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		<?xml version="1.0"?><rss version="2.0"><channel><title>XTERRA - Tri247</title><link>http://www.tri247.com/index.html</link><description>Latest xterra articles from Tri247</description><item><title><![CDATA[XTERRA UK training camp]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_3228.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Ever thought of doing an XTERRA, but didn&rsquo;t have the confidence? Or perhaps you&rsquo;re a seasoned racer who is looking for a new challenge? Well the XTERRA UK training camp held in Afan and Resolven in Wales on 24th-25th May could be the answer.

In preparation for XTERRA UK on the 21st June, Driven to Tri coach and 2008 XTERRA World Champion, Julie Dibens, has teamed up with World Cup mountain biker and top XTERRA athlete, Sam Gardner, to offer a jam-packed weekend including a unique chance to check out the race course under expert tuition.  

The weekend is designed to offer a fun and relaxed opportunity for you to take a look at the XTERRA course. A number of coaches and split sessions mean that the team can give you individual attention, whether you&rsquo;re an absolute XTERRA beginner or a seasoned racer. The weekend provides great value for money and would be ideal for club groups or individuals.

For more information go to: www.driventotri.com and for an entry form click here]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[XTERRA UK - website and online entry go live]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_3025.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[The XTERRA UK website and online entry system are now live. This year&#039;s event  will take place over the weekend of the 21st and 22nd June in South Wales, and as well as the traditional XTERRA off-road triathlon will also feature an off-road half marathon. This is an event not to be missed, and as always, Tri247 will be providing you with all training information and news to get you on the start line in tip-top condition. We are also pleased to announce that Julie Dibens, current XTERRA World Champion and winner of XTERRA UK 2007, will not only be taking part in this year&rsquo;s event, but will be working alongside Tri247 to update the event website and provide training tips and advice.

As an additional bonus, the organisers of XTERRA UK will be entering all athletes that enter the event in March into a competition. One lucky person will win a place on Julie Diben&#039;s and Sam Gardner&#039;s training camp and will also have their entry fee refunded! So, dust off your trail shoes, pump up your MTB bike tyres and log onto www.xterra.uk.com now and sign up for this unique event.]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[XTERRA UK confirms dates for 2008]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_2883.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[XTERRA UK have confirmed dates for this year&#039;s XTERRA UK and XTERRA Trail Half Marathon. The events will once again take place in the Valley of Neath, South Wales, although rumour has it that the course for XTERRA UK will be slightly changed for this year&#039;s event, giving it a more exciting swim and adding a few more kilometres onto the bike. Julie Dibens last years winner and the current World XTERRA Champion has already confirmed that she will take part in what is set be an exciting event.

The race schedule is as follows:


Saturday 21 June - XTERRA UK Championship race, age group race and sport race 
Sunday 22 June - XTERRA Trail Half Marathon


Both races will provide an opportunity for athletes to qualify for XTERRA World Championships. XTERRA UK will be a qualification race for the World XTERRA Championships which takes place in Hawaii on October 28th 2008. The Trail Half Marathon will be a qualification race for the Trail Running World Championships, this is an off-road half marathon scheduled for December 7th 2008, on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. For more information go to: www.xterraplanet.com

Tri247 will be working with the race in 2008, bringing you all the latest updates and news.]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Julie's on Planet X]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_2835.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Julie Dibens has started her 2008 season on a bit of a high with a major new sponsorship deal. She will be riding Planet X&#039;s bikes for both triathlon and her off-road XTERRA races. Unlike her previous bike deal, Julie has already taken delivery of the bikes and it&#039;s not even the end of January! Most of her racing will be done on a Stealth Pro Carbon, she&#039;s not going for the bubblegum pink colour, which is kitted out with Xentis wheels. There&#039;s also talk of her having a 29&quot; single-speed MTB... Supporting the deal will be Schwalbe tyres, Oakley eyewear and Giro helmets.

