Press and Media Center

The XTERRA World Championship is Just Days Away

THIS WEEK: The XTERRA World Championship is just 10 days away on Sunday, October 28th in Makena, Maui.  In this preview edition we'll introduce our live video coverage, run down the basics for media members, get video tips from the Pros, detail the course, delve into the Hawaiian Airlines Double competition, recognize a short list of guys who've raced in every Maui, breakdown the start list by hometown and divisions, talk Makena Beach Trail Runs, and look at the weekend's XTERRA TV schedule.

OCTOBER RACES:

10/27 – XTERRA Makena Beach Trail Run (Makena, Maui)

10/28 – XTERRA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (Makena, Maui)

STREAMING LIVE:  This year friends, family and fans that are not able to attend the XTERRA World Championship can watch the action unfold in real time on the internet at xterraplanet.com.  The race coverage, with live streaming video and text updates, will begin just before the 9 a.m. Hawaii time swim start (12 noon PST, 3pm EST, 9pm in Europe, 5am in Sydney, Australia, 8am in New Zealand, 4pm in Brazil).

PRESS GUIDE:  A PDF version of the XTERRA World Championship press guide, complete with a schedule of events, course description, global tour information, athlete profiles, facts, figures, and past results, is available for download at:

http://www.xterraplanet.com/news/press_media.cfm

XTERRA PRO PRESS CONFERENCE:  A pro press conference moderated by “Kahuna Dave” Nicholas will be held at the Maui Prince Hotel on Thursday, October 25, at 4:00 p.m. Hawaii time and streamed live on the internet at xterraplanet.com for the whole world to see.

Pros invited include XTERRA World Champions Nicolas Lebrun (2005), Eneko Llanos (2003-04), Conrad Stoltz (2001-02), Melanie McQuaid (2003, ’05-06), Jamie Whitmore (2004), Candy Angle (2002), and challengers Olivier Marceau, Josiah Middaugh, Seth Wealing, Mike Vine, Sibylle Matter, Julie Dibens, and Jennifer Smith.

XTERRA BUSINESS PRESS CONFERENCE:  Learn about new XTERRA business news and developments such as the inaugural XTERRA Winter World Championship, Breeder's Choice XTERRA K9 Challenge, XTERRA Gear's future plans with 20 Degrees North, and the XTERRA Trail Running World Championship with a special edited video presentation from the XTERRA Partners Conference at the Maui Prince Hotel.

The video will be available on demand at xterraplanet.com starting Friday, Oct. 26.

PRESS ROOM:  Media covering the 2007 XTERRA World Championship can pick-up credentials and prepare for race day in the XTERRA Press Room located in the Ilima Room (#113) at the host hotel, the Maui Prince in Makena.  Call Trey Garman at 808-216-8606 for more details.

VIDEO AND PHOTOS:  Race footage in beta format and still photography will be made available to all outlets interested.  Make arrangements in advance by replying to this email with your request.

XTERRA MAUI INSIGHT FROM THE PROS:  We gathered four of the sport's leading pro athletes - Conrad Stoltz, Melanie McQuaid, Josiah Middaugh, and Jamie Whitmore - and asked them a series of training, racing, nutrition, and technical questions specific to the XTERRA World Championship.  Their collective advice is insightful, colorful, and sometimes hilarious and we've spliced it all together in a series of six short videos broken down by topic that you can watch on the XTERRA YouTube Channel. THE COURSE:  Maui’s XTERRA course is legendary, and conditions change radically from year-to-year, diminishing the advantage to repeat competitors and perpetuating the course's stature as the most intimidating in the series.  Hawaii’s natural obstacles are unlike anywhere else on earth and for the 550+ athletes racing in Maui – the XTERRA World Championship is a truly unique experience.  The victor will traverse this rugged terrain in roughly two and half hours (although Conrad Stoltz broke the record by almost two minutes when he crossed in 2:22:55 in 2002), with the lead woman approx. 30-minutes behind.

SWIM

Distance: 1.5-kilometers (0.93 miles)

Location: Maluaka Beach, aka Prince Beach

Access:  Open to the public

The rough water swim is two laps of a 750-meter triangular course, with a 150-meter beach sprint between laps to get the blood pumping in a totally different direction.

