15th XTERRA World’s This Sunday

At 9:00 a.m. this Sunday a maxed-out field of 550 international racers from 33 countries and 31 U.S. states will put their mental and physical toughness up against Mother Nature’s arsenal of sun, sand, water, kiawe, and lava.

The XTERRA World Championship covers 27 miles of unyielding terrain that features more than 3,500 feet of climbing on the mountain bike course alone, along with nearly 1,000 feet of uphill on the run.  Here’s how the three disciplines breakdown…

Swim

Distance: 1.5-kilometers (0.93 miles)

Location: Maluaka Beach right in front of the Makena Beach & Golf Resort (pictured)

The rough water swim is two laps of a 750-meter triangular course, with a 50-yard beach shuffle between laps to get the blood pumping in a totally different direction.  The first male & female age groupers out of the water win an XTERRA Vortex 3 full wetsuit.

Swim Record:

Male – Glenn Wachtel (HI) – 18:10,  2000

Female – Raeleigh Tennant (AUS) – 18:31, 2000

Swim to Bike (T1), and Bike to Run (T2) Transition

Location:  Located at the ground level of the Makena Beach & Golf Resort.

Mountain Bike

Distance: 32 Kilometers (20 miles)

Location: The slopes of the mighty Haleakala Volcano

Competitors are not permitted to pre-ride the XTERRA World Championship course.  For newcomers, it is read and react.  For veterans, the experience might allow them to remember portions but more often than not it instills a solid feeling of respect for the Old Lady of XTERRA. Every year competitors say, “XYZ course is tougher than Maui”.  Every year around noon on Championship Sunday, the look – the eyes pointing down and the head shaking side to side – tells you that there is nothing like Haleakala.  The highest elevation on the course is at “Ned’s Peak” located 1,615-feet above sea level, but racers will have climbed 2,800-feet in 12 miles to get to that point, and despite a blazing fast downhill section dubbed “the Plunge” they’ll still have more than 700 feet of climbing to go before arriving back at the bike-to-run transition.  The bike course is full of rock strewn paths, gnarly golf ball sized gravel, short steep and long go forever climbs, hard packed lava, and sometimes, depending on conditions, deep, dusty silt.  There is 3,561 total feet of climbing.

Bike Record:

Male – Conrad Stoltz (RSA) 1:24:12, 2002

Female – Melissa Thomas (USA) 1:41:02,  2004

Trail Run

Distance: 11 Kilometers  (7 miles)

Location: South Maui

Out on the run athletes will find all sorts of sand – white, gold, black, salt and pepper, green or garnet.  There’s a lot more climbing involved (about 1,000 feet), a spooky forest to navigate, a dozen different surfaces to cross, and just before the finish line some of Hawaii’s most stunning oceanfront scenery. There is no accounting for the heat generated by gnarly lava fields, making otherwise simple obstacles extremely difficult to conquer.   The highest point of the run course is at “Oil Tank” at 600 feet elevation.  The “Makena Beach Mile” is a grueling slog along soft sand, but a beautiful end run along the ocean-front golf course helps racers forget it all at the finish.

Run Record:

Male – Jan Rehula (CZE)  33:14, 2004

Female – Erika Csomor (HUN)  38:18, 2004

Fastest winning times:

Male – Conrad Stoltz (RSA) 2:22:55, 2002

Female – Julie Dibens (GBR) 2:56:42, 2009

Last year at the XTERRA World Championship the men’s pro race was amazing, with six guys – Conrad Stoltz, Eneko Llanos, Franky Batelier, Josiah Middaugh, Nico Lebrun, and Olivier Marceau all within a minute of each other at mile 15 on the bike, then Michi Weiss caught up to that pack by the bike-to-run transition to join in the fray.

In the women’s race, however, it was all Dibens. She had a four-minute lead by mile 11, and expanded that to more than seven by the finish line.

Here’s a look at the top 15 men and women finishers from the 2009 XTERRA World Championship and of note, the top 9 men and women on this list are all back for Sunday’s race.