Julie&#039;s plans for her 2008 season pretty much mirror her 2007 campaign, although she is determined to get a better result at the 70.3 Championships. Her racing will start a little later owing to a bout of illness over Christmas so it&#039;s likely that she will miss out on the Guam and Saipan XTERRAs and start racing in earnest at St Anthony&#039;s at the end of April. You can keep track of her progress via her website (www.juliedibens.com) which, unlike some pro sites we could mention, is updated very regularly.]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Living the XTERRA dream]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_2605.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Regular readers may have noticed the name Jim McConnel cropping up in the odd XTERRA report throughout the past year. We thought that you might like to read his story of how he switched from being an ordinary age group triathlete to a full-on XTERRA junkie.



In September 2006 this 33 year-old was surprised to lead my age group home at XTERRA UK and gain a qualifying slot for the World Championships. Terrified, I signed up for the &#039;once in a lifetime&#039; experience and flew out to Maui with around 15 other UK athletes to compete in my first World Championships. I was stunned to find great names like Hamish Carter, Olivier Marceau and Melanie McQuaid all on the same start line. Get this, no separate elite race! You share the same sand as the professionals, for a few seconds at least, before they disappear into the surf! 

Onto the race itself and after battling through three-foot waves, a volcano climb, two punctures, sharp lava rock descents, and a run on the craziest soft sandy beach, all under a searing sun, I felt like I&#039;d completed a full-scale military exercise; but the adrenaline and shiver from crossing the finishing line that day in 101st place tipped an important trigger in my body. I know a lot of athletes out there who have felt that similar buzz, and you know it&#039;s addictive!

&quot;Of course I&#039;ll see you next year&quot; is what I said to just about everyone at the after-show party as I shared food and time with athletes from every corner of the globe. Holding onto every last moment I reluctantly came home, and plans were formed almost immediately for the new season.

March 2007 arrived quickly enough. Along with fellow Brits Sam Gardner and Julie Dibens I started the year in the middle of the Pacific with a month-long training camp taking in XTERRA Guam (see the video of that race here), XTERRA Saipan and a long distance on-road triathlon called Tagaman. We were blessed with unprecedented hospitality for foreign athletes from the organisers and locals alike, and good results in every race meant that we built strong links with the teams there for future involvement. I had never raced through coral reefs, jumped giant bamboo poles and clambered down waterfalls in the middle of the jungle before! Every course had its own signature and has marked me with memories forever. We trained and raced hard, we flew the national flag, but most importantly, we were having fun and made many new friends. It occurred to me at some point that this was different to any of the racing that I&#039;ve been doing in the last 10 years. Refreshing is what I&#039;d call it.

After returning to the UK for a spell to earn some money I set about planning the European races; Italy and then Denmark, Germany, Austria, UK; all in short succession this year. The European scene for XTERRA is very strong with fields up to 300 people in the full-distance race and maybe half that in the Sport or half-distance classes. Having been elevated to the pro class with the support of XTERRA, I posted some solid top 20 performances in Europe against very stiff competition. The early season training and help from Julie&#039;s team at Driven to Tri (www.driventotri.com) on the swimming front paying off greatly.

Soon enough, our little UK XTERRA group found ourselves back on what almost feels like a pilgrimage, destined for Maui. I met three age group contenders (35-39) on the flight from the UK who were all on their way for the first time; Ryan, Paul and Ian. I was glad to see some flickers of apprehension and a thirst for enjoyment amongst them as it reminded me of how I had felt a year earlier.

This year I was lucky enough to share an apartment with Sibylle Matter from Switzerland who competes at the very top level in the women&#039;s elite category. We had a good week of training in the build up to the race, getting used to the time difference and, more importantly, the heat. The local authorities closed the beach outside our complex for a day when a five-foot hammerhead shark was sighted 20 metres offshore, but otherwise things went unhampered. Apparently hammerheads don&#039;t usually attack people in the water but we did agree not to swim alone on this trip.

