Email: "OFF-ROAD RACING: XTERRA race to be held this weekend"
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     LAKE PLACID — This Sunday, Lake Placid will welcome yet another world-famous sports competition — the XTERRA triathlon. As of Wednesday, there were 92 people signed up to do the 1,500-meter swim (nearly 1 mile), a roughly 25-kilometer bike (15.5 miles) and a 10-kilometer run (6.2 miles). Distances are metric because the triathlon is modeled on an International Olympic-distance triathlon, which is measured in meters and kilometers.


    The event is being organized by Tri and Du It Multisports, of Plainview.


    “It’s coming together pretty well,” said J.P. Latkovic, owner of Tri and Du It. “We were looking for about 200 people, but considering the current economic conditions, I think for a first-year event we are doing pretty good.”


    The off-road race will take competitors on a swim in Mirror Lake, a mountain bike ride down parts of the Jackrabbit Trail and a run on a network of trails in and around the village. The transition area, like with Ironman, will be inside the Olympic Oval. Latkovic said the transition area will be set up by Friday. The first swim wave will hit the water at 8 a.m. Sunday.


    “It’s a race for people who like to get dirty,” Latkovic said. “It’s for people who want a little more challenge. Riding on the trails is more unpredictable. Mountain bike riding is a lot tougher than road riding.”


    Riding the trails will be the toughest thing about Sunday’s competition, according to race director Brian Delaney. A triathlete and mountain biker, Delaney has spent the last few weeks riding the trails and tweaking the course. He planned on flagging the course on Wednesday. Although there is only about 1,000 feet of ascent, the trail is very technical, Delaney said.


    “Other courses could be harder because of hills, but ours is harder because of a technical single-track,” he said.


    Still, Delaney, who does not consider himself to be a great rider, said he only has to unclip from his pedals at one point on the course.


    “It’s 99.9 percent ridable,” he said. “I’m really excited.”


    The run and swim course are each two loops, but the bike course is just one. If the race returns to Lake Placid next year, like organizers hope it will, Delaney said it would be easy to make the bike course longer. But for now, he is playing it conservatively.


    “I don’t want to turn people off,” he said. “We want to make it fun.”


    As for the run course, which also has nearly 1,000 feet of ascent, Delaney said it has a little bit of everything. The run for Sunday’s triathlon is the same course that will be run during Saturday’s 5k and 10k trail run events.


    “It’s an awesome run,” Delaney said. “It’s got uphills, downhills, a marsh, single-track, a potential stream crossing.”


    The fastest racers could complete the run in 50 minutes, he said. He estimates the race will take competitors between two-and-a-half and four hours to finish.    


    Latkovic said he hopes to make XTERRA Lake Placid an annual event.


    “We might be able to bid for the Northeast regional race,” he said.


    There will not be any road closures during the race, according to Lake Placid/Essex County Visitors Bureau Director of Events Margaret Marchuk. Traffic will be controlled by village police on Parkside Drive, Main Street near the Oval, Mirror Lake Drive and Wes Valley Road.


    For more information, go to www.triandduit.com/xterralakeplacid/home.html. 

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