Eventual men’s champ Dan Hugo navigates a particularly colorful section of Buttermilk Trail during the XTERRA East Championship. Credit: Trey Garman/XTERRA

The XTERRA off-road triathlon series has been coming to Richmond since 1999, and for the past six years, as the Times-Dispatch outdoors columnist, I covered the professional and amateur racers as they swam the James River, then mountain biked and ran the riverside trails in the East Championship. It’s always been a blast watching these elite athletes hammer the same ground we Richmond outdoors lovers do all year long.

Over the past couple of years, there have been two developments that aided the XTERRA race experience for both fans and racers. The first was Luck Stone coming on as the presenting sponsor. You wouldn’t think of Luck Stone as a technology company, but they’ve added features like GPS tracking, live streaming video from the course and, this year, drone footage of the race (Click here take a look at this year’s coverage). Very cool stuff.

The other development is the rise of the insane, European-soccer-fan-quality spectators who now line portions of the Buttermilk Trail — the narrow, slickrock area with a rock face above it. They dress like Mexican wrestlers, babies, Minnie Mouse, ex-presidents. Many crossdress, with hairy dudes copiously stuffing their bras and donning Daisy Dukes. Brats and dogs are roasted on a grill. Music blasts from a giant stereo, and everyone cheers as the riders come through. It’s become quite a spectacle. According to the veteran racers, there’s nothing else like it on the XTERRA tour.

This year I, along with a few other writers and photographers, got a ride in the media van to the “Party Rocks” from XTERRA VP and PR maven Trey Garman, who wanted to catch the leaders coming through the area. I realized as I scrambled down the bank from Riverside Drive, that this year for the first time I wasn’t bound by the usual journalistic decorum. No longer a T-D employee, I could indulge my inner George Plimpton, my inner Hunter S. Thompson. It was time for a little gonzo journalism.

Revelers in full swing as a racer comes through the “Party Rocks.” Credit: Trey Garman/XTERRA

There are actually two sections of the “Party Rocks” area. The slickrock section, and then further east, toward downtown, another group of yahoos at a creek crossing. Knowing I had a a few minutes, I hightailed it to the creek, getting high fives from a guy in a Lucha libre mask and bike spandex. The sound of vuvuzelas greeted me at the creek, as did the offer for a Miller Lite from a guy dressed like Ric Flair. This is participatory journalism, I thought. I’m “Andy S. Thompson” now. What the heck, a quick beer won’t hurt!

As we waited for the top pros to come through on their second bike lap, a guy showed me the pics he snapped of a female pro who wrecked in front of the crowd on her first lap. He had set the camera to take multiple bursts with each press of the button and captured every horrific milisecond of her face plant directly into the mud and rocks. I’m sure the blood she surely spilled will make her a legend among that crowd for years to come.

With no sign yet of the pros, I decided to hoof it back to the slickrock section. It was about a hundred-yard run on Buttermilk, but XTERRA great Conrad Stoltz chased me down before I got there. I had to jump off the path into a patch of poison ivy to get out of his way. I was really starting to get the hang of this gonzo journalism, I thought. And I hadn’t even dropped any acid.

Good motivation to ride faster lurks in the woods along Buttermilk Trail. Credit: Trey Garman/XTERRA

Last year’s Richmond champ Dan Hugo arrived shortly after Stoltz, and then there was a small gap that allowed me to make it back to the party. Some sort of country/rock travesty blasted from the speakers, and the revelers were in full throat. You’d be shocked to hear the respectable jobs these people will go back to tomorrow. I talked to school teachers, arborists, city employees, and other moderately sturdy pillars of our community. But on this day, they were crazier than 10 drunken Frenchmen chasing the Tour de France peloton up Alpe d’Huez.

It was truly impressive to watch these athletes — human lungs, really — navigate this tricky section at warp speed with guys in blonde wigs and banana hammocks on either side of them on the trail. I had a front seat for the show as Stoltz, then Hugo, then Craig Evans, then XTERRA series points leader Josiah Middaugh zoomed by, but I had to share it with a guy in a full-body lycra jumpsuit and a red wig. He looked like a Dr. Seuss character.

