XTERRA Triathlon

XTERRA is a series of of off-road triathlon races, (three-sport races which include swimming, mountain biking, and trail running). The XTERRA Global Tour is owned and produced by TEAM Unlimited. The XTERRA race series is the best-known series of off-road triathlons, and is considered by most to be the de-facto world championship of the sport.

It began in 1996 on the island of Maui as the Aquaterra, and was later renamed the XTERRA. The Nissan Motor Corporation named their popular sport utility vehicle line after the race, and became the race series' primary sponsor.

Organization

The Xterra has two primary divisions, Professional and "Sport". In the professional division athletes compete for cash prizes and sponsorships and race greater distances. The Sport division was created for those who still want to compete but have no aspirations to become professional athletes. Both pro and sport formats compete in a points series, where athletes accumulate points for each race in which they compete.

Race Format

As an off-road race, the distances can vary widely depending on the terrain available. The target distances are as follows:

Professional: 1.5 km Swim, 30 km Mountain biking, 11 km Trail Run
Sport: 500 m Swim, 15 km Mountain biking, 5 km Trail Run

In the United States the sport distances are often used as miles yielding a 1/2 mile (804 m) Swim, 15 mile (24 km) Mountain Bike, and a 5 mile (8 km) trail run.

Events and Locations

The majority of XTERRA races are held in the United States. Even with a current total of over 40 races held between the first race in March and the international championships in October an ever increasing number of races are sanctioned each year.

Some previous race locations and general dates have include:

March
Mesa, AZ
April
Granite Bay, CA	McCormick, SC
May
Moab, UT Canyon Lake, TX Waynesboro, VA	Ruston, LA Lebanon, NJ
June
Norman, OK Brighton, MI Oak Hill, WV Ogden, UT North River, NY	LaGrande, OR Show Low, AZ Buffalo Creek, CO Jonesboro, AR Quanah, TX Meridian, MS
July
Crested Butte, CO Truckee, CA Little Rock, AR Logansport, IN Anchorage, AK	Jacksonville, FL Flintstone, MD Hartford, CT Gallatin, TN Dockton, WA
August
Farmington, CT Charlottesville, VA Sisters, OR Wading River, NY Spearfish, SD Carrollton, KY	Jackson, GA Mt. Gretna, PA Grafton, NY Ka`a`awa, HI Hastings, MN

Major events include:
XTerra Saipan Championship: April - Saipan, MP

Nissan XTerra East Championship: June - Richmond, VA

Nissan XTerra Central Championship: July - Keystone, CO

Nissan XTerra West Championship: August - Big Bear, CA

Nissan XTerra USA Championship: September - Lake Tahoe, NV

Nissan XTerra World Championship: October - Wailea, HI

External Links

Official XTERRA Website

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