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XTERRA's Exotic Places

THIS WEEK:  A look at the pro start list for next weekend's Nissan Xterra Midwest Championship in Milwaukee, a pair of exotic international races - XTERRA Spain and XTERRA Brazil - offer up qualifying spots to the Nissan Xterra World Championship in Maui, the legendary Julie Moss signs on to give a talk at the XTERRA Mountain Championship, the third of four races in Utah's XTERRA Scramble Trail Run series gets all dressed up, and a thirty-minute TV special on XTERRA New Zealand where Hamish Carter wins again can be seen in Bend, OR, Chicago, Flint, MI, Sacramento, and Wausau, Wisconsin this weekend.
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MILWAUKEE PRO FIELD:  The start list for the August 6 showdown in Milwaukee includes every man in the top 10 in the XTERRA U.S. Pro Series rankings and 13 of the top 14 women.  Below find them listed by race number, reflecting where they stand in the Series after the first three races in California, Alabama, and Virginia. 
 
#  Name - Age, Hometown
1 Brent McMahon - 25, Victoria, B.C., Canada
2 Seth Wealing - 27, Boulder, Colorado
3 Andrew Noble - 40, Gold Coast, Australia
4 Dominic Gillen - 28, Washington, Connecticut
5 Conrad Stoltz - 32, Stellenbosch, South Africa
6 Justin Thomas - 31, Reno, Nevada
7 Brian Smith - 30, Gunnison, Colorado
8 Ryan Ignatz - 27, Boulder, Colorado
9 Brian Astell - 25, Gualala, CA
10 Mike Vine - 33, Victoria, B.C., Canada
11 Will Kelsay - 25, Boulder, Colorado
12 Jimmy Archer - 33, Boulder, Colorado
14 Jim Vance - 29, San Diego, California
15 Tyler Johnson - 25, Chester, Connecticut
16 Ryan DeCook - 25, Rochester, Michigan
17 Amon Pease - 28, Cherry Valley, California
18 Jason Jablonski - 32, Wenatchee, Washington
19 Jamie Cleveland - Austin, Texas
20 Craig Evans - 28, Spring Hill, Tennessee
21 Adam Fultz - Downers Grove, Illinois
22 Brian Hughes - 29, Raynham, Massachusetts
23 John Koenig - 36, Glenview, Illinois
24 Francisco Serrano - 25, Garza Garcia, Mexico
25 Michael Boehmer - 26, Ixonia Arizona
 
Women - Age, Hometown
61 Jamie Whitmore - 30, Somerset, California
62 Melanie McQuaid - 32, Victoria, B.C., Canada
63 Candy Angle - 36, Weymouth, Massachusetts
64 Danelle Kabush - 31, Canmore, Alberta, Canada
65 Janae Pritchett - 29, Crested Butte, Colorado
66 Jenny Tobin - 37, Boise, Idaho
67 Ingrid Rolles 33, Cape Town, South Africa
68 Jennifer Smith - 33, Westport, New Zealand
69 Amber Monforte - 28, Reno, Nevada
70 Nicole Newton - 32, San Diego, California
71 Shae Rainer - 26, Austin, Texas
72 Melissa Thomas - 36, Boulder, Colorado
73 Jennifer Perez - 21, San Antonio, Louisiana
74 Linda Gabor - 32, Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin
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MOSS REMEMBERS:  It was nearly 25 years ago that Julie Moss' gritty determination to finish Ironman Hawaii sent her crawling along the highway in front of hundreds of spectators and thousands of television viewers.  That act of courage and spirit inspired countless numbers of people to give triathlon a shot.  It most certainly had a positive impact on the sport, and on the lives of a diverse group of individuals from around the world.  On August 18 in Ogden, Utah - the day before the Nissan Xterra Mountain Championship - Moss (who is one of XTERRA's race announcers) will remember that night and delve into all the things that transpired before and after.  
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RUN WITH GODDESSES:  The XTERRA Mountain View Scramble at Wheeler Historic Farm in Murray, Utah on Saturday has one of the better hook's you'll ever hear, "Run with the Goddesses".  The tag line came about as a descriptor for the Avalon Isle Women's Theatre Group, the fun run's beneficiary.  The local theater company is dedicated to producing plays by and about women, and they're hosting a costume party to coincide with the run.  Promoters suggest runners draw inspiration from Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, when designing their costumes for the run.  The 5k and 10k off-road trail runs are part of the XTERRA Utah Scramble Series, and the finale is set for Aug. 18 in Ogden.  The top five in the series get invited to compete in the XTERRA National Scramble Championships in Lake Tahoe on Sept. 31.
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THOMAS WINS TITLE:  Long-time XTERRA stand-out Melissa Thomas recently won the U.S. National marathon mountain bike championship in Northern California.  According to reports Thomas led from start-to-finish and came in more than 20 minutes ahead of runner-up Louise Kobin.  XTERRA newcomer Monique Sawicki finished third, a great result considering just weeks earlier a crash in Quebec sent her to the emergency room to repair lacerations on her face and extensive damage inside of her mouth.
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XTERRA EUROPEAN TOUR:  The XTERRA Spain Championship - fourth of seven championship events on the XTERRA European Tour - takes place Saturday in Bakio, Euskadi.  Two-time XTERRA World Champion Eneko Llanos headlines the men's pro field, which also includes his brother Hecktor, Ronny Dietz and Sascha Wingenfeld.  On the women's side Renata Bucher will go for her fourth straight Euro win against the formidable Carina Wasle.
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XTERRA BRAZIL:  In its first running last year XTERRA Brazil was a gigantic success and there is no doubt they'll build on that for this weekend's events.  Added to the schedule is a full line of events for kids, XTERRA newcomers, and off-road runners.  Just visiting the tropical island of Ilhabela is said to be reason enough for a visit to this XTERRA championship.