XTERRA great Conrad Stoltz seems to be enjoying himself, and the throngs. Credit: Trey Garman/XTERRA

The media van eventually left the Party Rocks and caught up with the leaders on the run. Hugo narrowed the gap, then caught Stoltz, a 7-time winner in Richmond, in the forest atop Belle Isle. Bermuda native Flora Duffy absolutely blistered the women’s field from start to finish. On the men’s side it was probably the closest Richmond race in memory, with a number of lead changes and Hugo’s final pass not occurring until there was half a mile left. With Duffy, we might have witnessed the rise of the sport’s next great female champion. (Click here for full results and here for a sweet photo gallery.)

After the race, both winners answered many questions from the media about strategy, how they felt at which section, when they passed whom, etc. And they answered those questions, of course, but both also went out of their way to mention the “scene” along the way. What they saw was likely a crazy blur, considering how hard they were riding. Knee deep in poison ivy and Miller Lite, what I saw, to paraphrase the aforementioned gonzo journalist, was both decadent and depraved.

Richmond is quickly becoming a hotbed for endurance athletes. In addition to the upcoming 2015 UCI World Cycling Championships, Richmond also boasts an international-caliber off-road triathlon (XTERRA, happening June 15^th), one of the nation’s largest 10k races, a top-notch junior elite triathlon event, the immensely popular Dominion Riverrock, and countless other running, cycling, and multi-sport events.

Fortunately for this great community, the Richmond area also boasts some great spots to train for the above races. Below are a few of my favorite training spots, and how I use them to build fitness. Whether you’re a cyclist, runner, adventure racer, or triathlete, you’ll likely find that one or more of these venues provides you with some worthwhile (and fun) training options.

A group ride can be a good way to up the intensity of a workout. Credit: Endorphin Fitness

Belle Isle

What/Where: Most Richmonders have been out to Belle Isle for one reason or another. It sits in the middle of the James within sight of downtown, making it a quick and easy getaway for city dwellers. The footbridge on Tredegar Street (near Brown’s Island) provides access.

How I Use It: One time around the main loop on Belle Isle is almost exactly a mile and features forgiving packed gravel and a small climb on each loop. When I’m training for a half marathon, I do a workout called “Belle Isle Miles,” which I structure as a fartlek workout. Fartlek IS a real word, and usually refers to any workout where a runner is alternating between faster and slower running in some kind of structured manner. I do my fartlek on Belle Isle by alternating one loop of the island at half marathon race pace (“tempo” effort) with a loop at steady, everyday running pace. This workout allows me to pile up a good chunk of mileage and practice race effort in manageable pieces.

Old Gun Road West

What/Where: On the south side of the river, Cherokee Road eventually turns into Old Gun road if you head west. The west side of Old Gun provides cyclists with a 2-3 mile climb of varying steepness.

How I Use It: Working against gravity allows many riders to reach an effort level that is difficult to achieve on the flats. To that end, I like to do 5-6 minute repeats up this stretch of Old Gun at a relatively high intensity, then spin easy back downhill as recovery. Start with 2-3 trips up the road for the duration of your choice. As you build fitness, increase the number and length of the repeats. Old Gun is relatively narrow and has a couple of sharp bends near its bottom, so ride heads-up and be considerate of other riders and drivers.

Robious Landing Park

What/Where: Robious Landing Park is just off Robious Road, near James River High School. The park hosts the popular I Love the Tavern Triathlon late in June each year. The park has river access and a network of shaded gravel running trails.

Credit: Endorphin Fitness

How I Use It: The park is one of the area’s most popular spots for open water swimming because the river is relatively wide and the current is usually weak. Nevertheless, swimming a certain distance upriver usually takes twice as long as the same trip downriver. I make this work for me by turning this into another “fartlek” effort: I swim hard upriver for an interval of 5-10 minutes (choose a time with which you are comfortable), swim back to my starting point, and repeat. This workout replicates the conditions I face in open water swim races, where I am often forced to go between hard efforts and recovery efforts. ALWAYS be safe when swimming in the river. Never swim alone. Ideally, have a friend alongside you on a kayak or paddleboard. Wear a brightly colored swim cap so you are visible to boats and from the shore. Avoid swimming after heavy rains or when river levels are too high for your swim ability.

The James River Park Trail System

What/Where: We all know it’s there, most of us have been on it, and you can access the James River Park trail system from anywhere between downtown and the Nickel Bridge, on both sides of the river.

