XTERRA RACE RECAPS
SMITH, CURRY FINISH FIRST AT FORKS OF THE RIVER
Overnight rain made for slippery conditions at the XTERRA Forks of the River Trail Run on March 14 in Knoxville, TN, but that did not stop local Fred Smith and Hope Curry, visiting from Asheville, NC, from claiming their rightful spots on top of the podium.
Smith, 32, turned in the fastest finish of the day for the 10-kilometer event in just 36:04 with Gatlinburg’s David Worth, 23, trailing just a minute and a half behind. Curry, 31, ruled the women’s race with her time of 47:04, a commanding six minute lead over runner-up Michelle Owen, 35 from Maryville, Tennessee.
The XTERRA Panther Creek 10km Trail Run will serve as the 2009 Tennessee Series finale on August 1 in Morristown.
Fuhr, Mills Win XTERRA Black Mountain 15K
Brandon Mills, 29, and Heather Fuhr, 41, won the inaugural XTERRA Black Mountain 15km trail run in San Diego, CA on March 22. It’s the second 15km race win in a row for Fuhr, who captured the XTERRA Mission Gorge 15km title in February.
The sixth of seven races in the XTERRA SoCal Trail Run Series greeted nearly 400 runners from across the southland to Black Mountain Regional Park where one of the many obstacles was a recently deceased rattlesnake that ended his lifelong slither in the middle of the trail at mile seven.
Mills finished in 1:03:13, just ahead of Kevin Gillotti while Fuhr won in 1:04:08, seven minutes ahead of long-time friend and fellow triathlon great Paula Newby-Fraser.
Next up for SoCal runners is the XTERRA Malibu Creek Challenge 6 and 22km trail runs on May 9 in Malibu.
MORELAND, CLOUSE TOP FIELD AT XTERRA CHANOKO XDURO
The XTERRA NorCal Trail Run Series kicked off this past Saturday with the half-marathon distance XTERRA Chanoko Xduro Trail Run. Almost one hundred runners finished the grueling endurance challenge, but it was Jeffrey Moreland and Aracelly Clouse that claimed the top spots.
Moreland, 32, turned in the fastest overall time in just 1:20:02 giving himself a four minute lead on runner-up Dan Napieralski, 25. Forty-year-old Ray Yokoi rounded out the men’s top three in 1:26:55.
For the women, former pro XTERRA mountain bike triathlete Aracelly Clouse won with a time of 1:34:04. This avid marathoner and mother of three young boys edged out Meredith Leva, 23, by more than 2 minutes and finished almost 10 minutes ahead of third place finisher Sarah Hobbs, 25.
Photo: Women’s winner Aracelly Clouse
James Pratt Photography / prattsphoto.com
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