As more people arrived during the week, new friendships were formed and existing ones renewed over outings for Vietnamese food or cheeky coffee stops. Dots of colour could be seen early every morning in the sea; XTERRA-ready athletes with the branded swim caps marking which event they qualified at. I have to say that the training we were doing there tapered dramatically and the leisurely swims became known as &#039;Turtle Watch&#039;. It was not uncommon to see a three-foot giant turtle beating his stroke gently under the water and moving his home around on his back.

Maui attracts full suspension bikes as the course is harsh and rocky, tyre and &#039;slime&#039; sales were well up in the local bike shop, the team there working really hard to ensure everyone was properly equipped come race day. XTERRA organise a practice course for riders to test their equipment on from the Wednesday before the event, the actual course is kept secret on private land and remains unridden until the race itself. Responsive bike skills are a must if you want to go fast.

There were numerous workshops and seminars before the event to attend, focusing on all aspects of off-road triathlon. Hosted by specialist pros they usually follow a Q and A format that is useful and entertaining. The night before the race there is a grand dinner where previous champions are remembered, Scott Tinley even made a one-time return last year, and competed in a Hawaiian shirt over his lycra!

Suddenly it was 6:30 am race day and body marking was open. Athletes shaking hands or hugging, setting transition and chatting nervously. The Keo Lani made a ceremonial blessing on the beach and then all hell broke loose as 500 athletes took to the surf and the arduous event began.

For me this year&#039;s race was a fairly short affair. I ripped my tyre on a razor-sharp rock after four miles of the bike course and that ultimately forced me to retire. But not after I was offered two tubes, several CO2 cartridges and lots of shouts of encouragement from the passing racers. My eyes were opened even further to the family that is XTERRA, and in return I stayed on the course near the top of the big climb urging everyone to push that little bit harder or telling them they looked good (how often do you hear that when you feel truly horrible?) I gave my bike gloves to a girl whose hands were hurting her, I hope she gets plenty of use from them.

Meanwhile Julie Dibens was beating every other girl (and most of the men too!) in the field and brought home a superb victory for the British, quashing three-time champion Melanie McQuaid by over seven minutes. Legendary farmer Conrad Stoltz made a great move on the run to out-wit Olivier Marceau by just over a minute, and celebrated by downing a beer on the podium. Fellow Brit Sam Gardner pushed himself and his bike very hard (second fastest bike split) to finish 14th overall.

I look forward to next year. I really do. I want to travel to other XTERRAs around the world. There&#039;s a great World Cup series. As I&#039;ve said, the races are all unique in their own way, but the people in them are all from the same family. Adventurous, fun and healthy, if you fancy a challenge at something a little bit different to the usual tarmac beating then why not give it a try next season?

Check out the main XTERRA website (www.xterraplanet.com) for more information or you can contact me through the guys here at Tri247.com.]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Dibens does XTERRA]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_2590.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Julie Dibens was certainly being acknowledged as capable of getting a result at the XTERRA World Championships in Maui, but we doubt that they quite expected the dominating performance that she delivered on her debut. Her swimming strength was always going to be a problem for the other girls and she left the water a clear minute in front of Sibylle Matter (FRA) and two minutes up on defending Champion and three-time winner, Melanie McQuaid (CAN). Julie&#039;s lead was reduced to around a minute as McQuaid put in a big early effort over the first four miles of the bike but then Julie responded and opened the lead back up to 1:24 by T2. Bear in mind that, unlike most of the others chasing her, Julie had never been on the XTERRA bike course before - something that makes her achievement even more remarkable.

Once out on the run Julie continued to open her lead on McQuaid while the 2004 Champion, Jamie Whitmore (USA), began her charge through the field to try to get back into contention after exiting the swim some four minutes down and then working her way back up to sixth spot at T2. At the end of the race Julie had opened a gap on McQuaid to a staggering 8:28 with the fastest run of the day while Whitmore managed to work her way through the field to take third place.

&quot;I think I pretty much had the perfect race, it was awesome! I had a good swim, and knew I had to have that lead coming out. Then I got out on the bike and put my head down, didn&#039;t look back, didn&#039;t ask for splits, just concentrated on what I was doing,&quot; said Dibens.
 
