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XTERRA Winter Worlds This Weekend

Utah has attracted world-class, international competitions to “The Greatest Snow on Earth” before, but it’s never hosted anything quite like this.

The XTERRA Winter World Championship at Snowbasin Resort on Sunday is perhaps the most unconventional winter endurance multisport race ever created as it blends together the four disciplines of mountain biking, snowshoeing, running, and ski mountaineering. The unique challenge has attracted some of the world’s finest athletes from Olympic skiers to pro mountain bikers to the best adventure racers, snowshoers, and off-road triathletes on the planet. They’ll race for bragging rights, their share of the $10,000 prize purse, and ever-lasting fame in the nationally syndicated TV show that is being produced on the race.

Surrounding the main event is an all-inclusive weekend of great racing and good times. Tomorrow (Saturday, March 7) snowboarders will dash for $1,000 in cash, & there’s snowshoe, ski mountaineering, and skate ski races too, plus nightly celebrations in downtown Ogden.

XTERRA WINTER COURSE DESCRIPTION

It all starts with the mountain bike – two 5km laps on 30-foot wide, relatively flat, hard-packed and groomed Nordic trails at the base of the resort.  Next up is a 5km snowshoe trek featuring 500-feet of climbing and descending through aspen and pine trees in pristine deep powder.   The third leg is a 5km run on groomed access trails that weave through a breathtaking route in the forest.  The final stage is ski mountaineering (or randonnee) where racers will climb 1,300 feet to the first of several transition areas, take their skins off and ski down through giant slalom gates to the next checkpoint.  There are three climbs/checkpoints totaling 2,200 feet of vertical gain, and the finish line is at the base of City Hill viewable from the main plaza at Snowbasin.  The men’s winner is expected to take about two hours to complete the event, and the women’s winner will come in around 2.5 hours.

XTERRA WINTER WORLDS COURSE RECORDS

Fastest Times (Men, Women)
Mountain Bike (20:56 - Brian Smith, 27:30 - Rebecca Dussault)      
Snowshoe (22:28 - Greg Krause, 24:59 - Keri Nelson)  
Run (28:32 - Josiah Middaugh, 32:57 - Keri Nelson)  
Randonnee (42:49 - Mike Kloser, 52:31 - Sari Anderson)  
Overall (1:58:29 - Brian Smith, 2:29:47 - Sari Anderson)

SMITH, McCEERY WIN XTERRA SEVEN ISLANDS TRAIL RUN

(Kodak, TN) – Fred Smith and Cinandra McCeery, both of Knoxville, were the hometown heroes of Saturday’s XTERRA Seven Islands Trail Run. The 10km race took place at the Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge and played host to trail runners from 5 states ages 13-64.

Smith, 32, turned in the fastest time of the day in just 44:07 to claim his rightful place on top of the podium. David Worth, 23, of Sevierville, TN and David Hance, 22, of Talbott, TN took second and third place with their times of 45:44 and 51:48 respectively.

The women’s race showed a lot more breathing room as McCeery, 28, had almost a 4 minute lead over runner up Heather Freshwater, 22, of Jefferson City, TN. 33-year old Nicole Howe from Maryville rounded out the top three coming in at 1:03:51.

KUTTER, LINN WIN XTERRA THRILL IN THE HILLS XDURO

Following a day of rain, conditions were perfect for making the XTERRA Thrill in the Hills Xduro into an exciting mud-fest. Some 500 runners trudged and slipped their way through 21-kilometers of dirty fun over the rolling terrain inside Fort Yargo State Park near Atlanta, GA on Saturday.

Runners ranged in age from 12-68, and Tom Kutter, 29, crossed the finish line first in a time of 1:19:18 with Nathan Haskins, 21, right on his heels just seven seconds back. Rounding out the top three was Greg Mason, 28, in 1:20:04. In the women's race 23-year old Elena Linn took top honors in 1:39:40. Tara Mooney, 26, and Katina Zuganelis, 22, took second and third respectively in 1:46:58 and 1:47:56.

“Running through mud and sloshing through the water was so much fun. What a nice way to feel young again,” said racer Cindy Ralston.