Asics Xtrail Racers Punished with Climbs, Rewarded with Views at Mount Orford. 
In the past few years, trail running in Canada has taken off.  More and more runners are looking to get off the roads and take the trail less travelled. The Asics Xtrail trail running series in Quebec is just one example of an organization catering to this new breed of runners, eager to hit the trails to both challenge and punish themselves. 

Nicolas Taillefer, the race director for the Xtrail series, has yet to disappoint his audiences by locating his events in areas of the province that feature extreme landscapes and extreme elevation.  Positioning his events as a “crazy adventure,” it is no wonder that the Asics Xtrail series is rapidly gaining a loyal following of runners.

The Xtrail series is comprised of two events, both of which offer 10 km and 21 km distances.  Although the distances may seem innocuous, the terrain on which the events are held often isn’t.  In the Xtrail Mont Orford race, held on October 17th, both races finish atop a mountain at almost 900 m.  Runners face steep climbs on technical trails to reach the top, but once up there, are rewarded with scenic views from the snow-capped peak, even in October.  Runners won’t likely set personal bests at the Xtrail races. “If your time on a half-marathon is around 1:40, expect to finish the Xtrail races in 3:00 hours,” Taillefer warns.

Taillefer’s challenging courses haven’t deterred racers from coming from across Canada, as well as far as the U.S., U.K., Belgium and France to compete in the events.  The Xtrail Mont Orford, held one hour outside of Montreal at the Mount Orford Ski Resort, was capped at 500 racers this year, and sold out well ahead of time.

Viktor Alexy, 25, was the overall winner of the 21 km event at the 2009 Mount Orford event in a blistering time of 1:47:13, eight minutes ahead of his nearest competitor.  A former world class duathlete, Alexy says that this race was well suited to his strengths as a runner.  While Alexy describes the first half of the race as rolling terrain, the second half featured the steep, lung-busting ascent to the peak of Mount Orford. “I’m really fast on that kind of terrain,” Alexy says, adding that it was the technical climbing of the race that appealed to him.  Amelie Fournier won the female category of the 21 km in a time of 2:21:07.  In the 10 km event, Michka Guillot took the win in a time of 57:22 while the female category saw Mélanie Nadeau cross the finish line first in a time of 1:10:56.

The next Asics Xtrail race will be held on May 29th, 2010 at Mount Sutton, Quebec.  In addition to the 10 and 21 km events, this race will also feature a 5km and a 1 km kids’ race. Registration for the event has already begun. More information and registration for the Asics Xtrail events can be found at: www.xtrailasics.com