Jan. 13, 2021
The worldwide XTERRA Family spent the weekend “chasing the Aloha spirit” with nearly 700 racers from 52 countries taking part in the XTERRA Maui No Ka Oi VR duathlons and trail runs to benefit the Surfrider Foundation Maui Chapter.
Tom Dhans from Brooksville, Florida was the lucky winner of the XTERRA “Any Race, Any Place” sweepstakes, earning a complimentary entry into the 2021 XTERRA World Championship race scheduled for October 31 in Kapalua, Maui.
On the racing front, nobody had Maui on their mind more than XTERRA MC Tommy Morwood who turned in the VR performance of the year by clocking a 5K run on his treadmill at 5am in the morning in a blistering time of 15 minutes, 26 seconds.
Morwood ran it LIVE on Facebook as part of the “Take on Tommy Challenge” during the Aloha Friday show. The challenge was simple, anyone in the world who could run faster than Tommy during the event holding period (which ended Nov. 9) would win a Maui Gold Pineapple or XTERRA Maui Hat. But nobody did!
“I heard the Scottish Rocket Lesley Paterson giving me some grief during the show, talking about how she could run faster with one-leg backwards, and that was all the motivation I needed,” joked Morwood. “I was pretty shattered the rest of the day, though, mainly from the 4am wake up more so then the run itself, though my calves have been so insanely sore this week!”
Jeff Ehret from Louisville, Kentucky came closest to Morwood, but was still one-minute, 18-seconds back and long-time XTERRA speedster Iain Banks was third with a time of 16:59. Louis Copp from the UK posted the fastest women’s 5K time in 21:25, with Susanne Richter and Lola Gartner not far behind. Copp also won the women’s 10K race in 44:27, alongside Stefano Antonio Di Lecce from Italy who turned in a 41:28 to top the men’s division.
In the half-marathon chase Marc Alonzo from Saudi Arabia and Hannah Stedge from Utah posted the fastest times in 1:16:03 and 1:35:22, respectively. It’s the third XTERRA VR win of the year for Stedge. The Original Run Clubbers led by Jenny Kenyon and Katrina Hollins from California took home the 5x5K relay team crown with a combined time of 1:58:06.
In other results, Andrew Gastrell from Arlington, Virginia and Mariana Lowy-Gerstmar from Lahaina, Maui captured the XTERRA Maui No Ka Oi full-distance duathlon titles with winning times of 1:56:47 and 2:21:00, respectively.
Bernd Weis from Germany picked up his second XTERRA VR victory of the season and the remarkable Christina Herbst won her third of the year in the sprint duathlon competition. In the relay division, Team “More Pain and Suffering” won the sprint race duathlon while Team “Body by IPA” won their second relay race of the year in the full distance du.
Special recognition goes out to the harriers from Active Endurance, who had 29 employees participate in the event, and to the XTERRA Family which raised $1,600 for the Surfrider Foundation Maui Chapter for the protection and enjoyment of the world’s ocean, waves, and beaches.
Find complete results at: https://resultscui.active.com/events/XTERRANoKaOi
Up Next: XTERRA Wild Forest VR Duathlons and Trail Runs, Dec. 3-7.
