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The
incredible experience of XTERRA - and the people
who live it
Randy
Pascal
2022-07-26
Much like the Ironman
series of races, the XTERRA off-road version has
fostered a very impressive group of devotees to
call their own.
Sure, the truth is that there exists
a great deal of cross-over within this particular
demographic of athletes, as many of the runners,
swimmers and cyclists compete in other sport specific
events at varying distances, dabbling with the more
traditional duathlons or triathlons, or making their
way over to what is generally termed as adventure
racing.
Now, thanks to the efforts of John
MacDonald and a host of friends and volunteers,
several hundred of these wonderfully energetic folks
found themselves at Kivi Park this past weekend,
entered into one or more of the eight different
competitions that took participants from the shores
of Crowley Lake, across some of the most challenging
mountain bike trails in the province and eventually
back to the front of the park, ever thankful to
find the finish line in sight.
As MacDonald mentioned to me a few
months back, a big part of the lure of the XTERRA
series remains the goal of attempting to qualify
for the XTERRA World Championships in Lake Molveno
(Italy) on October 1st/2nd, the first time in 25
years that the event has shifted from its traditional
home in Maui, Hawaii.
That was certainly right at the
top of the list for Francisco Montoya, a native
of Spain who moved to Toronto in 2012 to follow
his soccer dreams (TFC Academy). On Saturday, he
finished second only to Luka Senk of Collingwood
in the Full-Distance off-road Triathlon, covering
the course (1.5km swim / 26 km bike / 9 km run)
in a time of 2:31.44, a couple of minutes ahead
of Lo-Ellen Park Secondary graduate Kelly Thompson.
While Montoya has always been athletic,
it’s honestly a wonderfully genuine love of
cycling that has paved his entry into this transition
from soccer. “I’ve been in sport pretty
much my whole life,” said the young man who
was competing in his first ever XTERRA race. “When
I was young, I started going on mountain bike rides
with my dad, which was nice.”
“We enjoyed a lot of time
together.”
That background would come in especially
handy with the trails of Kivi Park which can challenge
the most technical of the mountain bike riders.
“We have a lot of mountains in Spain too and
pretty much all of my mountain biking was there,
so I’m pretty used to rocks and mountains.
But this is definitely way harder than central Ontario.”
Set to rest or at least take it
a little easier for a couple of weeks before resuming
his preparation for his big event in the fall, Montoya
provided a race assessment that in general seems
to hold true for the majority of triathletes.
“My weakness, I would say,
is the swimming, which is probably the weakness
for everyone,” he suggested. “I got
through the swim and I think I did a very good pace
with the mountain bike. The run was decent. I was
just making sure I was fighting cramps, but they
didn’t happen.”
A more middle of the pack racer
from the Peterborough/Bowmanville region, Mike Bradley
is the exception to the rule. “The swim is
my best, believe it or not, which sounds silly for
a triathlete,” confessed the 49 year old who
was making his second appearance at Conquer the
Crater and clocking in at a time of 3:15.26.
“I did a little bit of swim
camps and races and it’s just taken off for
me.”
Throwing himself into the whole
world of triathlons in or around the age of 33,
Bradley is among those for whom the circuit largely
dictates his choice of races. “I’m always
chasing XTERRA,” he said. “We’re
looking for whatever race is kind of close, but
this is a bonus because we love coming here.”
“It’s good and technical,
the lake is good and clean – it’s a
perfect event. And it’s a great spot to be
up on vacation.” Opting to go the Airbnb route
this year, Bradley and his wife have camped, at
times, typically making a whole week of the excursion
north.
And while he does enjoy a decent
background in mountain biking, Kivi is different
than so many other courses in Ontario. “They
do emphasize that it’s difficult,” said
Bradley with a smile. “This has to be one
of the top five XTERRA race mountain bike courses
in the world.”
Not that this stopped 53 year-old
Belinda Edison from claiming top spot in her age
category, along with 6th place among the 17 women
who took part in the Short Distance off-road Triathlon
– despite not even starting to mountain bike
until early May (yes, of this year). “I actually
signed up for the XTERRA before I even owned a mountain
bike,” said Edison.
Clearly one to jump with both feet
into an initiative that she fully believes in, the
native of Georgetown started running in earnest
in 2020, following a life-changing process that
would see her shed roughly 100 pounds over the course
of one year.
“My interest in running kind
of peaked in 2020, just because of the fact that
Covid and flexible schedules allowed me to get out
there and try and get some running done,”
she said, quickly adding trail runs with friends
into her busy calendar.
“I have a great group of friends
that do this kind of stuff and they steered me towards
XTERRA. They love adventure racing.”
