HONOLULU, HI – The 2011 XTERRA Trail Run National Championship is moving to Snowbasin Resort near Ogden, Utah, on Sept. 25.
The XTERRA Trail Run Nationals will be held one day after the XTERRA USA Championship of off-road triathlon to create the ultimate XTERRA racing weekend.
The two events will bring more than 1,000 of the nation’s very best amateur and professional triathletes and trail runners to Northern Utah to battle for the title of XTERRA National Champion.
While the USA Championship off-road triathlon is an invite only race, the XTERRA Trail Run National Championship is open to the public, so one and all can challenge the best-of-the-best trail runners and race for a national championship.
XTERRA Trail Run Nationals is the final event of the 70-race XTERRA U.S. Trail Run Series, which is currently underway with races across the country. Runners from the 12 respective regions in the U.S. Series can now focus on Snowbasin in Sept. as one of their goals.
The trail run championship is a 21-kilometer half-marathon, and the course will start and finish at Snowbasin Resort – a world-class ski resort that hosted the downhill and super G races for the 2002 Winter Olympics, and most recently served as the final stop of the Winter Dew Tour.
Located just 35 miles north of Salt Lake City, and just up the road from the adventure capitol of Ogden, Snowbasin is an easy get to and increasingly popular adventure travel destination. It has an incredible collection of trails, which are nothing short of spectacular in late September as the fall colors start bursting in an array of red, pink, orange, and yellow.
“We are terribly excited to bring our entire XTERRA Tribe – both triathletes and trail runners – together in Utah this September. The energy level is going to be off-the-charts,” said Janet Clark, president of TEAM Unlimited/XTERRA. “Ogden and Snowbasin are proven winners – between the facilities at Snowbasin, the great restaurants and atmosphere along Historic 25th Street in Ogden, and the unbelievably supportive community – we couldn’t have asked for a better situation.”
The invite only off-road tri nationals will be held on Saturday, Sept. 24, along with full and half-distance XTERRA Utah off-road tris that are open to everyone. The Trail Run Nationals will take place on Sunday, Sept. 25, and will be accompanied by 5km and 10km trail runs (registration for all events except the invite-only tri nationals is open now at www.xterraplanet.com).
Both the tri and trail running races will be filmed for nationally syndicated TV programs that will expose the beauty of Utah to millions. In addition to the races, XTERRA will host an expo in downtown Ogden with free kids races, vendor booths, Paul Mitchell hair cut-a-thon for charity, and evening dinner parties.
2011 marks the fifth year XTERRA has hosted a trail running national championship race. In the inaugural season of 2007 nationals was a 10km race at Incline Village, NV. In 2008 XTERRA switched the championship distance to the 21km half-marathon, and moved to Bend, Oregon, who played host to the past three national title races from 2008-2010.
For more information visit www.xterraplanet.com or www.xterratrailrun.com, or call toll-free to 877-XTERRA-1 (877-983-7721).
The XTERRA USA Championship weekend is sponsored by the Utah Sports Commission, Paul Mitchell, and XTERRAVitality.com. Sponsors include GU, Gatorade, Zorrel, Snowbasin Resort, GOAL Foundation, MediaOne of Utah, U.S. Forest Service, ENVE Composites, KSL TV, and the XTERRA Alliance – Wetsuits, Gear, Cycling, Fitness, Flex, and Footwear.