TOP 15 PRO MEN

Pl             Name             Hometown             Time

1             Eneko Llanos             Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain             2:37:22

2             Nico Lebrun                 Digne, France                         2:38:17

3             Michi Weiss                   Vienna, Austria                         2:40:24

4             Olivier Marceau             Cannes, France                         2:41:06

5             Conrad Stoltz             Stellenbosch, South Africa         2:41:40

6             Franky Batelier             Normandy, France                   2:42:15

7             Felix Schumann             Tuebingen, Germany             2:42:57

8             Seth Wealing             Boulder, Colorado                         2:43:58

9             Josiah Middaugh             Vail, Colorado                         2:44:14

10             Nico Pfitzenmaier          Besigheim, Germany             2:44:31

11             Richard Ussher             Nelson, New Zealand             2:44:33

12             Mike Vine                        Victoria, B.C., Canada             2:44:56

13             Scott Thorne             Hamilton, New Zealand             2:45:38

14             Matthew Murphy           Berkely Vale, Australia             2:47:55

15             Brian Smith                      Gunnison, Colorado             2:48:40

TOP 15 PRO WOMEN

Pl             Name             Hometown             Time

1             Julie Dibens                    Bath, England             2:56:42

2             Lesley Paterson             Sterling, Scotland       3:04:16

3             Melanie McQuaid         Victoria, B.C.           3:05:46

4             Carina Wasle             Kundl, Austria             3:07:23

5             Shonny Vanlandingham        Durango, Colorado             3:08:00

6             Marion Lorblanchet        Clermont Ferrand, France        3:13:15

7             Danelle Kabush             Canmore, Alberta             3:13:50

8             Christine Jeffrey             Guelph, Ontario            3:15:01

9             Sara Tarkington             Boulder, Colorado          3:15:56

10             Rebecca Dussault        Gunnison, Colorado     3:17:22

11             Emma Garrard             Park City, Utah             3:20:05

12             Marie-Helene Premont         Quebec City            3:20:23

13             Jenny Tobin                 Boise, Idaho                         3:21:36

14             Renata Bucher             Lucerne, Switzerland 3:22:06

15             Sabrina Enaux             Taintrux, France             3:22:12

10 Olympians will be on the start line for Sunday’s XTERRA World Championship:

Samantha McGlone, Canada – Triathlon 2004

Marie-Helene Premont, Canada – Mountain Biking 2004 (silver)

Olivier Marceau, Switzerland  – Triathlon 2000, 2004, 2008

Conrad Stoltz, South Africa  – Triathlon 2000, 2004

Eneko Llanos, Spain – Triathlon 2000, 2004

Michael Weiss, Austria – Mountain Biking 2004

Tyler Butterfield, Bermuda – Triathlon 2004

Julie Dibens, England – Triathlon 2004

Richard Ussher, New Zealand – Skiing

Francisco Serrano, Mexico – Triathlon 2008

There will be live text updates, images, and results on xterramaui.com and in addition, you can check out pre-race pro interviews at xterra.tv, as well as light-hearted videos and photos of competitors on the XTERRA Facebook page.

XTERRA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SPLITS FROM ’09

Here’s a look at how the top 15 pro men and women from last year ranked in the swim, bike, and run disciplines. Scroll down to see all the stats.

1.5KM SWIM
Men	Time		Women	Time
Seth Wealing	:19:35		Christine Jeffrey	:19:42
Eneko Llanos	:19:39		Julie Dibens	:20:25
Olivier Marceau	:20:07		M. Lorblanchet	:21:32
Franky Batelier	:20:09		M. McQuaid	:22:41
Branden Rakita	:20:11		Lesley Paterson	22:42
Conrad Stoltz	:20:23		Mieko Carey	:23:49
Felix Schumann	:20:26		Sara Tarkington	:23:58
Chris Legh	:21:12		Emma Garrard	:24:29
Mike Vine	:21:15		Renata Bucher	:24:41
Nicolas Lebrun	:21:44		S. Vanlandingham	:25:52
Josiah Middaugh	:22:15		Carina Wasle	:26:08
Richard Ussher	:22:36		Danelle Kabush	:26:52
Michael Weiss	:23:44		Jennifer Smith	:30:30
Cody Waite	:23:48		M. Premont	:32:30
Will Kelsay	:25:01		Sabrina Enaux	:32:51
30KM MTN BIKE
Michael Weiss	1:28:11		Julie Dibens	1:42:48
Josiah Middaugh	1:28:55		M. Premont	1:42:53
Nicolas Lebrun	1:30:18		S. Vanlandingham	1:44:00
Conrad Stoltz	1:30:40		M. McQuaid	1:45:47
Eneko Llanos	1:31:37		Carina Wasle	1:47:26
Franky Batelier	1:31:51		Sabrina Enaux	1:48:51
Olivier Marceau	1:32:53		Lesley Paterson	1:49:25
Felix Schumann	1:33:57		Danelle Kabush	1:51:11
Seth Wealing	1:35:48		Jennifer Smith	1:51:12
Richard Ussher	1:35:55		Sara Tarkington	1:54:18
Will Kelsay	1:36:02		Emma Garrard	1:55:25
Mike Vine	1:36:21		Renata Bucher	1:56:06
Branden Rakita	1:41:06		M. Lorblanchet	1:57:27
Cody Waite	1:41:59		Christine Jeffrey	1:57:52
Chris Legh	1:49:22		Mieko Carey	2:06:20
10KM RUN
Chris Legh	:43:59		Lesley Paterson	:49:45
Nicolas Lebrun	:44:09		Julie Dibens	:51:20
Richard Ussher	:44:09		Carina Wasle	:51:27
Eneko Llanos	:44:20		M. Lorblanchet	:51:49
Mike Vine	:45:15		Danelle Kabush	:53:16
Olivier Marceau	:46:08		Sara Tarkington	:54:56
Michael Weiss	:46:15		M. McQuaid	:55:27
Felix Schumann	:46:21		Christine Jeffrey	:55:33
Seth Wealing	:46:34		S. Vanlandingham	:55:41
Franky Batelier	:48:28		Sabrina Enaux	:57:38
Conrad Stoltz	:48:41		Emma Garrard	:57:42
Josiah Middaugh	:51:14		Renata Bucher	:58:58
Branden Rakita	:51:59		Jennifer Smith	:59:37
Cody Waite	:53:41		M. Premont	1:01:54
Will Kelsay	:57:24		Mieko Carey	1:02:35