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OGDEN - The XTERRA Mountain Championship off-road triathlon gets under way here this weekend, giving Ogden - and Utah - a chance to showcase mountain, lake and city amenities.
More than 600 athletes from 25 states and several foreign countries - professionals alongside amateurs - will swim nearly a mile at Pineview Reservoir, power their mountain bikes 18.6 miles up to the top of Snowbasin Ski Resort and run 6.2 miles of trails through the adjacent forest.
Ogden, professional triathlete Melanie McQuaid of Victoria, British Columbia, said Thursday, "has all the beauty of cities like Boulder, without the pretensions."
McQuaid, 34, won the championship here in 2006, its first year in Utah after the Utah Sports Commission and the Greater Ogden Athletic Legacy Foundation, or GOAL, persuaded the event's owner to move the triathlon from Keystone, Colo.
Saturday's competition is the last of four regionals in the XTERRA America Tour. The finale is next month at Lake Tahoe, Nev., and the world championship will be in Maui, Hawaii.
Tom Kiely, chief executive of Team Unlimited, the Hawaii-based company that owns the XTERRA competitions, said "love" is what persuaded him to choose Ogden for the Mountain Championships and for the company's first XTERRA Winter World Championships at Snowbasin next March.
"Everywhere we go, we're embraced, but this is a serious romance," said Kiely.
The natural assets, an enthusiastic cadre of volunteers supplied by GOAL and a big community welcome make Ogden a perfect host city, he said.
And, XTERRA fits with Ogden's push to market itself as a hub of outdoor adventure recreation, Kiely said.
Jeff Robbins, chief executive of the Utah Sports Commission, said that although such regional XTERRA championships typically pump $2 million to $3 million into a city's economy, the world championships could mean $8 million or more.
Although March's event will be the first world winter championship and won't generate that much money for Ogden at first, the event can be expected to grow fast and contribute greatly to Utah's economy, Robbins said.
But just as important as the financial contribution is the buzz it gives to Utah as a magnet for recreation, he added.
The state's $6 billion recreation industry is one of four that Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. has targeted for economic growth.
Ogden is the only city in the world to play host to two XTERRA competitions, and it could get more than a few days of excitement out of this weekend's event because the marathon will be captured in a half-hour segment that Team Unlimited will market to national television networks.
Trey Garman, the group's marketing director, said crews have been shooting video of fly fishing, kayaking and the rides available at Ogden's new Solomon Center.
Those shots will make up to 40 percent of the segment, which Team Unlimited hopes will be shown next May, Garman said
Kym Buttschardt, president of GOAL, said she especially likes that XTERRA includes amateurs. She'll compete in the triathlon, but so will her 9-year-old son, competing on a team with her husband.
"The whole community is plugged in. . . . This is promoting a healthy community," Buttschardt said.
A two-day festival in downtown Ogden at amphitheater park on Washington Boulevard will be part of the XTERRA Mountain Championship.
Today
Noon-8 p.m. - Beer garden, a kids zone with rope climbing and other challenges
4 p.m. - Swim clinic
5 p.m. - Mountain bike clinic, kids foot race, live music
5:30-9 p.m. - Hair cut-a-thon to benefit Challenged Athletes Foundation
6 p.m. - Kids bike race, 12k trail run, "Cruise for a Cause" bike ride to raise money for Weber Pathways and GOAL Foundation
Saturday
9 a.m. - Championship race begins at Pineview Reservoir
9:30 a.m. - Amateur race begins at Pineview Reservoir
10 a.m.-2 p.m. - Expo at Snowbasin with exhibits, food, music
1:30 p.m. - Pro awards and special awards at Snowbasin
6-9 p.m. - Food booths and beer garden in park
7:30 p.m. - Awards ceremony, to be followed by highlight video
9 p.m. - Free concert