&quot;Julie was really strong and I don&#039;t want to take anything away from her race because she&#039;s awesome and I look forward to another chance to do battle with her, but I didn&#039;t have the kind of race that really made it much of a battle and that&#039;s disappointing,&quot; said McQuaid.
 
In the men&#039;s race Conrad Stoltz (RSA) became the first man to take three XTERRA Championships, he previously won in 2001 and 2001, when he beat Olivier Marceau (SUI) by just over a minute. Stoltz went from tenth out of the water to first on the bike by the notorious Heartbreak Hill section at mile four, followed 20 seconds back by Marceau, then Cedric Fleureton (FRA), Bevan Docherty (NZL) and Eneko Llanos (ESP).
 
Six miles and more than 1,000 feet of climbing later (there&#039;s 3,000 total feet of climbing on the bike) Marceau had taken over the lead with Stoltz now 20 seconds back. Two minutes behind were Llanos, Docherty, and Felix Schumann (GER) who had moved into 5th. For the next mile the field was tasked with climbing roughly 600 feet to Ned&#039;s Peak, the highest point on the course at 1,400 feet.

What goes up, must come down and a sharp right hand turn at the Peak sends riders down the Plunge, a furious downhill and site of some of the most gnarly crashes in XTERRA history. This is the spot on the course where Stoltz was anticipating making his move, but Marceau held position and remained in the lead at mile 15.5. &quot;I thought I could get away from him on the downhill but his technical skills have improved and I didn&#039;t catch him until right at transition,&quot; said Stoltz.
 
Stoltz and Marceau rode shoulder-to-shoulder into T2 and went stride-for-stride into the 6.9 mile trail run until the first big climb when Stoltz started to pull away. &quot;We&#039;ve been racing against each other for 11 years and I&#039;ve never run faster and he&#039;s always been a superior athlete, especially running,&quot; said Stoltz. &quot;At the 2000 Olympic games we were in the lead coming off the bike together and he ran two minutes faster, so I just thought I&#039;d try to hang in there and see what happens. Then on the climbs I couldn&#039;t believe it, he started slacking off and I though he was playing games with me. I concentrated, stuck to my pace and he dropped off. I was really blown away. I would have never fancied running away from Olivier, and even the other strong runners because this field is classy.&quot; It turned out Marceau wasn&#039;t playing cat-and-mouse, he simply didn&#039;t have enough left in the tank to respond when Stoltz took off.

 
Marceau finished 1:11 behind Stoltz and in the runner-up spot for the third time; he was 19 seconds behind Hamish Carter last year and was also second in 2004. Perhaps the most remarkable feat of the afternoon happened on the bike course behind the two frontrunners as Brian Smith (USA) picked off more than 100 riders to move into the third position. Smith was 113th out of the water and moved up to third place by virtue of the fastest bike split, a blazing 1:30:51.

Tri247 contributor Sam Gardner came in a respectable 14th while Jim McConnel was unable to finish after problems on the bike. Unfortunately the age group results don&#039;t contain any nationalities but we think that there&#039;s at least one Silver in there, please let us know of any more. A full set of results is available here and there are some great photos on the XTERRA website: www.xterraplanet.com


PosMenWomen
1
Conrad Stoltz (RSA) 2:40:54 
Jilue Dibens (GBR) 3:01:24 

2
Olivier Marceau (SUI) 2:42:05 
Melanie McQuaid (CAN) 3:09:52 

3
Brian Smith (USA) 2:42:35 
Jamie Whitmore (USA) 3:11:37 

]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[XTERRA UK: the Shanley Report]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_2492.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Tri247&#039;s Paul Shanley raced at this year&#039;s XTERRA UK, having already completed Ironman Switzerland and Ironman UK, and provided us with this entertaining report.



Bore da (good morning in Welsh!)

