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Incline to host XTERRA USA Championship |
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Written by Kyle Magin/Tahoe World
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Monday, 24 September 2007 |
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For the seventh straight year, XTERRA’s USA championship is scheduled to take place in Incline Village. The triathlon- style XTERRA event, which includes a 1,500 meter swim, 32 km mountain-biking course and a 10 kilometer trail run will start Sept. 30 at 9 a.m.
The USA championship race will wrap up three days of events which will start Friday, Sept. 28, at 1 p.m. About 350 athletes will compete in the USA Championship, representing 46 states and eight countries.
XTERRA is in its 11th year of racing. It started in 1996 as Aquaterra on the island of Maui, Hawaii. The race was later re-named XTERRA and now holds events worldwide in addition to its 54-race US tour. The Global XTERRA includes 50 + races in 17 countries.
The USA Championship race is open only to athletes that qualified at previous XTERRA events this year. Athletes must tally enough points from previous events to qualify, and will be competing for a share of a $110,000 purse. The winner in each age bracket, which are divided by gender, earns a trip to Maui on Oct. 28 to compete in the XTERRA World Championship.
 For those who did not qualify for the Sunday race, there are still plenty of chances to be involved. On Sept. 28 at 3 p.m. there is a GU Cruise for Cause benefit for the Tahoe Rim Trail, a 32k mountain bike race. Every dollar of the $25 entry fee will go to the Tahoe Rim Trail Association. Saturday’s events include XTERRA Nevada, an XTERRA Championship trail run and a Kid’s sprint.
The XTERRA Nevada event is a shortened version of the championship event with a 750 meter swim, a full bike ride and a 5k run. It is open to anyone and starts at 8:45 a.m. at the Hyatt-Incline Beach.
The championship trail run, much the same as the USA Championship race, is only open to trail-runners who have previously qualified. It will cover the 10k running portion of the full race.
A kid’s sprint will be open to children and starts at the Village Green at 10:05 a.m. Saturday. From 2000 through 2006, The XTERRA race series was sponsored by Nissan, which has an SUV by the same name. After a multi-million dollar market research study in 1999, Nissan found that the XTERRA name tested well with the American public and went to register the name, only to find out that the race series owned the rights, said XTERRA Director of Marketing Trey Garman. Nissan gained the rights to use the name by entering into a contract to sponsor the race.
“(The sponsorship) helped us to take XTERRA to another level, with races all around the country,” Garman said.
In 2006, Nissan and the race parted ways in a decision that Garman credits to personnel changes at the automaker.
Over the years, a trail-running element was added to the race’s format.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 24 September 2007 )
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