Another Cool Race in the XTERRA Pacific Northwest Series

Laverty and Bartel take top honors at Lord Hill

Snohomish, Wash. - The XTERRA Pacific Northwest Trail Run Series is fast gaining a reputation as a cool series for runners in more ways than one. The latest race in the series lived up to that reputation.

The XTERRA Lord Hill Trail Run was completed on June 2 at Lord Hill Regional Park, with runners ranging in age from 17 to 68 participating.

Keith Laverty of Bellevue, Wash., was the overall winner, completing the 21-kilometer course in 1 hour, 29 minutes, 27 seconds.  He dominated the field, finishing about a mile ahead of the other runners.

"The course at Lord Hill provided for plenty of hill running, up and down," said Laverty, a former cross country and track runner at the University of Oregon. "Let's just say my legs took a long time to recover."

(Keith Laverty pictured, courtesy Louise Lakier Photography)

Laverty said he was in second place for much of the course, and did not take the lead until the final two miles. "For the majority of the race, I was actually in second place, always about 10 to 20 seconds behind the leader," he said "It wasn't until about Mile 10 or 11 when I was finally able to reel in the leader and pass him. I quickly realized he had dropped from the race as I passed him and so I knew I had a commanding lead approaching the finish."

Justin Wade of Seattle placed second in 1:37:13, and Doug Lowe, also of Seattle, was third in 1:41:54.

Lora Bartel of British Columbia, Canada, placed ninth overall and was the first female. She set a women's course record with a time of 2:01:21. Kay Rowlings of Seattle was second in 2:07:22, and Tara Winslow of Vashon was third in 2:10:56.

The event also included a shorter 10K course, and Seth Berntsen and Trisha Steidl took top honors.

CLICK HERE to view complete results. And CLICK HERE to view more photos from the event.

The runners were greeted with typical "Seattle weather" - temperatures in the low 60s, overcast skies and light rain throughout the morning. Laverty described the conditions as "ideal."

(Lora Barel pictured, courtesy Louise Lakier Photography)

The XTERRA Lord Hill Trail Run was the second event in the 2012 XTERRA Pacific Northwest Trail Run Series. This is the first year that the region has hosted an XTERRA Trail Run Series.

"I think XTERRA coming to the Pacific Northwest is a match made in heaven for any trail runner," said Laverty, who has entered both races in the series so far. "What a great opportunity to not only run on amazing wilderness trails, but also still compete at a high level."

The Pacific Northwest is one of 12 regions across the country that is hosting an XTERRA Trail Run Series in 2012. The others are Alabama, Arizona, Southern California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Pocono, Puerto Rico, South Carolina and Texas.

The next race in the Pacific Northwest Trail Run Series will the XTERRA Puget Sound Trail Run on September 1. To register for the race or to learn more about the series, please visit www.nwtrailruns.com.

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