Mountain Championship Race Preview
THIS WEEK: A look at the start list for the upcoming Nissan Xterra Mountain Championship in Ogden, Utah, a Nico vs. Nico battle is brewing at the first-ever XTERRA Denmark, we profile the Maddog Trail Tri in Ohio, the Boordy and Pain Terrain Scrambles, and take a peek at this weekends XTERRA TV schedule.
UTAH START LIST: It's the last of five regional championships before the finale in Nevada and the points chase is on. Below find the pro start list according to rank in the XTERRA U.S. Pro Points Series standings (note Brent McMahon, No. 1, and Dominic Gillen, No. 4, will not race for the men, and Candy Angle, No. 3, will not attend).
# Name - Age, Hometown
1 Andrew Noble - 41, Gold Coast, Australia
2 Brian Smith - 30, Gunnison, Colorado
3 Seth Wealing - 27, Boulder, Colorado
4 Conrad Stoltz - 32, Stellenbosch, South Africa
5 Ryan Ignatz - 27, Boulder, Colorado
6 Justin Thomas - 31, Reno, Nevada
7 Brian Astell - 25, Gualala, CA
8 Will Kelsay - 25, Boulder, Colorado
9 Jimmy Archer - 33, Boulder, Colorado
10 Mike Vine - 33, Victoria, B.C., Canada
11 Jason Jablonski - 32, Wenatchee, Washington
12 Jim Vance - 29, San Diego, California
14 Amon Pease - 28, Cherry Valley, California
15 John Koenig - 36, Glenview, Illinois
16 Greg Krause - 29, Denver, Colorado
17 Dennis Manor - 26, Reno, Nevada
18 Michael Simpson - 26, Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Women - Age, Hometown
61 Jamie Whitmore - 30, Somerset, California
62 Melanie McQuaid - 32, Victoria, B.C., Canada
63 Danelle Kabush - 31, Canmore, Alberta, Canada
64 Jenny Tobin - 37, Boise, Idaho
65 Janae Pritchett - 29, Crested Butte, Colorado
66 Ingrid Rolles - 33, Cape Town, South Africa
67 Melissa Thomas - 36, Boulder, Colorado
68 Amber Monforte - 28, Reno, Nevada
69 Aracelly Clouse - 33, Cameron Park, California
70 Jennifer Perez - 21, San Antonio, Louisiana
71 Shae Rainer - 26, Austin, Texas
72 Christy Murphy - 36, Novato, California
73 Jackie Burt - Crested Butte, Colorado
74 Jari Kirkland - 30, Crested Butte, Colorado
XTERRA DENMARK: A very talented list of professional athletes will take on the inaugural race in Arhus, Jutland on Saturday. XTERRA Denmark is the fifth-of-seven races in the XTERRA European Tour. The key match-up pits Nico vs. Nico as reigning XTERRA World Champ Nicolas Lebrun (FRA) will take on the current European Tour points leader Nico Pfitzenmaier (GER). Other men in the running include Lieuwe Boonstra from South Africa, Robert Latschen and Martin Zois of Austria, Sam Gardner from Great Britain, and Sascha Wingenfield and Ronny Dietz from Germany. On the women's side Claudia Frank (GER) and Carina Wasle (AUT) will try to hold off Julie Dibens from Great Britain.
Århus is found on the east coast of the island of Jutland. Green valleys, deep woods and sandy beaches surround the city. The city grew up along the mouth of the Århus River where the Vikings decided to settle because of the location's excellent potential as a harbor and trading position. During the Viking Age a cluster of houses along the river from Immervad street to Mejlgade street were encircled by an earthen rampart and a moat and constituted the original community. Today Århus has a population of approximately 300,000 and boasts a very active business community and a vibrant educational environment consisting of a number of different institutions of higher learning, including the University of Aarhus. The city has a wealth of excellent restaurants, a fascinating café environment, and a rich musical culture with the Concert Hall, the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, and the Danish National Opera among its many offers. Other exceptional features include a wide range of excellent heritage museums, such as ARoS, the Old Town and the Moesgård Museum, as well as a treasure trove of fascinating shops. From the original Viking settlement, today's Århus has become a modern, vibrant city which offers visitors the chance to experience its glorious past as well as the throbbing pulse beat and pace of the present.
THE MADDOG: Go for the Bone! At least that's what race producers are saying about the Maddog Trail Triathlon, a Nissan Xterra Points Series race in Cincinnati this Sunday.
"Got to get the bone at the Maddog!" race producer Rich Williams exalted! "Off road triathlons are a tremendous athletic challenge. Going for the points in the Nissan Xterra USA Championship Series is a big incentive, but at our Maddog Trail Triathlon, we wanted to add even greater incentive - the ever worthy Dog Bone!"
Off road racers will come from all over to go for the bone and the points. The race is at one of Ohio's largest state parks and the mountain bike and running course is on 90% single track trails through rugged hills in heavily wooded sections of the Park. It starts with a 1000-yard swim in the East Fork Lake, follows with a 12-mile mountain bike through heavily wooded rolling terrain, and finishes with a 5.5-mile run on the sandy beaches of the lake.
BOORDY SCRAMBLE: The XTERRA Boordy Scramble on Sunday will lead a sold-out/maxed-out field of 500 runners on a 5K off-road spin through Boordy Vineyards in Hydes, Maryland. The post race refreshments and entertainment is classic: fruit, cheese, bread and wine while listening to the bluegrass music of Jericho Bridge. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Long Green Valley Conservancy and St. Joseph's Medical Center Heart Institute.
PAIN TERRAIN: If you have faith in the slogan "No Pain, No Gain" then the XTERRA Pain Terrain Scramble® is just the event for you. Enthused athletes of all ages and skill-levels will congregate on Saturday, August 19th at Landahl Park in Blue Springs, Missouri for one of the most exhilarating and challenging off-road running races in the Midwest.
In this course, Mother Nature kicks it up a notch by dishing-out a host of her favorite elements including: ferocious humidity, precipitous elevation, and tricky single-track rocky descents. Race director Bill Marshall can't hide a devilish grin as he exclaims that this "hilly, rocky course will test your pain threshold to the fullest extent! The route is infamous in the mountain bike community as one of the toughest tracks in the country."
The XTERRA Pain Terrain Scramble® is the second in the 3-race Midwest Points Series. Runners may choose from a 5K or 10K distance. For the 10K, the top 5 finishers in each age group of the point series qualify to participate at the XTERRA National Scramble Championships in Lake Tahoe, Nevada on September 30th.
