baldwin from Encinitas and third-place Toker from Malibu stayed with Sevier for most of the course. Sevier said he trailed Baldwin and Toker on the steep uphill climbs, but took the lead on the final descent.

Baldwin finished in 1:37:11, and Toker was third in 1:40:53. Toker won the Malibu Creek Trail Run in 2007 and 2011, and has finished in the top four of this race every year since 2005.

The women's race was not quite as close, as Colburn took the early lead and never relented. She actually kept pace with some of the top men for much of the race, and was beat to the finish by only eight of the males.

"The course was beautiful, weather was great," she said. "I was physically and mentally exhausted, so the guys who were around me pretty much passed me. I started in fifth (overall) and ended up ninth."

(Mary Colburn pictured, courtesy www.supersportsphoto.com)

After missing 2011 with a leg injury, Colburn has returned in style in 2012. This was her third XTERRA SoCal Trail Run event of the year, and she was the first female at each one. Unfortunately for her, it could also be her last XTERRA Trail Run for a while - she recently accepted a teaching job in Taiwan and will be there for the next two years.

Maggie Shearer was the second female with a time of 1:57:25, and Melissa Vazquez was third in 2:06:36.

For complete results, CLICK HERE.

Because the Malibu Creek Trail Run was the final event of the 2012 season, the age-group champions from the series were crowned after the race. Each age-group champ received a free entry to represent SoCal at the 2012 XTERRA Trail Run National Championship in Utah this September.

All participating runners in the Malibu Creek Trail Run were invited to a post-race awards party. Representatives from Dos Equis, which recently became the official beer sponsor of the XTERRA SoCal Trail Run Series, were in attendance to pass out samples to the adult runners.

The new season for the XTERRA SoCal Trail Run Series is scheduled to start in October. To learn more about it, please visit www.trailrace.com.

Here is the list of 2012 XTERRA SoCal Trail Run Series champions:

Age group Name Age Hometown State
    
Female 15-19 Hannah Rae Finchamp 17 Altadena CA
Female 20-24 Prineha Narang 23 Studio City CA
Female 25-29 Carlyn Peterson 29 San Diego CA
Female 30-34 Erin Gunn 31 San Diego CA
Female 35-39 Melissa Vazquez 36 Chino Hills CA
Female 40-44 Nina Jack 41 Culver City CA
Female 45-49 Denise Ingram 48 San Diego CA
Female 50-54 Dancoise Clayborn 53 Fountain Valley CA
Female 55-59 Erin Fry 57 Anaheim CA
Female 60-64 Kathleen Rydgig 60 Oxnard CA
Female 65-69 Amy Galbraith 69 Venice CA
    
Male 15-19 Will Hubsch 16 Pasadena CA
Male 25-29 Aaron Flynn 27 South Pasadena CA
Male 30-34 Matthew Dixon 32 San Diego CA
Male 35-39 Patrick Baldwin 36 Encinitas CA
Male 40-44 Travis Burrell 44 Los Angeles CA
Male 45-49 Tom Geha 45 Los Angeles CA
Male 50-54 Ron Paquette 54 Los Angeles CA
Male 55-59 Robert Morrison 56 Laguna Niguel CA
Male 60-64 Harold Kennedy 61 Apple Valley CA
Male 65-69 Gary Valle 65 Canoga Park CA
Male 70-74 Michael Mosesman 71 La Crescenta CA
Male 75-79 John Williams 75 Culver City CA

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