Press and Media Center

Stoltz to Race XTERRA Japan Championship

The XTERRA Japan Championship returns to the mystic forests in Marunuma in the Gunma Prefecture this Saturday, August 27 for the eighth straight year. The location has been praised by competitors from all over the world as being the most spiritual and scenic spot on the entire XTERRA World Tour, and its appeal has quickly won over first-time visitors.

The venue is four hours away from the bustling urban sprawl of Tokyo at the Kanko So Resort - a traditional Japanese inn situated in the protected natural preserve of Nikko National Forest 4,691 feet above sea level. 

In what has been referred to as "Samurai Country," the elite men doing battle include reigning and four-time XTERRA World Champion Conrad "the Caveman" Stoltz from South Africa, former "Mr. XTERRA" Will Kelsay from Colorado, British triathlon standouts Paul Davies and Michael Hiscott, Fraser Morrison from Singapore, and Japanese mountain bike legend Takahiro Ogasawara.  Their challenge consists of a one-mile swim in a cold lake, a technical, muddy, and slippery 20-mile mountain bike, and the craziest 6-mile trail run you can imagine.

The foreigners have been riding and running and smiling and enjoying the amazing food and most certainly the "onsen" bath - a natural hot spring with extremely hot and cleansing volcanic water that the Kanko So Resort is famous for. 

Two-time women's XTERRA Japan champion Mieko Carey from Saipan is back to defend her title, and also to help with the cultural guidance for the foreigners, serving as translator and educator on what kind of food that is, and what that sign says, and so on.  Despite the language barrier, there is wonderful feeling of camaraderie with many special athletes like Tae Yoong Kim, a former XTERRA Warrior award winner.

Race organizer and Japan triathlon legend Taro Shirato explained his inspiration for getting into the sport and ultimately hosting his own XTERRA in Japan for the first time back in 2004.

"It was summer of 1998 when one of my American friends showed me an interesting article. I had heard of XTERRA but had never seen such exciting pictures… beautiful ocean, red clay, clear blue sky and high endurance athletes. It was XTERRA from Maui.  I was so intrigued with the article that I traveled to the XTERRA World Championship that October and was deeply fascinated by it," said Shirato. "What most stimulated me was "Playing in nature," and getting dirty with sand clouds  and running on the beach where most people lay down to get a tan. People would think "what an idiot!" but this idiotic adventure made me feel great.  It reminds me of my childhood when for the first time I started riding a bicycle.  Back then I tried to explore the world and jump into puddles and these adventures thrilled me.  Most importantly, I learned a lot of lessons from nature such as laws and wonders of nature and this is what XTERRA is all about. I wanted to introduce this to our people, so I became an official organizer, and now Japan has a spiritual connection with the world of XTERRA."

The race has a pleasant 12 noon start on Saturday and on Sunday morning, XTERRA Japan hosts kids triathlons and an adventurous 10 and 30-kilometer trail runs that attracts several hundred endurance runners to the steep mountain climbs of Marunuma. 

Visit the XTERRA fanpage on facebook for the most recent results, videos, and photos from this weekend.

Past XTERRA Japan Champions

Year Men   Women
2010 Ian Leitch  Mieko Carey
2009 Sam Gardner  Mieko Carey 
2008 Sam Gardner  Renata Bucher
2007 Nico Pfitzenmaier Jamie Whitmore
2006 Yasuo Takahashi Jamie Whitmore
2005 Yu Yumoto  Jamie Whitmore
2004 Hideo Fukui  Jamie Whitmore