Greenless and Erb Win Richmond Xduro as Piper Bests the Field in the Breeder's Choice XTERRA K9 Challenge

Tommy Greenless, 26, from Walnut Creek, CA and Esther Erb, 22, of Richmond, VA won the men's and women's division's of the XTERRA Richmond Xduro off-road half-marathon trail run this morning.

Greenless, a track and cross country runner at the University of Michigan from 2000-2005 and a 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier, took the lead about half-way through the 12-mile course and finished nearly a minute ahead of runner-up Chris Bain of Rockville, MD with a winning time of 1:23:31.

"Those are fun trails, it's hard to imagine having such great trails in the middle of a big city like this," said Greenless, a sales and marketing rep for GU Energy Gel (XTERRA's official energy gel).

Erb, who spent four years running indoor and outdoor track, and cross country at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH, finished more than three minutes ahead of her nearest competitor and placed 4th overall with a winning time of 1:36:25.  Erb, a six-time All-American at CWRU, won the 10,000-meter at the 2008 NCAA III Track and Field Championships last month and also graduated with a degree in music and cognitive science.

"This was the first half-marathon I've ever done, but living here in Richmond I've run these trails before," said Erb.  "It's a fun race."

Charlie Hurt, 25, from Scottsville, VA won the XTERRA James River Scramble 10k in 35:16 while Lauren Tomory, 21, from Richmond won the women's race in 42:27.

More than 1,250 runners from 18 states and Canada finished the two trail runs, both of which served as benefits for the James River Park System.

PIPER WINS BREEDER'S CHOICE XTERRA K9 CHALLENGE

Piper, a 2-year-old golden retriever, and her owner Janet Velenovsky of Montpelier, VA won the owner-and-dog Breeder's Choice XTERRA K9 Challenge time trial race with a perfect run in 18.3 seconds.

"This was great fun, what a wonderful idea," said Velenovsky, a dog trainer and the President of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants.

"This is a great way to build a relationship between dogs and their owners - to get out and play together like this.  When you do things like this, owners are amazed at what their dogs can do and of course it's wonderful exercise for both."

With the win Velenovsky earned a year's supply of Avoderm Dog Food from the event sponsor.

The competition was playful and downright fun to watch with all kinds of different breeds taking part in the event including dachshunds, Chihuahuas, terriers, German shepherds, Australian cattle dogs, Dobermans, Belgium schipperkes, and others.

The course started with a quick sprint to a log step-over, then a crossing over a wooden plank, into a three fire-hydrant swerving shuffle, then the option of a speed-crawl through a five-foot long narrow tunnel or a three box climb (owner's choice), and ended with a teeter-totter cross and two log step-overs.

The made-for-fun event which does not require any specialized training, attracted nearly 20 dogs, and the crowd hooted, hollered, drooled and sometimes even barked at all the action.