Charlottesville's Charlie Hurt won his third consecutive XTERRA
James River Scramble run here yesterday with a decisive move up
the dreaded "Mayan Ruins," finishing in 35:16 for the unusually
tough 10K trail run through the James River Park that continues
to grow in popularity.
"Trail racing here is pretty fun," said Hurt. "You never know
what might happen. But I made my move at the Mayan Ruins and
then the rocks were fine."
Lauren Tomory, a scholarship tennis player at Furman University
who only started running four weeks ago, was as delighted with
her win as she was unfazed by the challenging terrain. "It's
freakin' awesome," said the 21-year-old who is in Richmond for
a summer internship. "It's my first race ever. It was really
fun. I've been here two weeks and all the runners I've met have
been so nice."
This year the XTERRA James River had 1,338 registered entries,
an all-time record.
Urban Assault Mountain Bike Rice - The men's pro race
was won by Tony Brown, with a time of 1:00:28, while the expert
women's race was won by Paula Smith of Richmond in 1:26:19.
XTERRA East Championship -- Josiah Middaugh of Colorado
won the men's division of the XTERRA East Championship off-road
triathlon here today with a time of 2:02:51, while Melanie
McQuaid of British Columbia won the women's division in 2:18:4.
The James River Adventure Games presented by Dominion is a two-
day sports competition with seven separate events. Saturday's
competitions include the XTERRA James River Scramble; the Urban
Assault Mountain Bike race; the James River Splash Open-water
Swim at Robious Landing Park; the Rocketts Landing Sprints
Rowing Regatta; the River City Rodeo kayak acrobatics contest
and Jammin' on the James Boatercross whitewater canoe, kayak
and raft race on Hollywood Rapids at Belle Isle; and the Belle
Isle Bike Trials in the Belle Isle Dryway and a one-mile Kids
Scramble Jr. for young runners on the trails of Belle Isle.
Sunday's events feature the off-road run-bike-swim triathlon
competition of the XTERRA East Championship. More information
on the James River Adventure Games including its free
interactive events, competitions, and the James River Fund
please go to www.sportsbackers.org.