Virtual Gold for De Luca, Stedge in XTERRA Olympic Canyon DU

The XTERRA Olympic Canyon VR Duathlons presented by Gatorade Endurance had several hundred racers from 34 countries and 35 U.S. States “Rushing for Gold” over the weekend.

In the men’s full-distance event that combined a 5K run with a 28K bike and 10K run, Mauro Alberto De Luca from Santa Fe, Argentina edged Matthew Monnot from San Francisco, California by a mere 10-seconds to post the fastest individual time.

De Luca logged a 20:30 5K, went 52:21 on the bike, and 41:09 on the 10K for a combined time of 1:54:00.

In the women’s race local favorite Hannah Stedge from Uintah, Utah struck gold with a time of 2:11:52, almost two-minutes ahead of Christine Strub from Canada. It was a big win for Utah, home to XTERRA's USA Championship and the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Bernd Weis from Germany an Kim Michell from Australia took the sprint race titles with winning times of 44:42 and 57:56, respectively, and in the teams division “Body by IPA” captured the top spot in the full distance with a time of 1:53:12 while Team Rachelle – comprised of Sean Jackson from Tri Tats (who makes our world renowned XTERRA tattoos) and his 20-year-old daughter won the Sprint race in 48:29.

The event raised $1,210 for the Trails Foundation of Northern Utah whose mission is to plan, promote, construct, and protect the public pathways, trails, and open spaces where XTERRA trains and races!

Special recognition goes out to the youngest participant in the competition, 10-year-old Chapuis William from France, and the most experienced, 2018 XTERRA Trail Run National Champion Dianne Rindt from California, who at 76-years-young signed up for her first-ever VR race.

Find complete results at: https://resultscui.active.com/events/VR3XTERRAOlympicCanyonDuathlon

Up Next: XTERRA Wilderness Dash VR Trail Runs – 5K/10K/21K and 5x5K relay team options, October 8-12.

Photo: Jesse Peters