On Saturday, May 20^th the XTERRA SoCal racing series will host its final event of the season at XTERRA Malibu Creek.

The 12K course is on challenging and beautiful single track which winds along Malibu Creek State Park, while the 22K includes the infamous Bulldog Hill.

“Bulldog Hill is a beast,” said race director Brennan Lindner. “It’s over four miles of grueling climbing.  You keep thinking you see the top but you don’t. But once you make it though, there is an epic view of Malibu, and a nice downhill to the next water station.”

XTERRA Ambassador Tina Weissauer calls XTERRA Malibu Creek “a true XTERRA race.”

“Every time you think you’re OK, you’re not. Bulldog hill on the 22K course is brutal. You basically go three miles out and then three miles up. Every time you turn a corner, you think, ‘This is it!’ But then you’re like, ‘Wait, what?’ It’s heartbreaking.”

The 22K race will also give us an opportunity to check in with Anthony Fagundes who wowed us with his performance at XTERRA Black Mountain last month, where he set the course record less than a day after finishing a 24-hour relay from Huntington Beach to San Diego.

“I’m definitely doing Malibu Creek,” said Anthony, “And I’m hoping to improve my time over last year.”

Series winners are awarded a free entry into the XTERRA Trail Run National Championships. With over 400 series points already, there is no doubt that Fagundes will have the golden ticket to Nationals this September in Utah.  

Other age groups aren’t so close. In the men’s 45-49 age group, Eric Reed is only two points ahead of Kevin Hopp. And the top four women in the  20-24 and 30-34 age groups are tied at 100 points each.

Weissauer, who is leading her 40-44 age group for the second year in a row, believes it’s a bit ironic that she is ahead.

“I worked so hard last year to win the series and that was five years in the making,” said Weissauer. “This year I just ran for fun and didn’t even keep track of the points. At XTERRA Black Mountain, Freddy Luis told me I was winning. I was like, ‘Oh, but I’m just having fun!’”

At the end of 2016, Weissauer realized that she had completed three Ironmans, and two 50k’s, but not a marathon. In March, to celebrate her 40^th birthday, she decided to run the LA Marathon, which she completed in 4:26:39. 

“I hated it,” Weissaurer said. “On the trails, even when I’m in pain, I can find beauty somewhere. As much as the marathon was on my bucket list and in my hometown, I couldn’t find the beauty. It was so crowded and I was completely overwhelmed.”

Weissauer admits that she is so competitive that she will even race someone to the check out at the grocery store, but she is happy to be back on the trails with “her people.”  

“It’s not just the trail runs that make XTERRA so great,” she said. “It’s also the trail runner. If you get down out there, there is always someone to help stretch you out or hand you a salt stick. There is always someone to lift you up.”

Learn more about XTERRA Malibu Creek at www.trailrace.com

 

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