Conrad Stoltz Wins XTERRA USA Championship

Suunto's Conrad Stoltz has done it again. He tore it up this past weekend at the XTERRA USA Championships winning the race by finishing a full five minutes ahead of the second place finisher, Nicolas Lebrun. Stoltz finished the 1-mile swim, 19-mile mountain bike ride, and 6.5 mile trail run in 2:24:03. Stoltz has won the six-stop XTERRA U.S. Pro Series for the eighth time since 2001.

“I’m really, really surprised with my performance today,” said Stoltz. “I’ve said before that this is the anti-Conrad course because there are 3,000-feet of climbing and not a whole lot of descending, and because I’m 180 pounds it is especially challenging for me, but my legs felt amazing and the Specialized 29’er I was riding was incredible, it just rolled over all the roots and rocks.”

Stoltz’ five-minute margin of victory was by far the most dominating performance in the history of the XTERRA USA Championship race, and his prowess on the mountain bike turned it into a race for second place early on.

It all started with Stoltz one minute behind the swim leaders; amateur Patrick Valentine, and pros Seth Wealing, Branden Rakita, and Dan Hugo. Stoltz not only got that minute back, but put another minute on the field by mile four after the first big climb up Wheeler Canyon. By mile eight he led by three minutes and was absolutely flying when he passed a collection of journalists tracking the race.

When the bike course reached Snowbasin Resort at roughly mile 13 his lead was more than four minutes, and he went into the bike-to-run transition five minutes, 20 seconds up.

“I was really worried about the two mountain men, Josiah Middaugh and Nico Lebrun, because they are such great climbers and had no idea I had such a big lead until I got on the run. When I heard about the gap I was really able to enjoy this run, and savor the beauty of the course,” said Stoltz, who even had the chance to stop and kiss his girlfriend a half-mile before the finish line.

Conrad is the overall point leader in the U.S. for XTERRA this year. For more information on Conrad visit his website here. For more on XTERRA visit their website here.

Suunto Debuts Social Media Lounge at XTERRA USA Championships

Suunto, a global leader in outdoor and fitness wristop computers and official timing sponsor for the 2010 XTERRA Championship series, announces the launch of the Suunto Social Media Lounge co-sponsored by Snowbasin Resort at the Ogden XTERRA USA Triathlon Championships at Snowbasin on September 25^th 2010.

Suunto and Snowbasin invite all spectators and athletes to the Suunto Social Media Lounge to check out race course standings, transition times, upload photos, and update Twitter, Facebook and Movescount. Suunto will offer free public use of its computer stations hooked up to secure wi-fi provided by Snowbasin Resort. The Suunto Social Media Lounge will be set up at the event Expo area at Snowbasin and will be open on Saturday, September 25^th from 10 am to 2 pm.

“The Suunto Social Media Lounge will be a great service for those looking to use the internet to enhance their overall experience at the event,” says Nora Stowell Business Director and Vice President of Suunto USA. “Since the XTERRA USA Championships is in our backyard, we wanted to make people feel at home. We want them to be able to access their training logs on Movescount and to let their friends and family know how they’re doing.”

In celebration of Suunto’s new social media platform, Movescount.com, anyone who signs up for the site at the Suunto Social Media Lounge will be entered into a drawing to win a Suunto M4 watch. Movescount.com is a unique platform that allows anyone who is interested in sports and fitness to manage their moves by uploading, rating, tracking and engaging with other members worldwide

Suunto Announces Partnership with XTERRA Triathlon and Trail Events

Suunto is the official timepiece for the XTERRA triathlon and trail events.

XTERRA chose Suunto as the official timing sponsor due to its long standing tradition in accuracy, precision and support of the sport.

Suunto is providing the official timing support for four key events slated for the remainder of 2010 which include:

September 18^th 2010 — XTERRA Trail Running Nationals, Bend OR,

September 25^th, 2010 – XTERRA USA Championships, Snowbasin Resort, UT

October 24^th, 2010 – XTERRA World Championships, Maui, HI December 5^th, 2010 – XTERRA Trail Run World Championship Oaha, HI,

Suunto athlete and XTERRA powerhouse, Conrad Stoltz, is poised this late triathlon season to take the title again in 2010. Stoltz, a two time Olympian, a three time XTERRA triathlon World Champion, seven time XTERRA USA Series Champion and a career highlighted with 32 XTERRA wins is again lighting up the podium in 2010. Winning every XTERRA race he entered this year, except for one, Stoltz is a dominant presence this fall for the Championship series title.

“Suunto is proud to be the official timing sponsor of the XTERRA Championship series,” says Nora Stowell, Vice President and Business Director of Suunto North America. “Not only is XTERRA an exciting event to be part of, it is great to watch and support Conrad on his quest to secure the title of World and USA XTERRA champion.”

This is exciting news for Suunto! We’re very excited to be right there along all the action. Good luck to Conrad Stoltz and all the other racers!