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EPIC Races on Tap in Ruston This Weekend

The XTERRA Rustman Epic launches a brand new genre for XTERRA at Lincoln Parish Park in Ruston, Louisiana on Saturday.  “The Rustman” will consist of a 1-mile swim, 35-mile mountain bike and 10.5-mile trail run.  Keep in mind that championship XTERRA races typically feature a 0.9-mile swim, 20-mile bike and 6.2-mile run, so these are unprecedented distances for off-road triathlon.  As such, the race will offer up championship points (100 point Scale) to amateur racers competing in the XTERRA America Tour.  On Sunday at the same place DLT Events is putting on the long-standing XTERRA Gator Terra off-road tri that features an 800-yard swim, 10-mile bike, and 3.4-mile run.  The Gator Terra will offer (75 point Scale) XPS series points, and hardcore racers that do both races will be eligible for the prestigious Rustman award.

Interesting background:  It’s well documented that the first-ever XTERRA was the 1996 World Champs in Maui, but that race wasn’t actually called XTERRA, it was “AquaTerra”. So, the first true “XTERRA” branded event in history happened not on the shores of Maui, but on the banks of this small lake in Louisiana.  On June 1, 1997 in Ruston, the XTERRA Gator Terra (aka XTERRA Louisiana) truly became the first-ever XTERRA, and check out the first-ever finish arch pictured above (XTERRA has come a long way, baby!)