OGDEN -- It's like going to Disneyland.
Except the only rides are self-propelled.
And the restrooms are outhouses.
And the only characters will be busy swimming one mile, biking 18.6 miles and running 6.2 miles uphill. So it's not like Disneyland. It's Xterra.
And while it may not be the "happiest place on earth" Xterra Planet has its own brand of fun.
This weekend Ogden will get to experience the "live more" philosophy with races, clinics and festivals held in conjunction with the Xterra USA Championships offroad triathlon and the Xterra Trail Run National Championship.
With both the triathlon and the trail run championships being offered at the same place and on the same weekend some of the pros will be trying for both titles.
"Having two races of that caliber at the same venue it'd be hard to pass up, for me," said Xterra pro Josiah Middaugh. "I love to race against great competition and it would be a chance to test the waters with the Xterra trail run. Xterra triathlon is my main sport, so I wouldn't have any pressure there, and I'd have my important race out of the way. I wouldn't have anything to lose so it'd be a good chance for me to see how I could fare."
Middaugh, from Colorado, is ranked second in the Xterra triathlon U.S Pro Series and said he's 100 percent this year and feels ready to take on all competitors, including Lance Armstrong.
"I think it's a great opportunity for the rest of us to showcase our talents against someone that the world knows is one of the best endurance athletes of all time," said Middaugh. "For him to come to this sport is a great opportunity for me to race somebody of his caliber and to show everybody else what I'm capable of."
Middaugh is not the only professional athlete looking at doubling. Although he won't be doing the Xterra Triathlon, professional runner Max King, from Oregon, will be racing the USA 50K trail championships on Saturday and then catching a plane to Utah to defend his Xterra Trail Run title.
King has won the past three Xterra Trail Run Championships in his hometown of Bend, Ore., but will be challenged by the new course at Snowbasin.
Salt Lake City native, Rachel Cieslewicz, a professional trail runner who will be going for the women's title on Sunday, said the new course will be a real off-road challenge with spectacular views for those who have the time to look at them.
"One thing I'm excited about is that 95 percent of the course is single track," said Cieslewicz, who has won a couple Xterra trail races this season and placed seventh at last year's Xterra Trail Championships. "There's twice as much climbing and a lot of little technical rock sections where if you take your eyes off the trail and try to go fast you'll probably face plant. To me that's part of trail running."
The Xterra weekend will start today in downtown Ogden with kids races, a Paul Mitchell Cut-a-thon to raise money for disabled athletes, and an athlete's dinner.
The real fun starts Saturday morning as the pros and age-group qualifiers, including Ogden natives McKay Hunt and Nick Fisher, line up for the start of the Xterra USA Championships at 9 a.m. at Port Ramp Marina.
The Xterra Utah long and sport courses, which are open to all athletes (register today at the Ogden Amphitheater Park from 12-6) will also start at Port Ramp Marina, at 9:20 and 9:40 respectively. The fun continues that night at the Harvest Moon Festival on 25th Street and then starts all over again on Sunday with the the Xterra Trail Running National Championship Half Marathon starting at 9:00 a.m. This race is open to all athletes, with a 5K and 10K starting five minutes after.
Registration for the trail running events will take place Friday at the race expo at the Ogden Amphitheater, Saturday at Snowbasin from 10-3 and Sunday morning from 7-8. The 21km is $45, the 10K is $30 and the 5K is $25.
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