Login required to started new threads

Login required to post replies

X-Terra: What's your level of interest?
Quote | Reply
I see some very impressive marketing being done by the X-Terra series. In our region, it is a relatively minor event compared to the amount of marketing I see.

Is X-Terra huge out west? Are we just missing the boat here in Michigan?

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
Quote Reply
Re: X-Terra: What's your level of interest? [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I'm interested but I can't %@&*'n figure out how to put mountain bike tires on my tri bike!



"your horse is too high" - tigerchik
Quote Reply
Re: X-Terra: What's your level of interest? [Hid] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Good point. I think that is one of the limiting factors.

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
Quote Reply
Re: X-Terra: What's your level of interest? [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
There are two official X-terra events in Oregon and I believe one in Washington, but I don't have the calender in front of me. I have a high degree of interest, since I love being out in the woods (hence "timberwolf", with wolf representing my birth totem), but I had to hock the MTB three years ago. There are some off-road duathlons here in the PacNW as well as a few off-road ultra runs. Mountain biking has stayed pretty strong here in Washington, mostly due to a lot of good access and lot's o' trails. I must give high praise to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources for maintaining an excellent "multi-use" forest system around here.

Brett
Quote Reply
Re: X-Terra: What's your level of interest? [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Tom, I'm familiar with Team Unlimited here in Hawaii and have seen the Xterra market take off from a few mainland races to the global presence in about 3 years. On Oahu there are only a couple of off-road tri's but they are very popular and fill to capacity. Most of the serious Hawaii triathletes I know seem to really like the off-road races (although guys tend to get into them more than the gals). For myself, I love off-road triathlons -- the mountain biking is challenging, requires balance, technique, guts, much more bike knowledge, etc -- and you are really fried (whole body) by the time you crawl off the saddle and start the run. A great way to recover from the mind-numbing long training rides for an ultra-tri. And the atmosphere at the Xterra races seems to be a bit less competitive with a sense of "us" against the "elements" -- the lava rock on Haleakala on Maui doesn't care if you're a pro or AGer...
Last edited by: ssn759co: Feb 11, 04 10:08
Quote Reply
Re: X-Terra: What's your level of interest? [ssn759co] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
It is pretty big in the south(TN). We live in Knoxville and have several Xterra races w/in a 3 to 4 hour drive. I've never done one but my wife loves them-she has won regional age group championship 2 years in a row. How they award their races is very interesting-at first I didn't like it(possibly didn't understand it) but it is a neat system.

I may give one a try this year after Lake Placid.
Quote Reply
Re: X-Terra: What's your level of interest? [ssn759co] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I did the Maui race a few years ago and had a blast. I would love to do more, but with work, family and training for standard road tris I just dont have the time to put in to mt. biking. I was speaking with Jaimie Whitmore this past weekend and she says the courses have gotten really technical. Not the type of thing you can just jump into on a weekend for a change of pace.Knowing my mentality I would ride too fast for my current skill level and I dont need a broken neck right now. I think a less technical course that I could ride my cyclocross bike on would be cool. Maybe incorporate the entire run into the bike course. Just make it swim-cyclocross. Now theres a sport waiting to happen!!!!
Quote Reply
Re: X-Terra: What's your level of interest? [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Are you asking about my interest in Xterra or Jamie Whitmore, because they are the same thing.

A handful of New York folks are into it. Most of them have no idea about Ironman and the like. They are basically mountain bike junkies first and foremost. However, trail related tris are growing in popularity in this region. Xterra appears to be leveraging off the tri rage combined with interest in serious mucking races like the Echo and the Raid as well as the fact that there are some pretty well known mountain bikers who do or have raced Xterra (Stoltz, Larsen). Domestically, I think it is a bigger draw in the west and northeast. However, the series has an international appeal based on the race reports. Did I mention Jamie? I guess is starts with having the playground.
Quote Reply
Re: X-Terra: What's your level of interest? [bryanjaf] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Sorry to rain on your parade but Jamie is married. Quite happily it would appear and her husband Courtney is a great guy. She is one of the nicest people I have ever met in our sport, so you missed a good one.
Quote Reply
Re: X-Terra: What's your level of interest? [paul cusick] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I live in San Diego and have decided to make my 2nd tri season all about Xterra. Although I have no hope of qualifying this year what I like about Xterra is the fact that I can qualify for a national and then world race.