Swim Record:

Male - Glenn Wachtel (HI) 18:10 in 2000

Female - Raeleigh Tennant (AUS) 18:31 in 2000

Swim to Bike (T1), and Bike to Run (T2) Transition

Location: Located adjacent to the luau grounds at the Maui Prince just up from the swim start in a big grassy area.

Access:  The swim/bike transition area is for competitors only, however, spectators may view the change-over from any position around the boundary.

MOUNTAIN BIKE

Distance:  32 Kilometers (20 miles)

Location: The slopes of the mighty Haleakala Volcano

Access: Closed to the public

Competitors are not permitted to pre-ride the XTERRA World Championship course.  For newcomers, it is read and react.  For veterans, the experience might allow them to remember portions but more often than not it instills a solid feeling of respect for the Old Lady of XTERRA.

Every year competitors say, “XYZ course is tougher than Maui”.  Every year around noon on Championship Sunday, the look – the eyes pointing down and the head shaking side to side – tells you that there is nothing like Haleakala.

Climbing from sea level to 1,200 feet then down and back up to 1,400 feet with a final portion called “the plunge” of 8-kilometers back to sea level, this track has everything.  Full of rock strewn paths, gnarly golf ball sized gravel, short steep and long go-forever climbs, hard packed lava, and deep, dusty silt.  There’s more than 3,000 total feet of climbing.

Bike Record:

Male - Conrad Stoltz (RSA) 1:24:12 in 2002

Female - Melissa Thomas (USA) 1:41:02 in 2004

TRAIL RUN

Distance: 11 Kilometers  (6.8 miles)

Location: South Maui

Out on the run athletes will find all sorts of sand - white, gold, black, salt and pepper, green or garnet.  There’s a lot more climbing involved, a spooky forest to navigate, a dozen different surfaces to cross, and just before the finish line some of Hawaii’s most stunning oceanfront scenery.

There is no accounting for the heat generated by gnarly lava fields, making otherwise simple obstacles extremely difficult to conquer.  The “Makena Beach Mile” is a grueling slog along soft sand, but a beautiful end run along the oceanfront golf course helps racers forget it all at the finish.

Run Record:

Male - Jan Rehula (CZE) 33:14 in 2004

Female - Erika Csomor (HUN) 38:18 in 2004

HAWAIIAN AIRLINES DOUBLE:  The Hawaiian Airlines “Double” Purse is awarded to the pro man and woman with the fastest combined 2007 XTERRA World Championship and Ironman Hawaii Championship time, a feat reserved for the world’s leading endurance athletes.  “The Double” has become a sought-after title by both pro and amateur competitors.  Hawaiian Airlines pays $2,500 to both the top male and female professionals with the fastest times and in addition, will present amateur winners with round trip tickets for two from the mainland to Maui.

LAST YEAR

Eneko Llanos and Sibylle Matter won the men’s and women’s pro double awards and Thomas Vonach (Austria) and Barbara Alber (Germany) won the amateur titles.  Llanos finished 5th in both races last year (8:22:28 IM + 2:46:49 XT = 11:09:17) and he’s poised to win the Double again this year.

THIS YEAR’S DOUBLERS

Men
Name                                    Hometown                         IM Time

Eneko Llanos (Pro)                 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain           8:26:00

Mark Geoghegan                    Honolulu, HI                         9:54:02

Taro Shirato (Pro)                   Tokyo, Japan                       9:57:31

Arnaud Bouvier                       France                                10:15:26

Reinhold Garnitschnig             Klagenfurt, Austria                10:24:18

Paul Fronhofer                        Argyle, NY                           10:26:38

Tomas Baca                           Karlovy, Czech                     10:28:35

Robert Zwingler                       Germany                             10:33:36

Casey Fannin                         Birmingham, AL                   10:46:17

Aaron Wallen                         Honolulu, HI                         11:03:24

Kent Robison                         Reno, NV                            11:07:22

Randal Walker                        Windsor, Canada                 11:18:19

Women
Name                                    Hometown                         IM Time

Erika Csomor (Pro)                 Budapest, Hungary               9:39:47

Amber Monforte (Pro)              Reno, NV                            10:56:59
Beate Kleindienst                    Dachau, Germany                11:40:29
Amy Bennett                          Kaneohe, HI                        11:55:54

 
Past Hawaiian Airlines Pro Double Winners

2006: Eneko Llanos (11:09:17), Sibylle Matter (13:24:06)

2005: Peter Reid (11:10:09), Kate Major (12:51:01)

