The Beginning

XTERRA Across America can trace its beginning to a simple question: “What if…?” 

  During the 2011 XTERRA season – Brent’s first full season of competition – he competed in 6 events in 5 different states leading up to XTERRA Nationals at the end of September.  Somewhere along the line, he wondered, ‘What if someone were to try to compete in an XTERRA triathlon every week for an entire season?’  In a short amount of time, the ‘what if someone…’ morphed into ‘what if I…’.  From there, he began to talk about the every-week-of-the-season odyssey in terms of a Bucket List item.  Someday….

  One of Brent’s favorite expressions used to challenge people is, “You’ve got the talking part down”.  Well, when his brother heard “Someday” one too many times, his “You’ve got the talking part down…” challenge was turned back on him.  And the planning began.

  Using the 2012 season schedule as a basis, Brent was able to come up with a rough schedule for 2013 and determined that the undertaking would be possible. Frequent Flier points could be used for most of the flights; ‘Summit’ status with Frontier Airlines would enable his bike to fly for free; and he could complete the whole season using only 5 vacation days from work.  Suddenly he was without excuses.

  The name, XTERRA Across America, evolved as the easiest way to explain what he was going to do.  The goal is simple in theory, yet somewhat overwhelming in scope:  The first XTERRA race of 2013 is the weekend of March 23^rd.  From that weekend in March until Nationals at the end of September, and every weekend in between, if there is a race anywhere in the United States, Brent will compete.  Some weekends, the XTERRA schedule has several races from which to choose, so he has the luxury of selecting a location based on factors such as travel time and cost.  Other weekends, there will be one race held – so that’s where he’ll go.  As of January 1^st, there are 5 weekends that have no races scheduled, so those will be – much appreciated – time off.  After  Nationals on September 21, he will get to relax until Worlds to be held in Maui at the end of October.

  The adventure has taken on a life of its own, and there are still many details to be worked out before that first race in March.  However, finalizing the schedule and choosing a cause that Brent feels strongly about promoting and supporting have been the biggest hurdles and accomplishments thus far.  We’re jumping into the world of social media and hope you will tune in every now and again to follow Brent on his adventure.  It promises to be a wild ride!