TEAM X-T.R.E.M.E – “Train, Rehabilitate, Empower, Motivate and Endure.”  Jeremy Soles, a former Sgt. in the United States Marine Corps founded the Wounded Warriors team.  They participate in extreme events wearing gas masks, cutting their oxygen intake to as low as 20 percent. But to some, the gas mask is the smallest of hurdle to overcome…

Cpl. Todd Love lost both legs and an arm in an explosion. The doctor wouldnt let him parachute into the XTERRA Richmond start this year, so he “just” did the swim. And then his comrades carried him for the entire bike and run legs in a specially made backpack…

Sgt. Johnathan Mozingo, also a Marine, has served three tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mozingo who did the bike and run legs, was wounded during his last tour in Afghanistan and lost part of his left leg below the knee.

In a gas mask at 94deg F and high humidity…

Sgt. Johnathan Mozingo

Enter the Caveman. Avia Mantis racing shoes, Oakley Radar, 8x Clif Shots, Suunto Ambit GPS, Specialized Fast Trak 2.2 Control tire, Stuffitts shoe savers, Squirt chain lube, Cool Points on ice and Luck Stone race number belt with GPS tracker for live feed. Seems quite pathetic in comparison…

Seems like there’s another knuckle dragging Cavemanoid in the James river… Turned out to be my swimming buddy Branden Rakita. (R) We trailed froth footed Craig Evans by about 45″.

Photos by Jesse Peters.

Amazing series of XTERRA fotos by Jesse Peters http://backlight.zenfolio.com
jesse@backlightdigital.com

Craig Evans carried great form (despite all the salads!) and was eager to back up his 2nd place at ITU Cross Tri Worlds 2 weeks before. However, he stuffed up a low, wood bridge crossing and ended up in the trees. Laughing, I yelled at him to “get a guide dog.” My turn at getting abuse is lurking around every corner, so you have to get it in when you can!

In the top left corner you can see some of the many Luck Stone volunteers on the course, streaming live video through the iPad and doing twitter feed. There were 4 big screens at T1 for spectators to see video footage, follow twitter and live GPS tracking of each pro athlete. Of course the feeds also went out on the interwebs so folks in South Africa could follow more “closely”.

This Richmond course is so much fun- it has become rougher than it was 2 years ago, providing a good balance of speed and skill. I think this is the epitome of XTERRA racing (now that the swim is almost 1500m) and I think everyone who loves racing XTERRA should give this one a whirl…

I used the Specialized Sworks 29er Epic with Command Post – to drop the saddle in the drop offs and hairier corners.

Tip of the month: Biting your tongue improves mental focus. Kids, dont try this at home!

There is not a lot of place for pedaling on this course, so when you can, have have to push the big thing!

Sgt Mozingo and TEAM XTREME

Yup, it takes all sorts…

Just a glimpse of the madness on that narrow rock ledge. Imagine loud bull horns, bells, cheering, beer spraying even more crazies lurking in the woods. I think the local cycling posse calls themselves the “Leghorns”.

Scenic city racing in Richmond.

One moment in the city, the next in thick jungle and maybe “swimming” in 4 inch deep river water…

If you dont do your home work to scout the course, you could find yourself between a rock and a wet place… (Who has the pic of this Mister Anonymous (also the coach of a famous pro athlete’s we wont mention) on his side, swimming in this calf  deep water?)

Cool Points in hand to keep the 94deg F under control.

Trying not to ruin my legs on the Mayan Ruins.

7 Wins in my last 8 starts in Richmond. My 10th Richmond XTERRA.

Loving support from my wife. Spectating is an endurance sport in itself…

Josiah Middaugh had some bike troubles but came back with a strong run and caught Craig Evans in the last  mile.

Craig gave it all…

Thanks to the organizers, volunteers, sponsors, home stays and my lovely wife…

Will Kelsay backed up his breakthrough performance -6th at Cross Tri Worlds with a 4th in Richmond. Welcome to the podium Will! When I get back to Boulder we do some GoPro pool time?

A special thanks to Specialized Racing mechanics Dylan van der Merwe and Joe Devera for pimping my ride every day of the week.

We had a fair bit of press- here an interview with CBS.

On Thursday before the race I had 4 press commitments:

– 5 minutes live on CBS 6 Morning Show at 9am. (which took 2hrs),

– XTERRA Press day at 12.

– ESPN Live Radio at 4

– Shop appearance and poster signing at 3Sports (Richmond Specialized dealer) from 6-7.

Between all the driving and getting lost, fitting training and recovery in, gets tough.

A special thanks to Charlie Luck from Luck Stone quarries for their continued support. Lets keep “Crushing it!”

L-R: Will Kelsay (4th) Middaugh (2nd) Caveman (after I broke the 1st (of 2) glass and stone trophies) Evans (3rd) Rakita (5th)

Liezel and I were especially touched by TEAM XTREME and what they are trying to ccomplish. Todd has 1 arm and no legs but he rose to the challenge and is now swimming and further competes in the back of his buddy’s backpack. (hopefully he’ll tandem parachute to the swim start next year)

You have 2 arms and 2 legs and you’re looking for a reason to get off the couch and someday see your feet again?

I will think twice about feeling sorry for myself next time I have to go train in rain or snow, or PUSH when the going gets tough…

For more race details I quote from XTERRAs ace report by Trey Garman:

[In a city with such a rich and colorful history it’s only appropriate that the sports most experienced stars stole the headlines.  For Stoltz, who “lost his heart to XTERRA in Richmond” back in 2001 it’s his seventh win in eight years.

“I just love Richmond, the course is amazing and really suits me,” said Stoltz, who had the fastest bike split by far in 1:21:00 despite doing an extra little out-and-back section that no one else did.

