Xterra 2007

The XTERRA USA Championship event is returning to Incline this weekend for the seventh straight year. The Sunday off-road triathlon will cap a weekend of XTERRA events for all ages and abilities.

The event kicks off Friday afternoon with a series of XTERRA university clinics presented by Paul Mitchell and taught by XTERRA athletes at Village Green. The clinics are free and open to the public. From 3 to 4 p.m., Andy Noble and Josiah Middaugh will host a swim clinic at the Village Green in Incline Village. At 4 p.m., Conrad Stoltz, Melanie McQuaid, Candy Angle and Seth Wealing are teaching "The Art of XTERRA," and in the final installment of the clinics at 5 p.m., Jamie Whitmore and Mike "The Vineman" Vine are hosting a mountain bike clinic.

Another Friday event will benefit the Tahoe Rim Trail Association. At 2:45 p.m., mountain bike riders are encouraged to meet at the Village Green for the GU Cruise for a Cause benefit. For a $25 entry fee, riders and their bikes will catch a shuttle up to Spooner Lake for a 10-mile ride on the Flume Trail. All of the entry fee will go to the TRTA. Riders can either register online at XTERRAPlanet.com or between 1 and 2:30 p.m. Friday in person at the Village Green.

Saturday marks the first day of racing when at 9 a.m. the XTERRA Nevada race will start at the Hyatt beach. This event is a shorter version of the XTERRA USA Championship, with a three-quarter mile swim, 20 mile mountain bike up the Flume Trail and finishing with a five kilometer trail run. The finish line for all Saturday and Sunday races is at the Village Green. The race is open to anyone and requires a $25 entry fee.

For the less athletically inclined, the XTERRA expo opens at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Village Green, complete with food tents, exhibits, a Pacifico Beer Garden and the XTERRA kids zone. The expo lasts until 3 p.m.

At 10 a.m. on the Village Green, the XTERRA National Championship of Trail Running and the 5/10 kilometer trail run is expected to start. The trail running national championship is open only to qualified runners. The 5/10 kilometer run is open to the public and will feature the Incline High School cross country team. The race costs $25 to enter and all proceeds go to support the Incline Village AYSO, a youth soccer organization.

Shortly thereafter, at 10:05 a.m., the Kid's Sprint Start begins. This race is open to all children and free of charge. There will be a series of sprints geared toward each age group, starting with 3-year-olds and continuing through middle-school aged runners.

An awards ceremony for the trail running championship, 5 and 10 kilometer runs is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Saturday at the Village Green. At 1:30 p.m. an awards ceremony for the XTERRA Nevada race is scheduled at the Village Green.

A new event this year is the Breeder's Choice XTERRA K9 Challenge.

The event is a 50-meter agility course for dogs and their owners and is open to the public.

It is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. on the Village Green.

The day's races will conclude with an awards ceremony at 1:30 p.m. on the Village Green.

Sunday's main event, the USA Championship, is slated to begin at 9 a.m. from the Hyatt beach.

The athletes start the race with a 1.5-mile swim, follow that with a 20-mile bike ride up the Flume Trail and end with a 10 kilometer run.

Male competitors are expected to finish around 11:35 a.m., with the females following at noon.

The awards ceremony is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Aspen Grove. Winners in each age division are competing for a share of $110,000 in prize money.