Setting off from sunny Essex early on Saturday morning I couldn&rsquo;t help but think what I was letting myself in for. Last year I was so excited about racing an XTERRA race in the UK having read and watched the races around the world. I have friends who say that Ironman and XTERRA are their favourite races of all time and both do have their similarities. Although you might not meet too many people with an XTERRA tattoo (there might be some people??) both have events all over the world and offer qualifying spots to race the World Championships in Hawaii. The distances, of course, are very different but don&rsquo;t be fooled into thinking the 1500metre swim, 30k bike and 10k run off-road is not much different to that distance on road.

The other similarity is that the venues for these races can best be described as stunning. My experience of last year&rsquo;s event was very different. The weather turned on the Saturday to what only can be described as a hurricane (the Met Office might classify it differently but then they were not camping in a field) and the race on the Sunday was changed to a duathlon for safety reasons. The event was still good, but I have to say it didn&rsquo;t live up to my expectations of a world class race series. But I am the eternal optimist so I suffered the pain of the M25 and headed towards the valley of Neath in South Wales with hope that this year the rain would be a DNS.

This year&#039;s race village had been moved to the village of Resolven, a small village built around the rugby club (race HQ no less!) and nestled in the valleys of Neath. The race car park was in a large factory grounds with a short five minute walk to the rugby club. Not really knowing what to expect I was pleasantly surprised as I walked up through the terrace houses to have a number of the locals say hello to me (I did tell this story to the chairman of the rugby club who said the locals were very friendly but then they probably didn&rsquo;t realise I was English &ndash; I think he was joking). 

Race HQ was buzzing &ndash; Wales were playing Australia so it seemed the whole village was watching the TV in the function room. Registration was in the room adjacent and was well staffed and organised. One of the organising team had a badge on saying ASK ME which was a nice idea so I took the opportunity to find out a bit more about the bike course and how technical is technical. Having been told there were a lot of climbs and the descents were tricky but very rideable I got my first warning on the run &ldquo;Have you been around the run course? You have to be careful as it&rsquo;s really tough&rdquo;. The run course? I slightly dismissed his question and asked some more about the bike and just assumed he thought I was some kind of amateur runner, wet behind the ears. (I did nearly point out the eight marathons, the two Ironmans I have struggled through. I know running and I can handle a 10k off-road run).

Once registered, I took the opportunity to watch the remainder of the rugby and have a look around. The rugby facilities have clearly seen a lot of rugby over the years and although far from new, they do give the event a real opportunity to grow &ndash; there is plenty of room for an expo outside, lots of room inside for registration/pasty party/awards. There are showers (communal but I believe they are working on that for next year) and lots of space which was used for the campsite. They do say rugby is at the very heart of Wales so it is fitting that the race HQ is in rugby club. The finishing chute actually runs through from the goals post straight through the field. You can&rsquo;t get any more rugby if you tried!

Once the rugby had finished most of the locals came outside and drank beer in the sunshine and chatted about the game. The organisers then re-organised the TV room so that they could provide the race briefing and then the pasta party. The race briefing was very comprehensive with a good deal of time spent highlighting some of the more technical areas of the bike course. Once again I hear the words &ldquo;the run is quite tough&rdquo; but take little notice and I am soon tucking into a big plate of pasta, jacket potato and salad. Over the pasta party I got the opportunity to chat with Julie Dibens who was very relaxed. Julie has had an amazing season and seems to just get stronger and stronger. It is fascinating to hear about a pro&#039;s life although Julie said she has been doing so much racing and travelling it&#039;s all bit of a blur. I also got to meet Jim McConnel, another one of the UK pros racing. Jim was really entertaining with plenty of stories about travelling and racing in European XTERRA events. One of the main topics of conversations was about Sam Gardner and an injury he had picked up which might put him out of tomorrow&#039;s race. 

After much food I headed off to my accommodation which was about 30 minutes away. I had arranged to stay at the Dulwich College Field Centre which was where most of the pro athletes were staying. Arriving late at night I immediately when into the kitchen where most of the pros were chatting and introduced myself. Although very friendly I did sense a bit of tension in the air which I suspect is not unusual. It must be difficult to travel and live so close to each other yet still have to compete against each other on race day. Having found a spare bed I got my race kit together (lots of wet weather clothing just in case &ndash; today might have been lovely and sunny but last year&#039;s experience was still fresh in my mind) and then got an early night. 

