HUNTSVILLE — Last weekend, hundreds were at Pineview Reservoir and the Snowbasin resort for the XTERRA Mountain Championship Saturday morning.
A high-altitude race, the conditions favored those who train in similar circumstances; all five of the men and one of the women to place on the podium were from Colorado. "It was a good altitude," third-place finisher Brian Smith said. The athletes from Colorado typically practice at approximately 1,000 feet higher in elevation than the Utah course, so they were able to excel in an area that other competitors struggled.
Another condition made the race more enjoyable for all the contenders — cool weather. The light rain and cool breeze was a welcome surprise for many of the competitors, aside from the fact that it had forced competitors to change into wetsuits. When the signal came for the first phase of the race, a 1.5 kilometer swim, more than 200 dashed into the 60-degree water of Pineview Reservoir.
Spectators were astounded as amateurs came out ahead of the pros at the end of the first lap. The female leader was a Utah native who was in the lead for the women. Sarah Watchorn from Salt Lake City was the first out of the water to begin the second lap. The first male came in just ahead of course favorite Seth Wealing.
The professionals soon overtook the amateurs: Melanie Mcquaid in first for the females with a time of 21:25 and Wealing with 19:30 for the males. The athletes transitioned to a 30-kilometer mountain bike trail that wound from Pineview to Snowbasin for the second leg.
This section was hard on the athletes. Both the reigning XTERRA Mountain champion Mike Vine and the current leader for the 2007 tour Conrad Stoltz dropped out because of flat tires, leaving Wealing with a large advantage in the final phase, a 10K run. No one was able to catch him, and he finished first with an overall time of 2:31:50.
Female current tour leader Jamie Whitmore was able to catch Mcquaid by the end of the bike section. Whitmore lost some time in the transition and fell behind Mcquaid once more in the run, but Whitmore caught up to Mcquaid, ahead by seconds near the first mile. She ended up finishing approximately two minutes in front of Mcquaid to take the win with a total time of 2:50:52.
"I just want to come out here and race my race," Whitmore said before the race.
Whitmore defeated Mcquaid in what is one of the most intense high-adventure sports rivalries. Mcquaid was second in the tour overall and the 2006 winner of the Mountain Championship.
The Mountain Championship was the fourth regional stop of the XTERRA American Tour.
It was the final stop before the USA finals to be at Lake Tahoe. With the win, Whitmore has a clear shot at taking the final next month.
"You can never relax," Whitmore said. "I always try to keep in mind the ultimate goal." That ultimate goal is the world finals in Maui, Hawaii.
Even though American Tour leader Stoltz did not finish because of a flat tire, he could afford to drop the race and still contend for first at nationals next month.
As for the male winner, Wealing, he is pleased with the victory, the first region competition that he has won in his professional career.
"I've had more seconds than I can count," Wealing said. "I'm glad to finally have a first."
E-mail: hlebaron@desnews.com