Julie wins XTerra UK

This years XTerra was on a brand new course in Neath, Wales, and what an event! Talk about challenging! Well the bike and the run anyway! The swim took place in crystal clear 15 degree water, and Julie exited in 3rd behind age group athlete Gary Dressel (who interestingly attended our Driven to Tri camp!), and US pro Seth Wealing. The swim turned out to be just a little short with Julie entering transition in just under 15 mins! After that it was all the easy stuff done with.

The Challenging bike course consisted of both punishing steep climbs...including the aptly named "impossible climb", endless gradual climbs on fire roads, and tricky single track descents. Thanks to Julies super fast BMC she was well up to the task though and having only hit the dirt once, came into T2 with a healthy 8 minute lead on Michelle Lombardi and Ester Erdeyli (european xterra series champ).

The run was also relentless and after running a mere 1km on the flat it was pretty much either straight up and straight down. The organizers even found the time to include the legendary "impossible climb" on the run course again. As if once wasn't enough! Anyway Julie comfortably held on to her lead, even though she did lose a couple of minutes to Ester. Ester really can run, and is becoming renowned for being one of the fastest runners on the Xterra scene. And Michelle stormed home in 3rd.

All in all it was a fantastic day, and a great event. The organization was definitely top notch, and despite there being endless trails out on the terrain only one lady was reported to get lost. And she just couldn't believe that the first climb was going on as long as it did, so thought she had to have gone wrong, so turned round and went back! So thanks to Gareth Thomas and all his team for all the hard work in making the event a one truly worthy of the Xterra name. Anybody interested in doing something a little different should really consider giving Xterra a try!

Julie now has a few weeks off racing before the last big races of the year in October and November. Just 3 more to go! Dallas - the last in the LTF series, Maui, Hawaii - Xterra World Champs, and Clearwater, FL - 70.3 World Champs.