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Casey Fannin is Mr. XTERRA 2010

Each year at the XTERRA USA Championship a member of "the Tribe" is recognized as Mr. and/or Mrs. XTERRA, annually given to someone  that exemplifies the spirit of XTERRA and the camaraderie,  commitment, challenge, discovery, and style that is the essence of the sport.

This year XTERRA recognized Mr. Casey Fannin from Birmingham, Alabama.

Fannin has won nine XTERRA Regional Championship titles in 10 years, is a two-time XTERRA World Champion and a two-time XTERRA Double finisher - completing both Ironman and XTERRA World Championships in the same year.

We met him in 1999 at the first XTERRA America Tour event in Ruston, Louisiana – where he won the Sport race by a long shot.  He is a long time XTERRA Ambassador and our biggest spokesperson in the Southeast.  He has introduced several dozens of new athletes to the sport, and welcomed hundreds of XTERRA athletes to his favorite place to ride – Oak Mountain State Park in Pelham, Alabama.  He even helped make that park part of the XTERRA America Tour as the home of the Southeast Championship.

Fannin worked overtime making that race possible by helping find trails and filling his garage with Gatorade, Gu, tee shirts, and all kinds of pre-race shipments, and the number of pro athletes he has hosted over the years in his home is legendary.

One of our fondest memories of Casey took place in 2006, when he took part in the Nevada Passage adventure competition that TEAM Unlimited produced. It was at Winnemucca Ranch where Casey rode - more specifically fell - off a 1,000 plus pound snarling, snot wielding bull which probably cost him his 10th regional title.  It turned into a great excuse for years, “all because of that damn bull,” he’d say.

Fannin makes his living under cars and trucks “hustling scrap”, and doing his part to save the planet by recycling precious metals.

For his dedication to the sport and personification of the XTERRA Spirit, XTERRA was pleased to introduce the Mr. XTERRA 2010 award to Casey Fannin at the Night of Champions dinner in Ogden, Utah last Friday.