“On the first lap I caught Craig (Evans) and then five minutes later I caught him again.  I wore out 3 sets of legs and 1 set of tires pre riding the course- turns out a section had changed since when I went pre-riding, and on race day I dont look for arrows,” Stoltz explained.

“He did the old course out-and-back,” said Evans, who followed the correct route.  “It was funny because a few minutes later I hear this loud chain slap behind me and thought, oh man Josiah or somebody is riding great and then Conrad comes by and says “where’d you go” and I said “I went straight, where’d you go?”

Evans tried to stay with him the second time around but conceded “he’s in a whole different league right now.”

On the second of the two 10-mile twisty, turny, tree and fanatic-fan filled roller coaster ride of a mountain bike course Stoltz followed the right arrow and got into his groove.

“First lap my head wasn’t in it, I wasn’t focused because I was trying to figure out where I went wrong. So, on the second lap when I saw the arrow,  it all made sense, I could focus was just flying, pouring the power on in the pedaling sections and railing the technical sections. It was so smooth and so much fun. There was a lot of spectators on the cliff- all in costume, yelling, spraying beer and dancing around.  It was like riding through a circus.  It’s such a fun race, really the epitome of XTERRA.”]

XTERRA Richmond 2012 results

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Love the pic of Boise pro Adam Wirth and his son Mac riding to race start.  Mac has his feet on top of Daddy’s, so he is helping put down the watts! It seemed like an amazing father & son get-away week. They “pre ran” parts of the run course together, Mac did the kids race, watched the pros (knows us all by name) and didnt miss an expo or a beat all week. What a cool sport to get  your kid involved in. As opposed to baseball where all they do is chew, spit, scratch and wait. And the “role model” is Barry Bonds…

Its not the same without Dan

We miss you, get well soon Dan!

Small mountain of Clif Shots in Africa. A sight for sore eyes indeed.

Dear North Americans: Edible Gold, also known as”Clif Bars” do not exist everywhere on this earth. Appreciate it, dammit!

When I come to South Africa for training, I take 2 pieces of carry on: 1 a “small laptop bag or personal item” and the other a full size rolling carry on. The roller I fill exclusively with Clif products. About 12kg worth. (26lbs) No matter how I try, by Christmas I’ve burnt through it all. Its also fun to watch friends faces light up when they taste their 1st (and only) bite of say, a Crunchy Peanut Butter Clif Bar.

Once I’ve run out of Clif products, I’d train on dried peaches, dates, nougat, Coke (once bonked) and in my opinion, the best sports drink in SA- Enduren– made without colourants, flavourants or preservatives by my Cape Epic team mate Barry Pauw.

On the all powerful Facebook I learnt that Olympic Cycles in Cape Town has some Clif product. Not sure if they also smuggled theirs in in carry on luggage? I hurried over and they were kind enough to hook me up with a small mountain of Clif Shots.  Pic above. Its the only product they had, never mind the Builder Bars, Electrolyte Drink, Shot Bloks, Clif Crunch, Mojo Bar or Luna bars. With quite a bit of racing coming up (XTERRA SA this weekend) the Clif Shots are dearly needed. Swimming with dried fruit in your pockets does not work so well…

Olympic cycles also stock Specialized and I saw (with my own 2 eyes) a S Works 29er Epic without on owner! Thats rare and wont last…

Apart from the amazing taste and variety of products, I also really appreciate the 85% and over Certified Organic ingredients, the Environmental and Social conscience. “Raising the bar.” By Clif owner and founder, Gary Erikson is my #1 Business read from which I have learnt many a lesson. One of them: “In business and in life, travel light, so you can change direction quickly.”

Go read about the Big 5 Aspirations on the “SOUL- who we are” page:

Sustaining the Planet

Sustaining the People

Sustaining the Community

Sustaining the Business. “Grow slower, grow better and stick around longer”

Sustaining the Brands.

I’m lucky to be surrounded by amazing people and amazing companies, of which Clif Bar is undoubtedly one of my favourites.

I have never felt so emotional at a finish line before.

To understand the significance of this win, you have to walk the last 10 XTERRA Worlds years in my shoes:

My 1st win in 2001 was really a life changing experience– Not only did I discover and win this amazing XTERRA thing on a beautiful Hawaiian island, but I became a real, professional triathlete. Ned Overend liked what he saw during the season and gave me a brand new Specialized dual suspension bike the week before Worlds- FOR FREE ek se^! No more borrowing bikes! Overnight, I actually made money from the sport. Good money. (in my eyes anyway) It was my 10th season as a pro, but I still lived pretty much hand to mouth up until then. (Lived with my parents while in South Africa, drove my dads old Cressida etc) But the day after the race I signed with an agent (Scott Fairchild) and within weeks the space on my kit was sold out. (In fact, they asked me to wear jammers instead of speedos, “because we’ll have more space to sell.” I think they were just relieved to get me out of Speedos…

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We started in groups of 4. I’m on the red and black Honda. (Yes, the guy in the back!) The guy next to me on the far right, Willie “die Lem” (The Blade) won, and I finished 2nd. The guy on his back wheel crashed about half way through while in 2nd. He had a 2 inch thorn in the back of his hand- not sure if that’s CAUSED the crash or if it was BECAUSE of the crash.

I did my 1st Enduro dirt bike race today. Wow, what an experience! I grew op riding dirt bikes on our farm, but when I turned 16, and became really serious about triathlon, I sold the bike. (Also needed the money to buy a “faster” bicycle.) So the last 18 years I told myself “the day I retire from triathlon racing, I’ll buy a dirt bike again. But last year, after winning Xterra World champs, I thought: “Screw it, I cant wait anymore! You only live once.” I bought the perfect bike: a 2005 Honda CRF 450 X. The previous owner rode it a few times, crashed really hard, got scared and became a motivated seller….

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