Sunday Morning
The race was due to start at 10am which made a refreshing change and allowed a bit of lie-in. For various reasons I have found the majority of the races I have done this year have started early, getting me up out of bed at four in the morning so a 7am start seemed like luxury. I made my way downstairs and sat with the pros as they all had their breakfast. The mood was generally very good and we had a good laugh about what each athlete eats before a race. (Might try to get the editor to run this as a regular feature &ndash; &#039;what&rsquo;s on my breakfast plate&#039;).

This year&rsquo;s event was going to be a split transition, T2 at the race HQ opened at 8am so everyone could put in their trainers, while T1 by the lake was opening around 9.30-ish. From the race HQ T1 was about 2&frac12; miles away which gave you a nice warm up on the bike and then chance to chat to fellow competitors. Arriving at T1 the lake looked really inviting and the sun was looking like it was going to make an appearance. The only negative was the ground was made up of broken tarmac and was a bit painful on the feet.

The swim was going to be a deep water start so around 9.55am everyone had made their way into the water. The first thing I noticed was how the wind had picked up and made the lake a bit choppy, other than that the water was lovely and I mean lovely. It has to be the clearest water I have swam in and when I inevitably swallowed some water I was pleasantly surprised about how good it tasted. I was even tempted to bring some empty water bottles down after the race and stock up my fridge.

The swim course itself was a rectangle course with jet skis as safety vehicles. One of the corner buoys had been damaged so one of the jet skis had to be used as turning point. Just before the hooter sounded the start of the race I spotted Sam Gardner turn up &ndash; it was touch and go whether he raced or not, but even with an injury it must be hard to stop the pros from racing.

Just after 10am we were off and due to the clear water I found it a lot easier to swim behind people and take advantage of a little draft. As always I find the swim goes past quicker than you expected and that was very much the case today although I think that was more to do with the course being short rather than me being a better swimmer (looking at some of the pros times I think the course must have been around 1300metres rather than 1500 unless we have some world class swimmers doing XTERRA!).

The exit from the lake was a bit tricky with some rocks and the run to the T1 was also a bit heavy on the feet with the broken tarmac (there was some suggestion that the broken tarmac was deliberate to make the race even tougher but the organisers denied this).

After a far from speedy transition I was out on the bike heading down a fairly flat off road section feeling confident and happy after a good swim. In what seems like a very short time the bike course started to climb and climb. The first climb on the bike just seemed never-ending with lots of switchbacks. The one thing you can&rsquo;t ignore on this course is the scenery and it seemed the higher you climbed the more breath-taking it got (of course, the climb itself had a lot to do with the lack of breath). A 30k bike might not seem like a long way but the climbs were steep and never ending and the downhill sections were technical and energy zapping. Very soon into the first technical bit of the course I realised that I would have really benefited from riding the course before hand to build my confidence. As difficult as the climbing is, my real problem came with the fast technical downhill sections on which I would panic. I stopped counting the number of times I came off the bike after five &ndash; luckily only one was seen by another competitor and I did swear him to secrecy as it was a very flat bit of the course.

In the race briefing we were told about the &#039;Impossible Climb&#039; which I have to say felt like every climb and I spent a lot of time just trying to turn the pedals in any gear just to keep moving forward. I am a great believer that mountain biking can help your road biking, not only in power output but also your bike handling skills. Controlling the bike is an art form, knowing not only how to pick your line but also when to put the power down and when to back off.  For the whole 30k you really do get a workout and I felt I was spending a lot of time fighting to stay on the bike.

Wales really is a beautiful place and it would be hard to give the bike course the justice it deserves by describing it here &ndash; you really do have to ride this course to appreciate how nice it is. You also have to ride this course to appreciate how difficult it is and what it feels like to come in and get off the bike. My body felt more like it had been on the bike leg of an ironman rather than just a 30k.

