XTERRA Triathlon

:"This article is about the competition; for the automobile, see Nissan Xterra.

XTERRA is a series 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 [http://www.teamunlimited.com/ 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 was the race series' primary sponsor for many years. The two companies parted ways at the end of 2006.

Organization

The XTERRA has two primary divisions, Professional and "Age-Groupers". In the professional division athletes compete for cash prizes and sponsorships. The Age-Group division was created for those who still want to compete but have no aspirations to become professional athletes. Both divisions compete in a points series, where athletes accumulate points by placing in the top fifteen positions of each race in which they compete.

Several venues known as XTERRA Championships Series offer more points due to their larger draws. In the United States, there are Championships for each region of the country. These venues also offer a "Sport" version of the race where contestants complete races that are typically half the distance of the full version.

Race Format

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

*Championship/Pro: 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 (805 m) Swim, 15 mile (24 km) Mountain Bike, and a 5 mile (8 km) trail run.

The current 2008 XTERRA America Tour Schedule is:

Date EVENT NAME CITY, STATE

3/8/2008 XTERRA Saipan Saipan, MP

3/29/2008 XTERRA Guam Piti, GU

3/30/2008 XTERRA Miami North Miami, FL

3/30/2008 XTERRA REAL Granite Bay, CA

4/26/2008 XTERRA Arizona Xtreme Mesa, AZ

4/26/2008 XTERRA Ft. Yargo Winder, GA

5/3/2008 XTERRA Gator Terra Ruston, LA

5/4/2008 XTERRA Uwharrie Uwharrie, NC

5/18/2008 XTERRA West Championship Temecula, CA

5/18/2008 XTERRA Patanella's King of the Hill Lebanon, NJ

5/18/2008 XTERRA Caloosahatchee Fort Myers, FL

5/18/2008 XTERRA Last Stand Augusta, MI

5/18/2008 XTERRA Dirty Canyon Lakes, TX

5/25/2008 XTERRA Smith Lake Fort Bragg, NC

6/1/2008 XTERRA ACE Big Canyon Oak Hill, WV

6/1/2008 XTERRA Deuces Wild Show Low, AZ

6/7/2008 XTERRA Eureka Springs Eureka Springs, AR

6/7/2008 XTERRA Four Corners Farmington, NM

6/8/2008 XTERRA Southeast Championship Pelham, AL

6/15/2008 XTERRA East Championship Richmond, VA

6/21/2008 XTERRA Dawg Dayz Little Rock, AR

6/21/2008 XTERRA Buffalo Creek Buffalo Creek, CO

6/21/2008 XTERRA Solstice La Grande, OR

6/22/2008 XTERRA Torn Shirt Brighton, MI

6/28/2008 XTERRA Tahoe City Tahoe City, CA

6/29/2008 XTERRA Race at the Rez Essex, VT

6/29/2008 XTERRA Trimax Mifflinburg, PA

7/6/2008 XTERRA Lock 4 Blast Gallatin, TN

7/12/2008 XTERRA Iron Creek Spearfish, SD

7/13/2008 XTERRA EX2 Flintstone, MD

7/13/2008 XTERRA Vashon Island Vashon Island, WA

7/19/2008 XTERRA Hammerman Anchorage, AK

7/20/2008 XTERRA Thompson Lake Poland, ME

7/20/2008 XTERRA O.N.E. Ravenna, OH

7/20/2008 XTERRA Austin Austin, TX

7/20/2008 XTERRA Wild Horse Creek Bozeman, MT

7/26/2008 XTERRA DINO New Castle New Castle, IN

7/27/2008 XTERRA First Coast Jacksonville, FL

7/27/2008 Crested Butte Bank XTERRA Crested Butte, CO

8/2/2008 Fleet Feet XTERRA Indian Peaks Nederland, CO

8/3/2008 XTERRA Sky High Grafton, NY

8/3/2008 XTERRA Nature Cure Appalachia Indiana, PA

8/3/2008 XTERRA Panther Creek Morristown, TN

8/3/2008 XTERRA Black Diamond Black Diamond, WA

8/3/2008 XTERRA Snow Valley Running Springs, CA

8/9/2008 Jamba Juice XTERRA Mountainman Kualoa Ranch (Oahu, HI)

8/9/2008 XTERRA Beaver Creek Avon/Beavercreek, CO

8/10/2008 XTERRA STOAKED Hanover, NH

8/10/2008 XTERRA Iron Will Jonesboro, AR

8/16/2008 XTERRA Mountain Championship Ogden, UT

8/16/2008 XTERRA DINO Logansport Logansport, IN

8/17/2008 XTERRA M2Xtreme Ellicottville, NY

8/17/2008 XTERRA Charlottesville Charlottesville, VA

8/17/2008 XTERRA Camp Eagle Rock Springs, TX

8/24/2008 XTERRA Schiff Scout Wading River, NY

8/24/2008 XTERRA Blackhawk Muskegon, MI

8/24/2008 XTERRA Wild Ride McCall, ID

8/31/2008 XTERRA Onteora Livingston Manor, NY

10/4/2008 XTERRA-Nevada Lake Tahoe, NV

10/5/2008 XTERRA USA Championship Lake Tahoe, NV

10/26/2008 XTERRA WORLD Championship Makena, Maui, Hawaii

XTERRA triathletes

*Conrad Stoltz
*Dan Hugo
*Hamish Carter
*Olivier Marceau
* Peter Reid
*Eszter Erdelyi
*Jade Gianakopoulos

See also

*Duathlon
*Triathlon

External links

* [http://www.xterraplanet.com/ Official XTERRA Website]