In spite of her solid race results,
Edison insisted that competition often takes a backseat
to the social element that binds these athletes
together. “Sure, you’re racing, but
you’re having a conversation with the guy
behind you, the guy in front of you, asking where
you’re from. And the scenery is breathtaking.”
“You do have to take the time
when you are racing this kind of an event to soak
it all in.”
Edison and some friends had been
up this way in June, crossing paths with Sudbury
runner Todd Withers at the time and eventually recruiting
him to complete a relay trio when an out of town
member dropped out. “I had already signed
up for the XTERRA so I wanted to go out to Kivi
Park to see what it was all about,” said Edison.
Despite some pre-race apprehension,
this newcomer to the scene is more likely than not
to be back again next year. “I was a little
bit nervous about the swim, but the swim went swimmingly,”
Edison laughed. “The two women who finished
second and third (in my category) were giving me
pointers, before the race, helping me do up my (wet)
suit.”
“Next year, they’re
not helping me,” she added with a smile.
Long-time local outdoor sport fanatic
Jeff Paul needed very little prompting in jumping
aboard for his first triathlon at the 2019 race
– and he’s happy to be back. “I
had an utter blast,” said the former competitive
swimmer who also coaches the cross-country team
at Cambrian College and is an avid off-road trail
runner.
“I would much rather be in
the forest, with open space and nature, rather than
hanging out on the pavement. As far as the multi-sport
component, you get a little bit of all aspects of
working your body – and you’re out with
some amazing people.”
“It’s one more event
that brings joy to the community – and it’s
for a great cause.”
In fact, in addition to the XTERRA
affiliation, the Conquer the Crater race is also
part of the Miles Against Cancer initiative, with
local organizers making a hefty donation to the
cause following the flurry of activity over the
weekend. As for Paul, he’s readying for the
Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc excursion, a 171 kilometre
challenge that begins in Charmonix (France) on August
22nd and winds its way through Italy and Switzerland,
wrapping up on August 28th.
“This race is kind of the
same concept as a tempo practice,” Paul acknowledged.
“You recover super quick because I’m
not grounding and pounding my knees when I am on
the bike – which is the majority of this race.”
A trail runner for some 25 years
now, the multi-sport athlete can hardly contain
his passion for the discipline. “That’s
my joie-de-vivre, my ultimate joy.”
And if that allows him to cross-over
and interact with the niche of XTERRA faithful,
well, that’s just an added bonus.
Following is a listing of some of
the top finishers in some of the various categories:
Full Distance Off-Road Triathlon - Men
1st - Luka Senk - 2:27:43
2nd - Francisco Montoya - 2:31:44
3rd - Kelly Thompson - 2:33:10
4th - Wolfgang Guembel - 2:35:36
5th - Jacek Jackiewicz - 2:39:05
Full Distance Off-Road Triathlon
- Women
1st - Sara McIlraith - 2:44:29
2nd - Lori Whitmore - 3:10:14
3rd - Susan Gaudreau - 3:30:00
Short Distance Off-Road Triathlon
- Men
1st - Laydon Bursey - 1:26:36
2nd - Caden Sutton - 1:30:13
3rd - Kaeden Ward - 1:31:34
4th - Ben Keen - 1:33:35
5th - Colin Ward - 1:37:21
Short Distance Off-Road Triathlon
- Women
1st - Ginny Denomme - 1:51:45
2nd - Cristina Lastimado - 1:55:23
3rd - Karen Koehler - 1:55:46
Full Distance Off-Road Duathlon
- Men
1st - Danny Brunet - 2:20:31
2nd - Javier Mena Diep - 2:49:38
Full Distance Off-Road Duathlon
- Women
1st - Barbara Wolczak - 3:04:52
2nd - Charlotte Giddens - 3:24:06
63 km Trail Run - Men & Women
1st - Krista Allen - 7:02:45
2nd - Stephan Meyer - 7:12:04
3rd - Jeff Kroetsch - 7:44:55
4th - Emmanuelle Moreau - 7:51:51
21 km Trail Run - Men
1st - Eric Leishman - 1:36:29
2nd - Guy Chénier - 1:53:49
3rd - Vincent Chénier - 1:53:49
4th - Michael Rouleau - 1:57:59
21 km Trail Run - Women
1st - Shelley Walushka - 1:58:28
2nd - Kelly Senk - 2:00:49
10 km Trail Run - Men & Women
1st - Konrad Wiltmann - 57:45
2nd - Alex Espinosa - 57:50
3rd - Lisa Harman - 58:57
4th - Dave Richardson - 1:01:27
5 km Trail Run - Men & Women
1st - Aurel Fox-Recollet - 21:44
2nd - Emmy Passi - 23:06
3rd - Robbie Lindsay - 24:38
4th - Kelly Fleming - 24:43
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