Into T2 and feeling good that I had survived the bike I spotted Julie Dibens chatting to the officials by her bike. She looked completely relaxed and I asked her how she had got on as I ran past and she calmly said &ldquo;Oh, good, I won&rdquo;. I racked my bike and was feeling a bit gutted that people had finished and I still had a 10k to do (even if those people are top pro athletes that seem to be winning everything at the moment). As I turned to set off on the 10k Julie shouted out &ldquo;Good luck Paul&rdquo; which was just the encouragement I needed and I left T2 looking to blitz the 10k.

As I mentioned earlier, I can run. I am not the fastest runner, but once I get into my zone I can just keep going &ndash; uphill or downhill. After about five minutes out of T2 I was soon into the forest ducking branches, jumping logs and feeling strong. Out of the forest I came to the first major obstacle which was a river that came up to just above your knees. Wading in the water actually felt nice and cold on my legs and I started to get even more confident that my legs were in a good condition to attack this 10k.

My attack of the 10k didn&rsquo;t last long. After the river you had to pull yourself up the bank on a rope. Once up the bank it started to go uphill. And then uphill, and then more uphill and then more uphill. I don&rsquo;t know if it&rsquo;s just me but all I remember of the run course is hills. Yes on the way back we did come back down the hill but it was no way as long as the uphill bits. This 10k is brutal. On its own it would be a difficult 10k. I suspect the SAS wouldn&rsquo;t even train their troops on this kind of course as it&rsquo;s just too tough. My world fell apart, closely followed by my legs. Who on earth thought of this course? It was just never ending. Like the bike course, it is hard to give this course justice by describing it here. Yes it is beautiful, very - but it&rsquo;s also brutal, very. 

1 hour 31mins 57secs for a 10k. Part of me still can&rsquo;t believe it now. 

Will you see me next year? You bet, XTERRA UK is a tough race but it has all the elements to make it a world class event. I will be back but will be looking to do a lot of things differently. These are my top tips for racing XTERRA UK (I had a lot of time to think of these on that run):


Plan ahead &ndash; I did the race as an end of season wind down. Next year it will be booked into my schedule well in advance and will be one of my key races.
Get the right equipment &ndash; the last time I used my mountain bike was at last year&rsquo;s event and it is just not up for the job. I will making a trip to the official retailer www.tredz.co.uk for a nice new bike.
Ride the course &ndash; Technical bikes courses are a lot more technical if you have never ridden them before. Julie Dibens and Sam Gardner ran a training camp a month before this year&rsquo;s event and I will be booking in to their camp next year.
Run off-road and uphill &ndash; I am not sure where I will be doing my hill training that could possibly replicate the hills in Wales other than Wales but no more flat runs for me.
Listen more &ndash; when you meet someone with a badge on saying ASK ME, listen to what they tell you.
Be hungry &ndash; The hungry fox hunts better than a well fed fox (actually this isn&rsquo;t from me but something I heard Jim McConnel say but I liked it!).


See you all at the start line in 2008.





]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[XTERRA UK - what fun!]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_2458.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Paul Bennett reports from the valleys of South Wales on the weekend&#039;s XTERRA UK race.



Fantastic fun... It was, really!  Sunday saw the second XTERRA event to be held in South Wales and I led the pros for a short time! Oh yes, on the short ride to the start of the course I was definitely in front of them... If only I had maintained this lead after the race began!

Ten o&#039;clock in the morning saw the 160+ full course field set off into the wild. The race started with a quick 1500 metre swim in the clearest open water I have experienced in my, albeit limited, triathlon career. So much better than Sherborne, Wimbleball.. and oh, so much better than London... 

Back to T1, to change kit for the relatively short 18 mile bike course. 18 miles. Sounds simple, doesn&#039;t it. But this was no simple course. Oh no. After a short, flat beginning, we enter the woods. A lung-bursting incline that seems to go on for ever is followed by a short steep technical downhill. Survived, feeling confident. But then you are met by the second lung-burster, which really does go on forever. Wow! Then a second technical bit, and a third, and a fourth with only a few miles of easy trail between. The organisers warned us about the really steep final ascent. If only they had prepared us for the rocky bits, the bits that crossed rivers across the angle of the hill, the rutty muddy bits... Wow!