It gives me a goal and a focus/direction for the entire season instead of doing random road races.

There are no races in southern california for some reason but I would have to say it is bigger out west...

Photos from the race in Saipan:

http://homepage.mac.com/...to/PhotoAlbum10.html
Quote Reply
Re: X-Terra: What's your level of interest? [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Tom;

Out here in New Mexico and West Texas we have a fairly large triathlon/duathlon scene. Lots of local stuff (within 100 miles) and even the famous Southwest Challenge Series ( a series of aprox. 25 races, where competitors accumulate points all year for placings in each race). Back to your question, I've seen very limited interest with X-Terra in our area. Although we have a few guys venture out and try them, Noone that I know of has really shown a genuine desire to regularly compete in them. Kind of shame if you ask me, our demographics lends itself to some great off-road racing.
Quote Reply
Re: X-Terra: What's your level of interest? [paul cusick] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
The technical nature of the courses is a bummer, but probably good for the sport to make the mtn biking really mtn biking. Otherwise, I'm with you on the cyclocross bike. Because Xterra is USAT sanctioned they are under USAT rules, and according to the head ref, cross bikes are legal. Just be prepared for a fight with the Big Kahuna, he says they are illegal. If I find the right course this summer, I'm going to push the point. Unfortunately, the Granite Bay race (absolutely non-technical) conflicts with a family obligation. Big Bear is very technical so a mtn bike is the only way to go. I'm still on the fence about the Tahoe course and need to go ride it again, but on my cross bike. My mtn bike friends say I'll lose too much time on the decents.

To address Tom's orginal question: high level of interest. But that's because I'm a swimmer/biker. Get the hole shot in the water, and stretch it out on the bike. Hang on for dear life on the run and hope they run out of trail to catch up!
Quote Reply
Re: X-Terra: What's your level of interest? [paul cusick] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
No one ever said I was interested in her in the biblical sense. The article about her husband in one of the most recent mags was in fact quite inspiring.
Last edited by: bryanjaf: Feb 11, 04 10:48
Quote Reply
Re: X-Terra: What's your level of interest? [bryanjaf] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I like that " the biblical sense"

from now on when my wife catches me oogling some super model. I will reply "Honey I am only interested in her in the biblical sense" Since neither one of us is religious it may just confuse her enough to get me off the hook!
Quote Reply
Re: X-Terra: What's your level of interest? [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
only one Xterra event in CO that I know of, the Keystone one. I'd like to try one but I don't have time to learn how to mountain bike, so probably won't happen anytime soon. I'm not interested in doing one if I can't race, and I won't be able to race over a technical MTB course..

"It is a good feeling for old men who have begun to fear failure, any sort of failure, to set a schedule for exercise and stick to it. If an aging man can run a distance of three miles, for instance, he knows that whatever his other failures may be, he is not completely wasted away." Romain Gary, SI interview
Quote Reply
Re: X-Terra: What's your level of interest? [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I'll echo what others have said, I'm really interested but I don't have the bandwidth to train for the technical nature of the bike course. On-road tri training when you have a job and a kid is a lot! I don't really have room for mountain biking unless I want to devote myself entirely to that.

I was at the Keystone Xterra a couple of years ago (did the run). It was a really great race! It's beautiful there in the summer. The mountain biking is really great. I'd love to try the race sometime in the future.

