Max King will once again defend his title at the XTERRA Trail Run National Championship, but he will have to conquer some new territory to keep his streak going. This year's XTERRA Trail Run National Championship is slated for Sunday, Sept. 25, at the Snowbasin Resort near Ogden, Utah. The event is moving to Utah this year after three previous years in Bend, Oregon.King, 31, is the three-time defending champion of the XTERRA Trail Run National Championship. Those three wins all came in his hometown of Bend. This year will be his first racing experience in Utah.
"I know nothing," he said of the new course. "I have never been in the area or raced on any terrain around there."
King, however, is not just a hometown runner. His resume is stacked with notable accomplishments from around the world. Most recently, he won the 2011 USA Mountain Running Championships in New Hampshire, and represented the United States at the World Mountain Running Championships in Albania on Sept. 11 (where he won a gold medal). Earlier in the year, he won prestigious races in Colorado and New York, and also qualified for the World Cross Country Championships in Spain.
King is also the three-time defending champion of the XTERRA Trail Run World Championship, which is held in Hawaii every December.
But the weekend of Sept. 24-25 will be an extreme challenge for King, and not just because of the change of venue for the XTERRA Trail Run National Championship. King is committed to competing in two grueling races that weekend - in two different states. On Sept. 24, he will compete in the USA 50K Trail Championships at Bend, Oregon.
Moments after finishing that race - which should take him about 3 hours, 30 minutes to complete - he will be on a flight to Salt Lake City. He hopes to catch a few hours of sleep before waking the next morning to defend his title for the XTERRA Nationals, which will feature a 21-kilometer course.
King is in training to qualify for the U.S. marathon team for the 2012 Olympics, so he said his body and mind should be able to handle the logistics of the weekend.
"It will just be training as usual," he said. "My current marathon training works pretty well for this type of scenario, since there are days where a long run on Sunday will be followed by a workout on Monday."
Runners of all ages are eligible to compete at the XTERRA Trail Run National Championship, and age-group champions will be crowned in addition to the overall champs.
More than 300 runners from across the country are expected to compete in the race, including more than 40 regional champions from the various XTERRA Trail Run Series held throughout the year.
For more information or to register, go to: www.xterraplanet.com/xduro/nationals.html
this article Courtesy of Running USA wire
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