File photo.
The 2021 XTERRA race series will be held at Oak Mountain State Park in May. The XTERRA series includes a set of run-bike-swim races of different lengths.
After last year’s event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the XTERRA Triathlon is getting a second shot at its 15th running of the event this month.
The triathlon will take place May 8 at Oak Mountain State Park. The race weekend will also feature relay races, trail runs and sprint races.
Participants in the Olympic-distance triathlon will start with a 1.5 kilometer swim at Double Oak Lake on the southern end of the park. Sprint racers will swim one 750-meter loop, and full triathlon racers will swim two laps around the lake.
From there, racers will begin a 21-mile mountain bike ride with 1,650 feet of overall elevation gain. Once riders make it to the summit of the mountain, they’ll begin a quick descent highlighted by the “Blood Rock” section, which is a tricky section filled with twists, turns and rocks. They’ll then take the Centipede trail down to Jekyll ‘n Hyde, Johnson’s Mountain and finally Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.
Last is the 9.5K run around Double Oak Lake. Sprinters run 4.5K.
There is a $15,000 prize purse that will be divided among the top professional athletes who race in the triathlon.
XTERRA’s Oak Mountain race weekend includes two races that are unique to Oak Mountain. One is the Xticer, which McIlvaine said is for people who want to get their feet wet with a triathlon without too much distance. It has a 200 meter swim, a 9.5K mountain bike ride and a 2K trail run. The trail marathon series will also be held in Oak Mountain, and XTERRA isn’t doing this race anywhere else in North America this year.
New this year is the 5x5 relay. Teams of three to five people (some team members can run more than one lap) will run a combined total of 25K on the trail. Each lap is 5K.
“It’s fun for families or a group of friends who want to do something together,” said Emily McIlvaine, an event coordinator with XTERRA.
XTERRA is a global company, and the Oak Mountain race is one of the regional championships in the U.S. The national championship will be held in Utah, and then the XTERRA world championship is an invite-only race that happens every year in Maui, Hawaii. A total of 51 male and female top finishers across 13 age groups at the Oak Mountain race will be awarded slots to go to the world championship.
Because so many people want to qualify for Maui, McIlvaine said this race attracts people from across the region.
“This race is a popular destination from people in Florida, the Carolinas, Georgia, Louisiana and across the eastern part of the country,” she said. “Oak Mountain has an amazing park system. It has all these amazing trails, largely thanks to the Birmingham Urban Mountain Pedalers organization. They take care of the trails so well. So our athletes really enjoy coming to Oak Mountain and using those trails. It’s some of the best trails we have on our entire circuit.”
Many people are expected to come to the Birmingham area for the event, McIlvaine said, and the event has already surpassed its 2019 numbers. Typically 700-800 athletes come for the weekend, she said. To be safe from the pandemic, the races will have waved starts, participants will complete a health questionnaire before the weekend, and participants will be asked to space out and wear masks before and after races start.
The cost is $120 for the full triathlon, but price varies depending on the event. Visit xterraplanet.com/oakmountain for more information.
