2009 XTERRA Trail Running National Championship

For the 2nd consecutive year, I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Bend, Oregon for the 2009 XTERRA Trail Running National Championship. This race was the National Championship for the US XTERRA Trail Run Series and held in the trail running capitol of the USA, Bend. Nationals was a highly anticipated event for me after having such a remarkable race season to date. I was very exciting about running in Bend again, especially after being recently crowned the XTERRA New England Trail Run Series Regional Champion. My goal going into the race was to finish in the top 10-15 overall.

After getting into Oregon early afternoon on Friday, I went out for an easy six mile run along the Deschutes River. It was a beautiful evening and the water looked like glass. During my run, I observed some trout jumping, kayakers and several other people running. After a long flight, this was an extremely relaxing experience that gave me the opportunity to collect my thoughts.

Come Saturday morning, I went out for another six mile tempo run and felt great! I had a good feeling about the race and was now looking forward to seeing my XTERRA/Team Unlimited friends at packet pick-up and the trail running clinic, featuring reigning National and World Champion, Max King.

Max provided some great advice about endurance training, especially for trail and mountain running. He also went into detail about some of his upcoming goals and aspirations, including to run sub 2:15 at the 2009 ING New York City Marathon.

Come Sunday, it was time to race again! I woke up feeling great and was one of the first people to arrive at the National Championship site in the Old Mill District. The XTERRA flags and banners were all up and some other athletes started to stroll in, including Don Morrison and Derek Schultz, both from eastern Pennsylvania. Don was the reigning XTERRA Masters National Champion and Derek has had a very strong race season. Earlier in the year at the Bear Creek Xduro in PA, Derek beat me by only a two minutes and was 3rd overall while I was 4th. I was hoping to pace off of him throughout most of the race.

On Sunday morning at 9 am, the cannon “fired” and we were off! Just as expected, it was a very quick start and I jumped out right behind Max King, Ben Bruce and some others. I was feeling very confident at this point and held onto a top 10 position through the first mile or two. Shortly before the 2nd mile, I developed some serious complications and my body practically shut down. I tried to shake things out, but nothing was working and I was forced into a slow jog and then even had to stop for a while. Shortly after I stopped, an awesome couple from Lake Tahoe that was biking along the course offered me some water, gel and a ton of motivation. They encouraged me not to drop out, despite my race being virtually ruined at this point. Luckily, I followed their advice and started off with a slow jog and gradually picked up the pace. A couple of miles later, I saw them again and they were extremely supportive and said that I was looking much better. This was very inspirational to me and I developed the courage to look at my watch to see how much damage was really done. To my surprise, I only lost about 10 minutes. This was still a lot, and certainly in a 21k race, but definitely not the end of the world. There was now some hope and I set out to salvage a respectable race. After all of my success during the year, there was no way that I’d throw it all away now by quitting. Champions don’t quit – no matter what!

I had a stellar 2nd half after the early complications that cost me at least 10 minutes. My 2nd half performance was by far my best ever, other than XTERRA Bear Creek, where I ran negative 10k splits. If I ran as well in the first half as I did in the 2nd, I would have finished exactly where I hoped to pre-race instead of 41st overall. Under the circumstances, I was happy with still finishing in the top 20% and will improve greatly at World Championships were I am seeking a top 10 finish.

Special Congratulations to the East Coast crew who all had amazing races. Despite an incredibly talented field from the Pacific Northwest, the east coast did make a dent with some strong performances. Derek finished 11th OA and was the No. 1 finisher from East of the Mississippi. Corrine placed top 3 in her age group and just missed top 10 OA Woman. Don placed 2nd in his age group and just missed winning another Masters National Title. Carl and I both were able to secure top 50 placings, or top 20% OA.

The East Coast crew – Corrine Banks (Philly Series Regional Champion), Don Morrison (2008 Masters National Champion, Philly Series RD), Richard Burgunder (New England Series Regional Champion), Carl Epley (Tenn. Series Regional Champion) and Derek Schultz (11th OA at Nationals, East Coast #1 finisher, he beat me by 1 place at Bear Creek)!

Don, Carl and I reflecting on the event. We were shocked how hot it got!

XTERRA staff member Janet and I – she’s awesome!

Only a couple of months to World Championships in beautiful Oahu, Hawaii. Can’t wait to see everyone on December 6th!

For a full race report provided by XTERRA News, click HERE!