I took the opportunity of this complex course to catch and overtake at least six people, placing me about ten from the back of the field.  Strangely, all must have felt embarrassed at being overtaken by this panting, groaning, slightly overweight cyclist, because they all muttered about not having ridden their mountain bike for at least a year. Yes, its challenging, but it&#039;s do-able without being a seriously hard core MTB expert. But it clearly helps!

Anyway, finally back to T2. Now the nice simple 10k run... Something we can all do, easy and non-technical. Start off well, along the flat riverside course. Cross the river, pull self out by rope on opposite side, then start up the gentle hill. Up and up we go. Coping well... Finally, finish the uphill bit. Oh (*&amp;@&amp;^!  Did I mention &#039;lung-bursting climb&#039; before? Now I can see, and experience, the running equivalent! This is seriously challenging. Feel hypo, and now reduced to walking even on the flat bits that eventually come.

This is where the camaraderie of the XTERRA takes over. Two people come past, each checks I&#039;m OK. Then my hero comes past, sees my distress and whips out the thing I need most - a tropical flavour energy gel. Who was that hero? Don&#039;t know his name (memory is a terrible thing), but it&#039;s possible he read this before you. It was none other than Paul Shanley of Tri247.com. My hero.

Spurred on by the pathetically small, but necessary, gain in energy from the gel, I manage to jog, run, and occasionally stagger to the finishing line through some of the nicest running terrain one could hope for. 

I loved it. I was so far behind the leaders that I have no idea who came first, second, or even hundredth. This course is more challenging than 70.3, less tedious than a full Ironman. But while both these events have periods of boredom and careful conserving of energy, XTERRA will have none of that. Every moment is full on. Concentration on the technical bits, the sheer exhilaration of the fast technical bits, or the lung-bursting pain (did I mention that before?) of the uphills.

Bring it on!

There&#039;s a whole photo gallery of images from XTERRA UK on the SportySnaps website: www.sportysnaps.com]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[TCR Interview: Sam Gardner]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_1774.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Before Sam Gardner flew out to the Far East to begin his, so far extremely successful, assault on the XTERRA circuit he took time to have a chat with Tri247&amp;rsquo;s Publisher, Tim Weeks.

 ]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Julie Dibens 2nd in Saipan]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_1760.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Julie Dibens continued with her assault on the XTERRA series with a second place in Saipan today. She led out the swim with Olivier Marceau on her toes and held that lead over the womens field for much of the bike, finally being caught by Renata Bucher in the last few kilometres. The bike course was brutal with some super steep climbs and with the sun beating down all the time. Julie was able to hold he place through the run, gaining on the flatter sections but dropping back on the technical and tricky ups and downs.
Renata Bucher took the win with Julie second, Jamie Whitmore in third and Sybille Matter was fourth.
In the mens race Olivier Marceau took the win by around 8 minutes ahead of Sam Gardener with Andrew Noble in third. Jim McConnel won his age group despite crashing and getting a flat tyre. Full results and a race report on the XTERRA website: www.xterraplanet.com

   1. Olivier Marceau - Switzerland - 2:27:16
   2. Sam Gardner - Great Britain - 2:37:04
   3. Andrew Noble - Australia - 2:39:56
   4. Thomas Richard - France - 2:49:43
   5. Margus Tamm - Estonia - 2:52:59


   1. Renata Bucher - Switzerland - 2:45:08
   2. Julie Dibens - Great Britain - 2:48:57
   3. Jamie Whitmore - California, USA - 2:51:24
   4. Sibylle Matter - Switzerland - 2:56:03
   5. Mami Saito - Japan - 3:09:01

UPDATE: there&#039;s now a photo gallery online for the Saipan race: http://web.mac.com/xterraphoto/iWeb/Xterra/Saipan%2007.html]]></description></item></channel></rss>