Subject: RE: XTERRA Dread Mon It will be my first XTERRA. Based on what I heard from our resident MTB expert who previewed the course with us it is fairly tame. If you are familiar with Elephant Butte the transition is at "the Damsite", which currently sits 200-300 feet from the water. The swim start will be deep water, 1/2 mile swim out and back and them climb a series of stairs/ramp to transition. The bike starts on a trail behind the Damsite restaurant down to some trails along the lake shore. You then climb back up and head north across the dam for a lollipop out in the desert on some rough 2 track with several substantial climbs that everyone will have to walk at some point. Back across the dam to another lollipop with a short slick rock final descent. The majority of the bike terrain has loose rock on it. I didn't do the run but it is pretty short and probably contains some hiking. I hear the atmosphere surrounding the XTERRA events is much more laid back and the RD's are great. I signed up for the double, hopefully I survive. FYI, The maps on the web are incorrect for the bike, they planned the course and could not get permission to rehab the trails in a timely fashion. Should be fun! |