How I Use It: Every time I run Northbank Trail, I reach the spot where you can see the Richmond skyline, and think how lucky we are to have such a beautiful and extensive trail system in Richmond. I’ve literally never had a bad run on the trails. If you’re tired of plodding through your neighborhood, make a trip to the trails, enjoy the peace and quiet, and explore. You can run as long as you want to run without having to see the same thing twice. Alternately, pick a route, make it your own, revisit it often, and test yourself. When I’m feeling my oats, I hammer my favorite loop of Buttermilk/North Bank and see how fast I can cover it. The feeling of running fast on your favorite stretch of trail is like nothing else.

These are just a few ideas to try. Explore on your own and see what your neck of the woods has to offer. Always be safe, and always be courteous of your fellow athletes, other vehicles, and your environment.

Brandon Montijo can do some really cool things with a drone. The local multimedia producer, and owner of Tijo Media, will, from time to time, put short, outdoors-focused videos he’s worked on up on our Facebook page so others can see our trails, waters, and what people are doing on them from a completely different angle. They’re all great, but Montijo just came out with one, Riverrock ’14 — From the Air, that I thought deserved a wider audience. It really captures the huge crowds, the athletes doing their thing, and power of the James River on a perfect weather weekend.

Bike Walk RVA announced this morning the launch of Connect RVA, a multi-year, regional campaign to make Richmond, Chesterfield, Henrico, and Hanover better places to walk and bike for everyday activities. Connect RVA is gaining traction in the city of Richmond and has recently become an official legacy project of the Richmond 2015 UCI Road World Championships.

The goal of Connect RVA is to help produce more of this in Richmond.

“The Connect RVA project is a perfect example of the kind of legacy that we had hoped would emerge as a result of hosting the World Championships and a benefit for the entire community for years to come,” said Tim Miller, COO of Richmond 2015, in a press release.

In the City of Richmond, Connect RVA is a targeted effort to build 20+ miles of new family-friendly bikeways – protected and buffered bike lanes through the heart of downtown, safe river crossings, paved trails, and comfortable connections to and through surrounding neighborhoods – by September of 2015, in time for the UCI Road World Championships. This effort will require dedicated funding at the local and federal level, as well as close coordination with the City of Richmond.

“We are pleased to be working closely with our local leaders to ensure that we show off a bike-friendly region to the rest of the world in 2015, and to create a network of bikeways that allow Richmond area residents to get where they need to go without requiring the use of a car – whether that’s to school, work, church, or the grocery store,” said Jon Lugbill, Executive Director of the Sports Backers, which runs Bike Walk RVA.

To further celebrate May as Bike Month, Bike Walk RVA is coordinating a month of grassroots, community bike events. Bike Walk RVA Director Max Hepp-Buchanan wrote a piece for RichmondOutside about those events. Click here to find it and a schedule.

“We wanted to do something unique for our region this year, and at the same time make sure our Bike Month was community-driven and inclusive,” said Hepp-Buchanan. “So, we pulled together our most active community volunteers and starting putting small-scale but fun events on the calendar, and came up with a packed month of activities for everyone to enjoy.”

A scene from last year’s East Coast Triathlon Festival.

Richmond is fast becoming the country’s endurance hotspot, and everyone better be ready. During the first weekend of May, Richmond will host two of the country’s premier endurance events on the same weekend: USA Cycling’s Collegiate Road Cycling National Championships and USA Triathlon’s Youth/Junior Elite East Coast Cup (aka East Coast Triathlon Festival).  These events will bring the country’s top junior and collegiate athletes to Richmond from almost every state in the country where they will compete head-to-head against the very best.

The United States’ future Olympians and professional athletes in the sport of triathlon and cycling will most likely come from these two fields. More so, these two events are a prelude to the 2015 Road World Cycling Championships, which will be one of the biggest events to ever touch down in Richmond, with the world’s best cyclists and thousands of spectators traveling to Richmond.

Richmond, stand up and take your place as the country’s endurance capital. Let’s not miss this opportunity to show the country (and in 2015, the world) why these events have chosen Richmond as their host. This is our chance to take this momentum and grow our lead even further while creating endless future opportunities.

The Collegiate Road National Championships will be held May 2-4 with events each day. The East Coast Triathlon Festival featuring the Youth/Junior Elite Triathlon East Coast Cup will be held May 4 with events for youth and adult amateurs in addition to the elite races throughout the day. Be at these events! Bring your family and your friends – especially those who do not quite get the endurance thing and show them what it is all about. Come out ready to cheer hard – bring your cow bells, face paint, and what have you and let’s show the world that endurance sports are to be spectated to the extreme just like its participants. 

