Economy Hits Triathlon--Xterra's Exodus from Southern California

Coachubby is an Xterra lover.

So am I.

But he's good at it, and I'm good at getting injured at Xterra events, so he usually plans the Xterra schedule for the year, while I follow along, hoping to catch a glimpse of the bike course before each race so I don't mangle myself on race day. (Then I usually mangle myself on the run, instead!)

Therefore, you can imagine type-A, I-like-to-plan-in-advance coachubby's shock when he looked at the '09 Xterra schedule. There is not a single race within 5 hours of Los Angeles. Even farther for super SoCalers in places like San Diego.

Xterra's Andrew Marsh responded to the email from frantic Xterra fanatic coachubby, explaining a few race decisions for next year. As far as Southern California Xterra racing goes:

• Castaic was not on the Xterra schedule in 2008 and will not be in 2009.


• The Race Directors for Xterra Snow Valley are facing sponsorship/financial issues and will make a decision about the race by January 15th (according to their website.)


• Economically Temecula (formerly a National and Worlds qualifier) was too expensive to produce, and will not return in 2009.

Xterra events are produced by independent companies in the US, many of whom are feeling the effects of the poor economy. Trail access and excessive venue fees, notes Marsh, make it extremely difficult to put on events in Southern California.

So what's a Californian Xterra fanatic to do? Unfortunately, a search on Xterra's website for 2009 point series races in California turns up completely blank, but there's still a little hope.

For those willing to travel far north for a non-championship race (Northern Californians are in luck!), Xterra REAL will be held at Folsom lake on March 29th. East of San Francisco near Livermore, Xterra Del Valle will be held May 10th. It also looks like there will be a few races in the Tahoe area, though the National Championships will be held in Ogden this year.

That leaves a trip to AZ (or far, far beyond) the weekend of May 30th as your only chance to take a bite out of that craving for Xterra racing. Should you make the trek to Show Low for the widely venerated Deuces Wild Triathlon Festival, word from coachubby and several other racers is you won't be disappointed.

So there you have it. Economy be damned, Xterra will still forge ahead. Just not in Southern California for right now. (And believe me, they are just as unhappy about it as you are. If you have any suggestions for Xterra as to how they can keep Xterra from flat lining in CA, contact the Xterra guys. Seriously. They welcome your help!)

Maybe 2009 should be a practice year for SoCalers--a time to prepare to massacre the field of competitors, hopefully coming to a town near you, in 2010. Or you can make a road trip out of a non-championship Xterra event, sign up now for one of the above races, and pray gas prices stay as low as they are right now.

Good luck, and in the words of the Xterra gods, LIVE MORE!

XTERRA USA Moves to Utah--The End of an 8 Year Run in Incline Village, NV

If you're a Lake Tahoe junkie like me, the headline, "XTERRA USA Moves to Utah", part of a press release posted on Xterra's website on October 21st, might have gotten you all riled up.

Why wouldn't the race be held at Lake Tahoe? How could the national championships ever be rightfully called the national championships without a death-defying ride down the Flume trail?

I spoke with Trey Garman, VP of Team Unlimited/XTERRA for the lowdown. It seems the faltering US economy has struck Nevada.

Me: What prompted the move, after 8 years in Incline Village?

Trey: The Nevada Commission on Tourism was forced to cut their budget and as a result we lost our funding for the XTERRA USA Championship event, accompanying marketing, and one-hour television show.

Me: That totally sucks!

Trey: (didn't respond to that because it was in my head.)

Me: Will there be a race in Incline Village at all next year?

Trey: There is nothing scheduled in Incline right now. We are very grateful for the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe, the businesses in Incline Village, and to the State of Nevada for their support through the years. We’ve got eight years of history and heritage in Nevada, and the XTERRA USA Championship itself was born in Nevada back in 2001. Nevada holds a special place in the hearts of athletes from around the nation and world. As proof, athletes from 43 states and 14 countries raced in Incline Village this year. As the U.S. Championship was part of the XTERRA Global Tour, its impact is felt not only in the U.S., but also in the XTERRA international market that reaches into 15 countries.

Me: Will the USA race course be the same as the Mountain Championship course?

Trey: There will just be the one race, the USA Championship, up at Snowbasin. So in essence, the nationals replaces the Mountain Championship, however, there will still be another regional in the mountain area (site TBA), but not at Snowbasin.

So there you have it. Nevada has no moolah right now, but XTERRA will proudly continue the USA nationals race at Odgden, Utah's Snowbasin resort. For more information, read the press release here.

No wonder we haven't been seeing "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" TV commercials lately...

Xterra USA Nationals Redux

The promise of the beautiful lake Tahoe scenery made the 2 hours in LA traffic, during which my fiancé and I drove all of maybe 15 miles, bearable. The plan was to leave around 2pm on Friday to make it up to Lake Tahoe and get a good night’s sleep before basking in the gorgeous mountain sunshine during an easy pre-ride of the bike course.

Coachancé decided we should take the 395 instead of the 5 in order to exchange the enduring smell of cow and fertilizer for a more scenic route. By the time we got to the scenic route, it was dark.

No matter! We were going to Lake Tahoe, baby! To race at Nationals! Awesome!

Once we turned to take the 50 toward Lake Tahoe, we thought we’d be on the home stretch. Too bad the home stretch decided to become engulfed in a white-out blizzard. WTF! (I believe cussing is allowed only in situations related to when the weather is not sunny and warm. That’s what happens when you grow up in Phoenix. And this was not sunny and warm.) WTF! I’m supposed to swim in a lake—and it’s snowing! OK, I’m hardcore. I can do this. Let’s sleep first.

I truly feel for all of the people who did the Xterra Nevada race. They went to sleep with snow flurries in their heads and woke up with it all over the ground before they had to go break the ice to begin their race.

Coachancé and I bundled up all nice and cozy to preride the course—right when other people were bombing down it. I believe he might have forgotten that the course is like a lollipop, and the part we’d share with Saturday’s racers included us riding straight up for 3 miles, and them bombing down at us. It was quite nice to finally begin down the Flume Trail—probably the coolest mountain biking trail in the world. Just sayin’. Non-technical single track with a mountain’s jagged edge on one side and a cliff overlooking all of Lake Tahoe to the right. Pre-riding allowed me to stop and enjoy the scenery—because you know, you’ll ride the way you look and if you’re going to try to take it all in on race day, a helicopter is going to be removing you from the mountain.