SNOWBASIN — Lesley Paterson may have had the most unique pre-race preparation of any of the runners competing in Saturday’s XTERRA Trail Run National championship at Snowbasin.
That’s because the San Diego resident spent the day before the half marathon competing for — and winning — the XTERRA Pan Am/U.S. championship off-road triathlon.
“I like to do that sometimes,” said Paterson, who is originally from Stirling, Scotland. “It’s just sort of like a no-pressure race. I love the trails here in Utah, and any opportunity I can get to be out on them is just joyous. If I feel good, I feel good. If I don’t, no big drama.”
Paterson earned the national title with a time of 1:33.59, just a day after winning the off-road triathlon, which consists of a 1.5k swim, a 28k mountain bike section, finishing with a 10k trail run.
Paterson said she didn’t expect to feel as good as she did for Sunday’s race under cool, cloudy conditions.
“It was awesome,” she said. “I felt great. I did not expect to feel that good. I was feeling super tired this morning but got out there on the hill and just felt in the zone.”
The silver medal went to Gabrielle Slotboom, a former University of Utah track and cross-country standout. She finished in 1:36:48, while third place went to Salt Lake City’s Jeanette Mathieu, who crossed the finish line in 1:38:56.
On the men’s side, home-grown runner Brett Hales earned the victory in what he viewed as a ‘redemption race’ beating a talented pack with a time of 1:17:45. Anthony Costales of Salt Lake City was second with a time of 1:19:00. Third place was Montana’s Adam Wollant, who finished in 1:20:50.
Hales, an Ogden High alum who ran collegiate track at Weber State, now lives and trains in Layton. He won the XTERRA National Championship in 2014 but hasn’t been able to run it the past couple of seasons. He said he came into Sunday’s race hoping to contend for the title.
“Last week I did the Under Armour 50K, and it was 31 miles of just pain and grueling effort,” he said of last week’s third-place finish. “I got my butt kicked with my nutrition, and I was just completely oblivious to how ultras were going to be. So today was a redemption race, just doing what I know how to do. I came in with the intent just to make it a good one. I’m really happy with the results.”
Paterson has learned to manage tough schedules, stressful travel and the pressure of expectations through a lifetime of competitive experience. It doesn’t hurt that she and her husband recently published a book ("The Brave Athlete") on dealing with the mental challenges of competition.
“This year has largely been about the book, which has been really fun,” Paterson said. “I think that’s really helped, actually, to go on this tour because I feel like we’ve touched quite a lot of people. …I feel like we’ve kind of had an impact on people.”
The book is detailed — and scientific — in its approach to what feels like emotional challenges.
“I think a lot of people deal with mental issues when they’re in sport,” she said. “They have thoughts and feelings that they don’t want. So we really go through the mental side of it from a neuroscience background because my husband is a Ph.D. (and sports psychologist for BMC cycling team) and we get to use my experiential knowledge and come up with a bunch of solutions to help people.
In fact, it’s that realization that’s had the greatest impact on Paterson, a life-long triathlete.
“How much of an impact you can have on people,” she said of what she gained from writing the book and subsequent book tour. “And then, what, in turn, does to you. When you’re coaching other people and really helping them, you turn it back on yourself. You really have to practice what you preach. So this has actually been a great journey for me.”