Let’s also go beyond that and show an amazing amount of hospitality to these athletes, too. They will be easy to recognize – just look for the cleanly-shaven, chiseled legs ready to go to work in the race of their life. Strike up a conversation with them, ask what you can do to support them while in Richmond, wish them good luck, and, if nothing else, tell them you will be there on race day cheering them on!

Stand up Richmond and take your place.  Let’s all grab this opportunity, this victory, and run away with the crown, setting ourselves apart as the forerunner in the endurance world. Stand up Richmond – the time is now.

For years now the Monument Avenue 10K has been the sign for me that spring is here. It’s always held a week or so after the first official day of spring, and the weather can be all over the map, but there’s just something about seeing 40,000 people out being active that gives me that springtime itch.

Last year 38,685 people entered the 10K. That’s below the 2011 record of 41,314 but still a huge number and enough to make it the 8th-largest road race in the country. This year, registration opened on Dec. 1, and as of Monday (Feb. 3rd), according to Jackie Stoneburner, the Sports Backers head of PR and marketing, they had over 24,500 participants registered, putting it on pace to be just below the 40,000 mark.

By contrast, in 2000, the race’s first year, just 2,462 people entered.

Credit: Richmond.com

For the first time this year, the Sports Backers are pushing to bring on board 10,000 new runners. Stoneburner said they typically see about 8,000-9,000 newbies every year, so “we thought if we publicly announced a goal of 10,000, it would get people to start thinking about friends and family that may need that push to get started.”

The biggest new thing for this year’s 10K, she added, “is hosting the Collegiate Running Association’s 10k Road Race National Championships. This means we are doing away with ‘elite’ athletes. The prize money — $10,000 total — will be given to the top college runners.”

According to a Sports Backers’ press release: The only requirement for those interested in competing in a Collegiate Running Association national championship— for road racing, trail racing or mountain racing— is that the participant must be currently enrolled in at least one college course at any level, freeing runners from various restrictions such as maintaining a full-time status and competing only during a four or five year window. These eligibility requirements provide the first opportunity for a true national championship that transcends college divisions to exist.

Click here to sign up for the 15th running of the Monument Avenue 10K. The cost is $40 if you sign up before before March 1. After that, the price jumps to $45. Walk up registration is $55.

Richmond’s downtown trail system is one of the features that sets the city apart as an outdoors destination. I’d put it right up there with the rapids in the Falls of the James. They’re an amenity that very few cities have. So, with that in mind, we’re launching a weekly trail update on our news blog here.

Every Monday, we’ll bring you news from the trail: What’s being worked on? Where are re-routes planned? What park needs a trail makeover? What volunteer events are coming up? Etc. Whether you’re a hiker, mountain biker, birder, trail runner, dog walker, geocacher or just general trail lover, if you use Richmond’s trails, this will be the place and time to find out what’s going on.

The gravel piled up waiting to be spread. Credit: Enrichmond Foundation

This week I spoke with Mike Burton, Trails Manager for the city. I was out riding the mountain bike on Saturday and saw him loading gravel into a truck below the Manchester Bridge on the Floodwall. He said he was preparing for today’s volunteer event organized by the Enrichmond Foundation. Twenty-five volunteers from HandsOn Greater Richmond arrived to help spread the gravel that Burton was piling up over the weekend.

“As you get further down toward the Floodwall tower,” Burton said, “that always gets really muddy, so we’re adding more gravel and grading it out.”

It was all part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, and the work looks great. If you’ve never been to the Floodwall, go check out one of the coolest views of downtown in the city.

Volunteers hard at work. Credit: Phil Riggan

Next week’s trail update:  A new bridge is in the works for Powhite Park. Where’s it going in, and when can we expect to see it?

Like so many Central Virginians we’ve followed the tragic story of Meg Menzies, the stay-at-home mom and avid runner who was killed by a drunk driver on the morning of January 13. Menzies was a member of the Richmond Road Runners and had run the Boston Marathon.

Now there’s an effort to honor Menzies that’s gaining national traction. The Meg’s Miles Facebook event page invites runners “to raise awareness of drunk driving, texting and driving, and overall safety of runners and cyclists everywhere,” by going on a run for Meg.

