XTERRA SAIPAN CHAMPIONSHIP - SATURDAY

The undisputed “Crown Jewel” of the XTERRA World Tour will take place for the ninth time Saturday in the middle of the Western Pacific Ocean.  XTERRA President Janet Clark and the managing director of XTERRA “Kahuna Dave” Nicholas are on-site at XTERRA Saipan, basking in the sun and saying the place has never been better.

Here is what Clark had to say upon her first day in Paradise…

The night air is warm and a lovely light breeze - folks still in the pool at 10pm.  We just met Alan and Julia from Australia, who are both back for their second year.  They said they came back because they just loved the people and the place.  Said ‘it’s a wonderful holiday in which a triathlon breaks out in the middle of it!’

Renata Bucher looks fit - she came in from San Diego and had been in Chile doing a big mountain bike race.  Luckily she got out before the earthquake hit.  She took one look at the Pacific Islands Club (the host hotel) last night and said "I'm home!"  This race is very special and important to her as the 5x defending champ – and she wants #6!

Mike Vine looks fit too – and he's teaching XTERRA University Camp with Oga-san (Japanese mountain bike phenom Takahiro Ogasawara).  The guy knows how to avoid paying bike fees to airlines - one box of wheels and the frame in a bag.  One of their students (Mr. Yukawa) saw XTERRA Saipan on TV last year and tried XTERRA Japan – so he's thrilled to be racing in his TV inspiration.

G.L. Brown is back, as is XTERRA Warrior award winner Juergen Fehrenbach, XTERRA amateur world champ Daz Parker from England, Carolina Colonna from New Mexico, a bunch of Europeans and a ton of Japanese racers.  The Kahuna is out with his backpack full of stakes, arrows and zip ties, and I'm sure he's in pig heaven!

Dave checked in later in the day and added... “The course and island are dry.  No rain for a while making pounding stakes very difficult.  Everything I have seen today, which is about 80%, says it will be fast.  The island looks more prosperous than in the past few years and new construction is happening around the island. 

The Micro Beach start/finish area has been totally re-done.  Those who come here might recall mother nature in the form of the China Sea wanted some of that beach back and erosion actually put the permanent bathrooms hanging out over the beach a few years ago.  All that has been removed, new bathrooms put in about 150 meters away from the beach, the perimeter road removed, new grass and trees and the entire beach line straightened and cleaned up. 

Its mid 80's with a nice breeze today.  Perfect racing weather and probably the nicest temperatures we’ve ever had here. 

Thanks to the international timeline we should be able to get you results tomorrow (Friday) from Saturday's race so stay tuned.

MAPPING THE XTERRA WORLD TOUR

Back in 2005 Nick Morales was frustrated that he couldn’t find a triathlon in Brazil, so he used his IT skills to create a map of the country with markers that showed where all the races were at.  At the time it was just a hobby, but after sharing what he put together on TRImapper.com info from race directors around the world came rolling in and now there are more than 1,850 races marked on the world map, including an entire globe devoted to XTERRA races.

 “The sport of triathlon has grown considerably but race listings in print media and online hasn’t.  The problem is, some of the new triathlon events or existing races are outside of the main metro areas and athletes aren’t always familiar where some of these cities are.   Existing race listings are linear, meaning they are sorted by date and give you the details, but when a race is in a city you aren’t familiar with or you are trying to find only half iron distance events you are left in the dark.  TRImapper.com solves these problems with visual features that make finding triathlon races much easier and interactive,” said Morales.

In addition to trimapper Morales also operates trijuice.com - a triathlon news and resource site.

“When I’m not working, training or racing I’m working on the sites,” said Morales, a triathlete himself who completed his first Ironman in 2006.  “It’s in my blood to help others one way or another.  If I can’t help them fix their flat tire, maybe I can help them find a cool triathlon race in Italy.  Besides, adding new event is one way for me to incorporate my active lifestyle with my other hobby, travel!  I’m always looking for new places to visit and experience.”

See what places you might like to visit and experience at trimapper.com.

UPCOMING RACES

 Mar. 7 - XTERRA Stillwell 8km Trail Run (Syosset, NY)
Mar. 13 - XTERRA Saipan Championship
(Northern Marianas)
Mar. 14 - XTERRA Oak Mountain 10k (Pelham, AL)
Mar. 14 - XTERRA Black Mountain 5km & 15km Trail Runs (San Diego, CA)
Mar. 27 - XTERRA Guam (Piti)
Mar. 27 - XTERRA Chanoko 21km (Granite Bay, CA)
Mar. 28 - XTERRA Miami (N. Miami, FL)
Mar. 28 - XTERRA REAL (Granite Bay, CA)

XTERRA WORLDS ON TV IN L.A. SATURDAY

The hour-long broadcast of the 2009 XTERRA World Championship from Maui will hit the nation's second largest TV market - Los Angeles, California - this Saturday, March 13th at 3pm (PST) on KABC. Check out the schedule to see when it's on in your hometown.

BAUER, BUDDEN WIN NY SERIES OPENER

Chris Bauer and Kristin Budden won the inaugural race in the XTERRA Long Island Trail Run Series at Stillwell Woods Park in Syosset, NY on Sunday. 

Bauer, a 22-year old from Sea Cliff, NY, edged David Borg by just 17 seconds with a winning time of 21:56 while Budden finished more than two minutes ahead of her nearest competitor in 26:55.

The XTERRA Stillwell Trail Run was scheduled for five miles but shortened to 3.5-miles for safety reasons.  The icy, snow-covered trails and uncooperative weather conditions didn’t damper the spirit of local competitors.
According to Peter Meirs, who was happy to race in his hometown of Syosset, “There were still a lot of treacherous conditions making it easy to trip and fall, but I was having a blast.”

The top three men and women split the day’s $450 prize purse.  In addition, the top three men and women in the Series will share a $1,200 purse after the culminating event in Montauk, NY on July 10. This was the first of four races in the Series, and next up for New Yorkers is the XTERRA Bethpage 5k on April 10.  For more details and complete results visit www.xterratrailrun.com.