2004: Peter Reid (11:27:59), Heather Fuhr (13:18:17)

2003: Peter Reid (11:03:50), Heather Fuhr (12:42:03)

2002: Peter Reid (11:18:23), Arianne Gutknecht (13:30:26)

2001: Cam Widoff (11:54:30), Wendy Ingraham (13:37:04)

2000: Peter Reid (11:05:07), Beth Zinkland (13:15:26)

1999: Olivier Bernhart (11:05:09), Uli Blank (13:09:57)

1998: Peter Reid (10:59:49), Wendy Ingraham (12:58:32)

GOING FOR 12 STRAIGHT:  In the inaugural race of 1996 there were 123 competitors (114 finishers).  Of that group, a few dozen will be racing again this year, and the four guys listed below are the only competitors that can claim to have done (and finished) all 11 XTERRA’s in Maui.

Steve Fisher, 46, Lahaina, Maui

Gerry Clark, 45, Lahaina, Maui

Steve Tarpinian, 45, Wantagh, New York

Joe Alueta, 38, Wailuku, Maui

COMPETITOR STATS:  The XTERRA World Championship is truly a global affair that has reached athletes both young and old from all over the world.  Here’s a look at the numbers.

Countries Represented: 25

Argentina (5), Australia (8), Austria (10), Belgium (2), Brazil (16), Canada (26), Costa Rica (1), Czech Republic (12), France (11), Germany (28), Hungary (1), Italy (10), Japan (27), Mexico (4), Morocco (1), New Zealand (25), Norway (1), Russia (2), Slovakia (1), South Africa (6), Spain (3), Switzerland (1), United Arab Emirates (1), UK (10), USA (305).

States Represented: 38, Plus the District of Columbia & the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia.

Most populated competitors base:  Hawaii (63), California (54), Colorado (39), Germany (28), Japan (27), Canada (26), New Zealand (25), Nevada (24), Brazil (16), Virginia (13), Czech Republic (12), France (11), Nevada (11), New York (11), Austria (10), Arizona (10), Oregon (10), Washington (10).

By Age Group:

Physically Challenged: 2

Men 15-19: 11

Men 20-24: 10

Men 25-29: 27

Men 30-34: 45

Men 35-39: 68

Men 40-44: 69

Men 45-49: 50

Men 50-54: 20

Men 55-59: 13

Men 60-64: 14

Pro Men: 55

Women 15-19: 4

Women 20-24: 6

Women 25-29: 20

Women 30-34: 19

Women 35-39: 22

Women 40-44: 18

Women 45-49: 10

Women 50-54: 6

Women 55-59: 4

Women 60-64: 2

Pro Women: 23

"Oldest" Man: Ronald Hill, 70  

"Oldest" Woman: Wendy Minor, 62

Youngest Man: Kai Erickson, 15                      

Youngest Woman: Monique Avery, 18

XTERRA MAKENA BEACH TRAIL RUN:  The XTERRA Makena Beach Trail Run on Saturday, Oct. 27th is a magnet for runners from across the globe.  Some drive a mere ten-minutes from the town of Kihei in Maui, while others fly in from far away lands including Europe, New Zealand and Japan.  The common denominator is that all come with the desire to live the “XTERRA Experience” and participate in one of the most unique off-road running races in the world.

Competitors choose from two courses – a 5K fun run (or walk) designed for anyone and everyone wanting to start the day off with a sweat, and a 10K for those who are looking for a true challenge.

The off-road 10K thriller takes participants on the famed XTERRA World Championship run course that multisport pros will tackle the next day.  Runners can expect their feet to traverse over a host of different surfaces including: lava, white and black sand, golf greens and dusty trails.

The race begins with an ascent up the south slope of Haleakala into a desert-like environment.  After a pass though “Cactus Alley”, competitors are treated to a run on the white sands of Makena Beach, famed as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.  The course continues through the “spooky” forest adorned with kiawe trees and leads to a striking black sand beach. The final leg is a balancing act of speed and skill, as runners cross over jagged lava rocks, infamous for grabbing and twisting unsuspecting ankles.

The top three competitors in each division are awarded medals plus great adventure prizes from Maui Magazine.  In addition, Hawaiian Airlines will award the fastest 10K female runner with a Roundtrip Airfare from the West Coast back to Hawaii!  In conjunction with the XTERRA Foundation, proceeds benefit the Aloha United Way and the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Maui County.