Coloradans kick butt in Xterra Mountain Championship triathlon

You don't want to go up against a local in a race like the Xterra Mountain Championship at Beaver Creek: On Saturday Vail's Josiah Middaugh set a new course record on his way to winning the triathlon with a 19-second lead over Scott Wealing (Boulder) and Brian Smith (Gunnison), making for a locals-only podium; Shonny Vanlandingham, from Durango, dominated the women's race for the third year in a row, torn ligament in her thumb be damned, beating out Melanie McQuaid (Victoria, B.C., Canada) and Kelley Cullen (New Castle, Colorado). The race began with a 1,500 meter open water swim in Avon's icy cold Nottingham Lake, followed by a 15.5-mile mountain bike course with a 3,600' elevation gain on the trails at Beaver Creek and a 5.75-mile trail run with a 1,300' elevation gain.

Via XterraPlanet.com:

"I'm certainly thankful that I was finally able to take this race," said Middaugh to the appreciative crowd gathered for the awards ceremony. "I've had a little bit of a monkey on my back these last couple years not being able to pull this one off on my home course."

1 Josiah Middaugh 32 Vail, Colorado 2:12:05 2 Seth Wealing 32 Boulder, Colorado 2:12:24 3 Brian Smith 35 Gunnison, Colorado 2:12:46 4 Nicolas Lebrun 38 Digne, France 2:13:42 5 Branden Rakita 30 Manitou Springs, Colorado 2:17:19 6 Brad Zoller 33 Avon, Colorado 2:17:36 7 Jason Michalak 33 Lakewood, Colorado 2:20:18 8 Tim Reed 26 Lord Howe Island, Australia 2:20:24 9 Cody Waite 32 Lakewood, Colorado 2:21:53 10 Patrick Valentine 25 Colorado Springs, CO 2:23:36

And here's Shonny Vanlandingham:

"It's a lot of fun here because I'm racing with my strengths and laughing with the guys when we're going down the switchbacks, it's just a blast," said the reigning XTERRA World Champion, who will embark on a four-week, four-country XTERRA championship swing from Mexico to Czech to Germany to Japan in August.

1 Shonny Vanlandingham 42 Durango, Colorado 2:30:16 2 Melanie McQuaid 37 Victoria, B.C., Canada 2:33:16 3 Kelley Cullen 30 New Castle, Colorado 2:35:00 4 Sara Tarkington 30 Boulder, Colorado 2:35:25 5 Emma Garrard 30 Park City, Utah 2:39:59 6 Luisa Bryce 29 Denver, Colorado 2:46:42 7 Christine Jeffrey 38 Guelph, Ontario, Canada 2:48:14 8 Suzie Snyder 29 Fredericksburg, Virginia 2:48:32 9 Kim Baugh 32 Colorado Springs, Colorado 2:51:07 10 Tracy Thelen 32 Colorado Springs, Colorado 2:54:19

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