Team X-T.R.E.M.E. on Another Inspiring XTERRA Mission

The inspirational story of Team X-T.R.E.M.E. started in Richmond, Virginia, in 2009, and the next amazing chapter will be added next weekend.

Members of Team X-T.R.E.M.E. will participate in both the XTERRA Richmond Trail Run on June 9, and the XTERRA East Championship off-road triathlon on June 10. The XTERRA weekend of events will take place at Brown's Island, Richmond, Virginia.

Team X-T.R.E.M.E. is a non-profit organization with an ongoing mission to Honor, Empower and Motivate wounded service members of the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns.  The team features active and veteran military members who participate in various races across the country to honor the sacrifice of Wounded Warriors through feats of mental and physical endurance.

Jeremy Soles, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, founded Team X-T.R.E.M.E. and competed in the 2009 XTERRA Richmond Trail Run with a gas mask secured to his face as a way to symbolize the initiative.

The 2012 XTERRA Richmond Trail Run and XTERRA East Championship triathlon are a testament to how much the Team has grown since that first race in 2009. In the trail run on June 9, six "X-Athletes" will run the 21-kilometer course with gas masks secured to their faces.

"Next weekend, I will stand under the same XTERRA starting line arch as I did in 2009, only now I am not alone," Soles said.

But the highlight of the weekend will come on Sunday, June 10, when the team will participate in the off-road triathlon as a relay team. Two "Wounded Warrior Athletes" will be a part of the relay team.

Cpl. Todd Love, a triple amputee Marine, will don the modified amphibious Avon Protection C50 Gas Mask and take on the James River for the 500-meter open water swim. Marine Sgt. Jonathan Mozingo, a below the knee amputee will then take over and ride the 17K mountain bike course wearing the Team X-T.R.E.M.E. signature gas mask.

Then for the 7K trail run, Love and Mozingo will be joined by X-Athletes to complete the triathlon. The X-Athletes will carry Love in a modified harness system so that he can be with them for the entire run.

"Three years later, I don the mask alongside Team X-T.R.E.M.E. "X-Athletes" and "Wounded Warrior Athletes." The wounded service men and women that I previously sought to empower and motivate have joined the mission and together we will overcome and adapt," Soles said. "We will never quit and most importantly, we will never forget!"

In 2011, Team X-T.R.E.M.E. was recognized by Guinness World Records for completing the 21K XTERRA Richmond Trail Run while wearing Avon Protection's C50 gas mask.

In addition to the "X-Athletes" and "Wounded Warrior Athletes," the Team will be joined at Richmond this year by five "Community Athletes" who will compete in the races (without the masks).

Also, the Team will be honoring Marine Sgt. John Peck at this year's XTERRA Richmond races. Peck lost his arms and legs to an IED while on patrol in Afghanistan on May 23, 2010. As part of their XTREME DREAMS initiative, Team X-T.R.E.M.E. tandem master Mike Elliott will skydive with Peck into the starting area of the XTERRA Richmond Trail Run on Saturday, June 9.

All of the Team X-T.R.E.M.E. athletes participating in the Richmond races will be doing so in honor of Sgt. Peck's sacrifice for America.

For more information about the XTERRA events in Richmond, please visit www.xterrarichmond.com.

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