April 18, 2022
Mexico’s Fabiola Corona just accomplished one of the most remarkable feats in the history of XTERRA racing.
In September, the 2018 XTERRA Pan Am Tour Champ won the XTERRA Dominican Republic off-road triathlon for the second year in a row. On a whim, she jumped on a plane to Salt Lake City, Utah and competed at the XTERRA Pan Am Championship on September 7, at altitude, before her planned trip to Japan. She placed third, behind the World Champ, Lesley Paterson, and the Pan Am Tour Champ, Samantha Kingsford.
The next week, September 15, she won XTERRA Japan – featuring one of the toughest courses on the world tour, and then on Sunday, September 22, she captured the inaugural XTERRA Kunming off-road triathlon in mainland China against a strong women’s elite field.
Twenty-two days. Four races. Four countries. Three wins. And, she finished second (by just three points) in the XTERRA Asia-Pacific Tour, and fifth in the final XTERRA Pan Am Tour standings.
“It was a wonderful month, but my body is dead now,” she laughed. “I just got back home, and I don’t want to talk about anything, not about walking, or touring, or traveling, or racing or even training. I need a vacation from that vacation, and a massage!”
Along her journeys Corona brought a contagious smile and spirit of adventure everywhere she and her husband Aaron traveled. When pressed on her favorite race, she said, “I cannot say which one was my favorite. Japan is a mystic place, where you can breathe peace and nature. We loved the ryokan: sleep, eat and shower as old times. The course venue is like an adventure race, so technical and so different. I really fell in love with Marunuma. On the other hand is China, a magnificent and spectacular event with so many staff and people doing a big job behind the scenes. The bike course fascinated me, all the single track, twists, downhills, ups and downs between those purple flowers. We also loved the local food, the views, and that place.”
As for the hardest part, “Carrying the bikes between airports, all the flights, many hours, getting used to the new time zones, the layovers, and spending 14 hours on the plane! I can’t live without my favorite position: legs up! But, I can’t wait to do it again, and hope to see you on our next #XTERRAAdventure!”
