“I’m waiting to hear the yee-ha” my mother said to me recently, “I’m not hearing the yee-ha.” “Oh it’s there mom, it’s there” is my (perhaps unconvincing) reply.
It can be the hardest thing in competitive sports, maintaining the “yee-ha” factor. It is all too easy to forget what the original attraction to (insert favorite sport here) was. Hours of training, tired body, aches and injuries, travel and nutrition plans, laundry (oh the laundry!) it is never ending. But in Xterra, as easy as it can be to lose that joy, there is the opportunity to regain it ten-fold at every turn, hill or mud puddle. Perhaps that is what keeps us all coming back, race after race, year after year. There are so many surprises in this sport that can be found in the smallest things. And when one comes up unexpectedly, that’s when you find yourself suddenly saying “Yee-ha!”
The first surprise for my husband and me came early this year when we were both accepted on the Melrad Racing Team. Twenty amateur tri-athletes, hand-picked by Melanie McQuaid herself, the top female pro in Xterra, it was an unbelievable dream come true. A dose of super concentrated yee-ha to say the least! It only got better from there, as our sponsors began sending us supplies we would need to be our best. “Just like the pros but without the pressure!” is what Melanie told us. That is how we felt, too, as we received Specialized bikes, Gu, Pro-bars, Bell Weather gloves, Lazer Helmets, Sun Dog eye wear, Pactimo tri-kits, Profile Design wetsuits, TYR gear, Nathan bags, and Avia shoes-lots and lots of Avia shoes! (Including Conrad’s Avi-Stoltz which, I must say, is awesome!). Yee-*ing-ha!” 2009, off to a great start!
As the season commenced I became aware of how many other surprises there are to be found in Xterra. They range from small and mundane, to profound. One of the smallest, but nicest surprises for me this season, was at the Midwest Cup in Battle Creek Michigan. Approaching transition for the second loop of the run I hear a voice cheering me on by name. To my surprise it is Melanie herself, there with a smile and encouragement to spur me on. Imagine that, a pro cheering ME on! Perhaps it was the jolt I needed to push myself and catch the woman (in my age group) who had passed me on the bike earlier. Nice surprise made even better as I felt strong enough to overtake her and disappear around the next turn. Similarly, at the Northeast Cup in Vermont, I was spurred on by Conrad’s cheers in transition as I headed out for the run, a grueling course that seemed to be all uphill until the final section straight down to transition, after legs are totally spent and barely able to support serious downhill running. In addition, a birthday greeting from Will Kelsay that morning was another nice surprise. And the friendly woman who rode with me back to the main road on the pre-ride? Shonny Vanlandingham! Pros in Xterra are the BEST! What other sport can regular age groupers compete with top athletes, be cheered on by them, and get a chance to ride with them too?! Xterra is uniquely special in that regard. Definitely yee-ha worthy!
There are often unpleasant surprises in Xterra, but a true Xterra competitor will turn adversity into achievement. Mud, hills, rain, cold, heat….seasoned Xterra athletes have experienced it all. But accomplishments are earned not granted, and sometimes just finishing a race can be a surprise. At the Mid-Atlantic Cup in Richmond, Conrad Stoltz seriously injured his foot while moving a buoy at the start of the swim in the James River. Pros and amateurs alike stood around in amazement as blood squirted from a gaping wound seconds before the start. The canon went off and so did Conrad, where he proceeded to win the race with a bleeding wound that required 7 stitches! Conrad surprised us all that day to say the least. Yee-ha Conrad!
Pro’s aren’t the only ones who finish under ridiculous circumstances. Fellow competitor GL Brown completed the Midwest Cup this year after double flatting at the start of the bike and returning to transition to scrounge up 2 tubes and air to make the repairs. After losing copious minutes in the quest, GL continued the race and ended up finishing for valuable points needed to qualify for Nationals! Did I mention GL is in the 65+ age group and has been doing Xterra since it began? Yeeeee-haaaa GL! Next time I feel like giving up I’ll think of you!
But the one surprise about Xterra that amazes me most happens at every race, and shouldn’t even really count as a surprise because it happens with regularity and is really quite predictable. It doesn’t matter if it is the smallest point series race or the National Championship event. It doesn’t matter how I race or where I finish. Xterra is a family. A family of strangers and friends, pros and amateurs, organizers and competitors. We all come together for a common purpose, the “event”. But that is just a pawn, an excuse. A reason for us all to shout “Yee-ha”! Hear it now, Mom?” J
Thank you for this insightful glimpse into your sport! For those of us not involved, but who enjoy sport and competition in other areas, this is nicely informative, and the personal experience honesty makes it very readable. I predict a future as interesting as the blogger Julie who ended up in the Julie & Julia movie.
Yep. I hear ya, Babe! Love, Mom.
Yes XTERRA is a family. But I thought the reason we get together is for a post race party, which means we have to throw a race in there somewhere.