Leigh
Last edited by: Cyborg42: Feb 11, 04 12:00
Quote Reply
Re: X-Terra: What's your level of interest? [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Doing a two race series here is AZ this year. It's becoming more popular out this way. We also have quite a few off-road du's locally. I have two mountain bikes as opposed to road/tri, a long travel XC for fun and a hardtail for the tri's/du's.
Quote Reply
Re: X-Terra: What's your level of interest? [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I think someone, somewhere, did some demographic based research to come up with a pitch for the series. On paper the demographics make total sense, but in reality it has always seemed like a swing and a miss.

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
Quote Reply
Re: X-Terra: What's your level of interest? [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I had also heard a rumor that Nissan bought the rights to the name Xterra way back in the infancy of that event. At the time Nissan was struggling and possibly on the verge of going under. The Xterra vehicle was a HUGE hit and re-vitalized the whole company. Even though their interest in the series has probably diminished over the years, I doubt Nissan could afford to pull out. As long as the people promoting Xterra dont get too greedy they have a serious cash cow sponsor every year. That probably frees up some serious money for advertising and promotion. It has always seemed odd though that in all of Nissans Xterra commercials, kayaker, rock climber, free-ride mountain biker etc. they never once made the connection to the off road tri series.
Quote Reply
Re: X-Terra: What's your level of interest? [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I got introduced to Xterra while living on Guam, which is very conveniently located near Saipan. The Saipan race is FANTASTIC!! I highly encourage anyone to go out and do that race. Both my wife and I did that race as well as the World Champs in Maui (Saipan is a great place to qualify, rather small fields). Neither of us have a wealth of XC experience. So to say that you have to be an expert mtb'er to race Xterra is not necessarily true. It certainly helps to have experience, but it is not pre-requisite. It really is a challenging sport. The mtb requires so much mental focus and puts such a pounding on your arms as well as you legs that you are truly wiped out after the bike portion. For me the run in Maui was all about survival and being done!

I think I will always primarily be a traditional triathlete, but offroad tris and especially Xterra will always interest me for a fun change of pace.

Team Unlimited does an excellent job. The crew is fantastic and the "Big Kahuna" puts on a great party.


Dan Hollingsworth

Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years. People grow old only by deserting their ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up interest wrinkles the soul." - Douglas MacArthur
Quote Reply
Re: X-Terra: What's your level of interest? [paul cusick] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
In Arizona there are, I believe, two races in the Xterra series and a local Phoenix off road 2-3 race series. I just signed up for the March 7 Xterra race. I think it will become quite popular here because we have a solid base of mountain bikers. I have done road tris for almost 20 years and did my first off road tri last year. I have now done two and have seen virtually no overlap in road tri and off road tri participants (in my age group). I have also raced mountain bikes so I am not too worried about the technical stuff. For you roadies who have never mountain biked you should try it. I would much rather spend hours on a mountain bike than a road bike: no traffic, clean air, way more fun, beautiful scenery. It also helps to be in a city like Phoenix with fantastic off road access. We have several dedicated technical mountain bike trails and I can get to the desert without driving. There are some cost and time issues with doing off road racing. Maintaining mountain bikes is expensive and requires more time. Tires wear out, wheels get destroyed, chains need lubrication every ride, etc. Also, the technology rapidly changes in mountaiun biking so to be competitive bike, upgrades have to happen more frequently than with tri bikes (which I don't do).

Andrew Inkpen
Quote Reply
Re: X-Terra: What's your level of interest? [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
There is definitely a lack of participation in Washington compared to traditional tri's. There is only one in the Seattle area. Besides participation, the problem here is finding water suitable for swimming in close proximity to MTB trails. The snow melt keeps all the lakes cold until june or july and the sound is always the same 50F. Off road du's seem like an easier sell. Plus you have all those 'free-riding' mountain bikers who couldn't ride UP a hill if a tiger was chasing them.
Quote Reply
Re: X-Terra: What's your level of interest? [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I did the local one in Halfmoon Bay and had a blast. Too bad they haven't been able to keep it there. To this day, it is the most fun I have had in a race.
Quote Reply