“This Saturday, January 18, 2014, no matter what your distance, no matter where you live, run for Meg. Take in the fresh air, be aware of your surroundings, keep your headphones on low, feel the heaviness in your lungs, the soreness in your legs, and be grateful for it — for all of it. The sweat, the pain, the wind, the cold…everything. Be grateful for that moment.

Menzies

Feel free to post pictures of yourself pre-run or post-run, post your distance, post your thoughts, prayers, condolences with the hashtag #megsmiles. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook. Let all runners unite together and remember the loss of a beautiful spirit. It’s not a coincidence the hashtag reads either “Meg’s Miles” or “Meg Smiles.” She will be smiling on all of us forevermore.

As of this afternoon, almost 45,000 had committed to run in Menzies’ honor.

As if we needed more evidence that everything the Sports Backers touch (or create) turns to gold, the week after Thanksgiving they announced that they’d filled all 5,000 spots reserved for the inaugural CarMax Tacky Light Run this Saturday evening.

“It’s the biggest first-time event we’ve ever had,” said Jackie Stoneburner, the Sports Backers’ PR and communications manager. She said back in 2000 the first Monument Avenue 10K drew just under 2,500 participants (which is kind of amazing to think about now, when it regularly draws 40,000).

The Tacky Light run is now the group’s fourth-most popular event, after the 10K, the Half-Marathon and the Marathon. And who knows how large it will grow to in future years.

“We had an inkling that it would take off like it did,” Stoneburner said. “With all these theme runs…we thought that this would have the same effect. We knew it would draw in a lot of first-timers and a lot of families because it is non-timed and not competitive at all, but it’s also bringing out the avid runners who want to come out and have a good time and do a fun run.”

Richmonders certainly love their Tacky Lights. That’s always been true. And Midlothian’s Walton Park neighborhood, where the Tacky Light Run winds through, is the epicenter of gaudy Christmas luminosity.

“It’s a really festive neighborhood,” Stoneburner said. “There are 13 cheer stations along the course, and that’s all just neighborhood block parties. There is one woman hosting a singles Meetup. There are 65 people coming, and there’s a waiting list. There’s another RV group…Just this big tailgate party. The support we’ve gotten from the neighbors is just out of this world.

“I don’t want to say there are no other events like this around the country…but this is the largest one we know of.”

While the 5,000 paid entries are all full, a limited number of charity entries to benefit Kicks & Wheels are available for $250 through Wednesday, December 11 at 11:59 p.m. Click here to learn more.

We’re in the final stages now of the revamp and re-launch of RichmondOutside.com. I’d like to say it’ll happen sometime late next week, but don’t hold me to that. Among the many tasks associated with making this website the go-to resource for outdoor recreation lovers in the RVA, has been forming partnerships with like-minded folks and businesses in the area.

Last week, for instance, I met up with Patton Gleason at Crossroads coffee shop for lunch. Gleason is the owner of OptimalRun.com, which sells shoes and running accessories online. He also gives  running seminars and coaches individuals. Soon he’ll be launching a business offering running tours of Richmond. The dude doesn’t have much spare time, as you can see, but he’s agreed to write a monthly running piece for RichmondOutside.

During our lunch, Gleason told me a story that drove home for me why I’m so excited to pour my energy into this site. If you’re a runner, you’ve probably heard of Christopher McDougall. If not, maybe you’ve heard of his book — Born to Run. It became a mini-sensation when it was released back in 2011. Well, McDougall was in town two weekends ago for the James River Writers Conference. When Gleason saw that (via Twitter), he Tweeted McDougall asking if he wanted to go for a run that Saturday. He figured it was a long shot, but McDougall said yes. Gleason gathered 40 of his closest friends and they all took McDougall on a four-or-so-mile mini running tour of Richmond, starting and ending downtown. Here was McDougall’s Tweet to Gleason after the weekend:

patton, i spent the whole trip home mulling whether to move to richmond. the run was that much fun. encore!

It reminds me of when Chris Hull, Pat Calvert and I took Outside Magazine writer Jon Billman fishing and snorkeling for catfish near Pipeline Rapid.  He said about the same thing McDougall did  then wrote a paean to Richmond in the magazine when we were named Best River Town. The word is getting out.