XTERRA Beaver Creek Welcomes Runners

BEAVER CREEK, Colo. – Steve Parker knows what running in Colorado is about. He is, after all, a state record holder for the marathon in his age group.

So when Parker says that the XTERRA Beaver Creek Trail Run is a race worth entering, his words hold some merit.

"I love the course – it has beautiful terrain and the views are beautiful, and the course certainly takes advantage of that," said Parker, who is 60 and resides in Denver. "I like the fact that there is plenty of climbing and, but also plenty of easy running."

The second XTERRA Beaver Creek Trail Run is scheduled for Sunday, July 15 at the Beaver Creek Resort in Avon, Colorado. The event features two courses – a 21-kilometer long course and a 10K course. Both courses are open to runners of all ages and skill levels.

As with any race in Colorado, this event will take runners to elevations higher than 8,000 feet above sea level. "It's definitely a mountain race, and altitude is always a factor, especially for those coming from other states," Parker added. "If you live in Colorado, it's a given, and most of us are used to it."

Parker entered the inaugural XTERRA Beaver Creek Trail Run in 2011 and captured first place in the 60-64 age division. He is entered again this year, and said the "big event" atmosphere of an XTERRA race is a positive draw.

"Everything at Beaver Creek is impressive, and XTERRA makes this feel like a big event," he said. "There's an actual podium for all the age-group winners as well as the overall winners, and that was cool to see."

There is added incentive to reach the podium this year. All age-group winners from the 21K course at Beaver Creek will receive a free entry to race at the XTERRA Trail Run World Championship in Hawaii this December.

What's more, the XTERRA Beaver Creek Trail Run is the fourth of five races in the 2012 XTERRA Colorado Trail Run Series, so it will offer valuable points toward the overall standings of the series. At the end of the season in August, each age-group winner from the Colorado Series will receive a free entry to represent Colorado at the 2012 XTERRA Trail Run National Championship in Utah in September.

"There are a lot of running series in Colorado, but what's different about the XTERRA Series is that it leads to something," Parker noted. "If you do well in the XTERRA (Colorado) Series, you can move on to the Nationals or Worlds, and that's a nice incentive."

Parker won his age group in the Colorado Series in 2011, and went on to finish second in his age group at the XTERRA Trail Run National Championship. Earlier this year, Parker finished the Colorado Marathon in 3:10:47, which established a new record for the 60-older division in the state of Colorado.

To register online for the Beaver Creek Trail Run, or to learn more about it, go to: www.xterraplanet.com/xduro/beavercreek.html