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XTERRA to Debut New, World-class Venue

UTAH ROCKS:  Starting Friday night Aug. 18 and running through Saturday night Aug. 19, Ogden and Snowbasin - situated at the base of the Wasatch Mountains and adjacent to Great Salt Lake - will rock with races, music, food, and entertainment. 
 
What makes Nissan Xterra Mountain Championship so unique is the split venue format with a world-class race venue at Snowbasin complemented by a premier gathering place for the XTERRA community in downtown Ogden. 
 
On Friday night Biker's Edge brings a fast and furious Criterium spectacular to the heart of Ogden.  It's a premier men's race with $5,000 on the line for Category 1-2-and-3 men.  The race is a 60-minute timed event on a closed course featuring a 0.7-mile loop with six turns on city blocks.  Also on Friday there are activities for everyone including the XTERRA Golden Spike Scramble 5k and 10k trail runs, free clinics taught by the pros, kids races and games, shopping, and more. 
 
Then on Saturday it's time for XTERRA and the brand new venue at Snowbasin, just a 10-minute drive from Ogden.  This place has seen world-class competition before as home to the downhill and super G races of the 2002 Winter Olympic events, but this time the competitors will be in the water, on mountain bikes, and in trail running shoes.  
 
It all starts with a 1.5K swim in the calm and clean Pineview Reservoir situated at about 4,500 feet above sea level.   From there racers will hop on their mountain bikes to start a 30K ride to Snowbasin ski area that traverses dirt trails as it meanders into Wheeler Canyon, a spectacular slot canyon shrouded in oak, aspen and pine trees. Then, the two-loop singletrack run course will zigzag its way through aspen groves and fields of wildflowers before finishing near the bottom of the Olympic downhill ski run.
 
After a siesta - a nap and a shower anyways - it's time to party!  The awards ceremony/post-race celebration in downtown Ogden on Saturday night promises to be one of the coolest evenings of the summer.   A host of brilliant restaurants serving a wide variety of cuisine will serve-up award-winning food at the Taste of Ogden's Historic 25th Street open-air dining extravaganza, a highlight video with footage from the day's race will play on a big screen TV and a live band will keep the mojo flowing all night long. 
 
RIDE THE RIVER:  At the edge of Lake Michigan in the heart of Milwaukee there's a fabulous coffee house called the Alterra Coffee Roasters.  It happens to be just a stone's throw from the XTERRA Village area where the Nissan Xterra Midwest Championship takes place.  As one could imagine, through thorough sampling of course, Alterra quickly became the favorite coffee house for the XTERRA crew and racers.  This year they have even more reason to get amp'd on Alterra, as the Coffee Roasters have become the sponsor for the inaugural RIDE THE RIVER mountain bike ride/tour on the Historic Milwaukee River Trails.  Saturday, August 5 @ 11 a.m. at Veterans Park.
 
It's a once-a-year mountain bike event on the Milwaukee River to raise money (100% of the proceeds) for the Friends of Milwaukee Trails - working to protect, preserve, and create hiking, birding, skiing, and biking trails throughout Milwaukee County. 
 
Two distances will be offered - four miles for beginners and eight miles for the intermediate/advanced riders.  Alterra is giving out cool t-shirts and awards to participants.
 
MIDWEST SCRAMBLIN':  The first race of the XTERRA Midwest Scramble Trail Run Series is Saturday in Lawrence, Kansas.  This three-stop series stands out with the most unusual, funky race names you could imagine.  There's the XTERRA Stump Jumpin' Trail Stomp Scramble this Saturday, then the XTERRA Pain Terrain Scramble in Kansas City, KS on Aug. 26, followed by the XTERRA Dot Trail Trot Scramble in Kansas City, MO on Sept. 9.  If they are half as fun as their names imply (well, except for that pain one) you can rest assured runners are in for a treat.  The first one this weekend is at Clinton State Park "the most beautiful trail system in the Midwest Region" where - as the race name would imply - there are lots of stumps, rocks, roots and jumpin'!