Well, it’s Thursday afternoon, and in two days – on Saturday morning – more than 300 athletes will take to Pineview Reservoir outside of Ogden, Utah for the 2009 edition of the Xterra U.S. National Championship. It’s been a long road, and now I’m on the eve of the event. Kelli, Marin and I are scheduled to hit the road early tomorrow morning for the 7.5 hour drive from Boulder to Ogden. I would have liked to have gone out earlier in the week to pre-ride the mountain bike course, but “life” called here at home, including a series of pressing magazine article deadlines. (I have, however, studied the race route carefully on the topo map, so hopefully that will help!)
Today, Xterra sent out a newsletter announcing its “competitors of note” for nationals (basically, racers with unique or inspiration stories to tell). I’m honored to be included in that list as a gluten-free athlete with Celiac trying to raise awareness and inspire others. They’ve lumped me in with some pretty prestigious company, including fellow Boulder athlete Michael Stone (I’m profiling Michael for an upcoming issue of Boulder Magazine, so stay tuned for that story!) Also, last night I did an interview with the Ogden Standard-Examiner, and hopefully that will yield a story that can further help to raise awareness…about GF issues, Celiac, and the NFCA.
It promises to be an exciting weekend! I’m going to forgo tomorrow’s Friday Foto, and hopefully you’ll excuse the omission. Until Monday…
– Pete
Wow! Way to go!! On your race, and the Competitors of Note newsletter! I’ve got some family in Ogden, so I know the area well.
I’ll be excited to hear how things go. Have fun!
Thanks Tiffany! Ogden was a great town. Race recap coming soon!
Cheers, Pete