It was a bit of a risky move, but we found a house to rent at 5,000 feet and trails out our back door. We’ll probably never leave. It’s been pretty darn good here. – Andrew Fast
OGDEN — The mountains have always been a source of refuge, inspiration and entertainment for Andrew Fast, but this Saturday the Wasatch Mountains will also become his race track.
“I’ve been racing pro triathlon for about four years,” said Fast, who will compete in his first XTERRA Pan Am/USA Championships in Ogden and Snowbasin Saturday morning alongside some of the country's best off-road triathletes. “And as much I love road racing…trail running is my passion.”
The unpredictability of the mountainous terrain requires a level of focus, strategy and problem-solving that Fast feels are more challenging than just the physical demands of endurance racing.
“You have to be on your toes and control things, be aware of things,” he said. “Road triathlon can be a very sterile environment. I stopped getting that mountain buzz. You need to pay attention, read the terrain, all of those things.”
XTERRA fits that description perfectly with a 1.5-mile swim, a 28-kilometer mountain bike section and finishing with a 10-kilometer trail race at Snowbasin Resort in the picturesque Ogden Valley.
“It totally does,” he said of how XTERRA fits what he’s looking for. “I’m huge on community, and I absolutely love the endurance community.”
He said the fact that they compete in the mountains creates “a little bit deeper connection with the environment around you. I love that, propelling me through the mountains. You can’t beat that feeling when you’re doing that with a group of people. It creates a really memorable moment.”
The 32-year-old physical therapist grew up in Washington’s Cascades and moved to Utah about 18 months ago so his partner could pursue a medical career at the University of Utah. He said he knew there was something special about Utah because so many of his friends in the outdoor industry moved to Utah for work or for training and ended up calling it home.
“I always knew there was something good going on,” he said. “It was a bit of a risky move, but we found a house to rent at 5,000 feet and trails out our back door. We’ll probably never leave. It’s been pretty darn good here.”
He’s not sure what to expect as this weekend’s Pan Am Championships are his first XTERRA triathlon.
“XTERRA in some ways is new in the combining of the disciplines, in the mountains,” he said. “More than anything, I’m just so excited, and my expectation is just to put my best foot forward — and just stay upright.”
This weekends race is also the U.S. Championship, and for most of the 44 elite competitors, this weekend is the culmination of the series of off-road triathlons that span the globe, stopping in Canada, Central American, and Mexico, just to name a few. Competing alongside them are amateurs ages 15 to 80.
On Sunday, Snowbasin hosts the XTERRA National Trail running championships. Some of the world’s best trail runners will participate, including 2014 XTERRA Trail National Champion Brett Hales, who missed the last couple of years due to scheduling conflicts.
Headlining the women’s field is Penelope Freedman, who finished third at the XTERRA Trail World Championships, and fourth in the 2016 National Championships at Snowbasin.
Olympic Nordic skier Morgan Arritola, who won the National Championship in 2011, will also compete in Sunday’s race, which welcomes professionals and novice competitors to Snowbasin’s mountain trails for a half marathon (13.1 miles).