Post by Alan on Apr 6, 2009 17:02:45 GMT -5
Yeah, I know it's snowing like crazy here in Cleveland but in about 5 short weeks the 1st race in the North Central region starts off in Michigan, here are the specifics.
CEREAL CITY TO HOST XTERRA MIDWEST CUP
For the first time since XTERRA Rochester back in 2000, Michigan is hosting an XTERRA Championship race - the XTERRA Midwest Cup – one of eight regionals across the U.S. and the designated “big race” for the Midwest Region.
Heartland racers are being called on to get ready in a hurry, as the XTERRA Midwest Cup heads to Fort Custer State Park just outside the “Cereal City” of Battle Creek, Michigan on May 17.
The race combines a 1,000-meter swim with a 20-mile mountain bike and 6-mile trail run and dishes out $10,000 in pro prize money and 34 qualifying slots into the XTERRA World Championship in Maui.
For the last three years local organizers Jim and Joyce Donaldson of Elite Endeavors have hosted the XTERRA Last Stand point series race there, and thanks to their efforts and the Battle Creek Convention and Visitors Bureau, it has been turned into a major championship event. All the big names in XTERRA like Conrad Stoltz, Melanie McQuaid, Michigan native Josiah Middaugh (pictured) and Shonny Vanlandingham will be there battling for their share of the money and fame up for grabs in central Michigan’s great outdoors.
The course itself is killer as the bike trails at Fort Custer are “well-known, well-cared-for and well-loved by mountain bikers throughout the region,” according to long-time Michigan-based XTERRA stud Todd Scott. The place was formerly owned by the U.S. Army and used for combat training and the trail makes use of those remnants by dropping into and riding the walls of the dugout trenches.
While most of the trail is open and flowing singletrack, it’s interspersed with challenging twisty and technical rocks & roots sections like “Granny's Garden” and the “Amusement Park”, and there’s even a section called “Demons Drop”. Just to make sure you know you’re at an XTERRA there’s a water crossing or two, steep climbs, big drops, and big logs (trees, ya know, to navigate around). The run is all about XTERRA too, heading straight from transition to the sandy beach along the lakeshore then in to some hilly dirt paths that’ll make your calves cry.
Last year in mid-May it was 75-degrees and sunny on race day, but still a wetsuit race as the swim in beautiful Lake Eagle will have water temps in the mid-to-upper 60s. There also offering up a half-distance off-road tri, a duathlon, and relay team options, and the local bike shop “Team Active Cycling and Fitness” can take care of an athletes' bike needs.
Easy to get to and “about an hour from anywhere” this course, this community, and this race will not disappoint.
I raced this course back in '06 and it's a really fun course!
CEREAL CITY TO HOST XTERRA MIDWEST CUP
For the first time since XTERRA Rochester back in 2000, Michigan is hosting an XTERRA Championship race - the XTERRA Midwest Cup – one of eight regionals across the U.S. and the designated “big race” for the Midwest Region.
Heartland racers are being called on to get ready in a hurry, as the XTERRA Midwest Cup heads to Fort Custer State Park just outside the “Cereal City” of Battle Creek, Michigan on May 17.
The race combines a 1,000-meter swim with a 20-mile mountain bike and 6-mile trail run and dishes out $10,000 in pro prize money and 34 qualifying slots into the XTERRA World Championship in Maui.
For the last three years local organizers Jim and Joyce Donaldson of Elite Endeavors have hosted the XTERRA Last Stand point series race there, and thanks to their efforts and the Battle Creek Convention and Visitors Bureau, it has been turned into a major championship event. All the big names in XTERRA like Conrad Stoltz, Melanie McQuaid, Michigan native Josiah Middaugh (pictured) and Shonny Vanlandingham will be there battling for their share of the money and fame up for grabs in central Michigan’s great outdoors.
The course itself is killer as the bike trails at Fort Custer are “well-known, well-cared-for and well-loved by mountain bikers throughout the region,” according to long-time Michigan-based XTERRA stud Todd Scott. The place was formerly owned by the U.S. Army and used for combat training and the trail makes use of those remnants by dropping into and riding the walls of the dugout trenches.
While most of the trail is open and flowing singletrack, it’s interspersed with challenging twisty and technical rocks & roots sections like “Granny's Garden” and the “Amusement Park”, and there’s even a section called “Demons Drop”. Just to make sure you know you’re at an XTERRA there’s a water crossing or two, steep climbs, big drops, and big logs (trees, ya know, to navigate around). The run is all about XTERRA too, heading straight from transition to the sandy beach along the lakeshore then in to some hilly dirt paths that’ll make your calves cry.
Last year in mid-May it was 75-degrees and sunny on race day, but still a wetsuit race as the swim in beautiful Lake Eagle will have water temps in the mid-to-upper 60s. There also offering up a half-distance off-road tri, a duathlon, and relay team options, and the local bike shop “Team Active Cycling and Fitness” can take care of an athletes' bike needs.
Easy to get to and “about an hour from anywhere” this course, this community, and this race will not disappoint.
I raced this course back in '06 and it's a really fun course!
