XTERRA is celebrating what would have been the 25th edition of the XTERRA World Championship weekend from November 5-9, 2020. It is introducing ‘Maui No Ka Oi’ themed virtual races, a benefit for the Surfrider Foundation/Maui Chapter, and an Aloha Friday Live Show on Facebook.
Maui No Ka Oi translates to ‘Maui is the best’ – a saying rooted in early Hawaiian chants and songs from the 18th century that holds special meaning to the XTERRA team.
“Through this pandemic we’ve realized how much the XTERRA ohana (family) means to us,” said XTERRA President, Janet Clark. “And while we may not be able to host thousands of racers from 50+ countries on-site in Maui this year, we can still honour the sport, its birthplace in Maui, and our XTERRA ohana from across the globe with a big online gathering.”
Clifford Nae’ole, the Hawaiian cultural advisor for The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua – the host venue for XTERRA Worlds – will open the celebrations with a traditional blessing and chant on ‘Aloha Friday’. This takes place on November 6 at 08:00 Hawaii time (10:00 PT, 13:00 ET, 19:00 CEST) on Facebook.com/XTERRAPlanet.
Hosted by XTERRA MC Chun de Stockel, the Aloha Friday Live Show will serve as XTERRA’s official kickoff and countdown to 2021 – its 25th Anniversary season – with special guests, giveaways, performances, and video presentations.
Janet Clark added, “We’ll release our 2021 XTERRA World Tour Schedule, announce the Dave DeSantis XTERRA Legacy Grant award winners, show highlights from 2020, and get everyone excited for next year.”
Among the promotions, XTERRA will provide one lucky viewer of the Live Show an entry into any XTERRA race – triathlon or trail run – anywhere in the world in 2021.
The celebrations also include a variety of XTERRA Maui No Ka Oi virtual racing opportunities. These include a duathlon featuring a 5K run, 30K bike, and 10K run; a Sprint distance Du, and Trail Runs of 5K, 10K, 21K distance or a 5x5K relay team option.
Entry is free to all virtual events, which will be held over five days from November 5-9, and runners can log their times any day over that timeframe.
For the speedsters XTERRA is offering up the ‘Take on Tommy’ challenge. XTERRA announcer and racer, Tommy Morwood from Australia, will run the XTERRA Maui No Ka Oi 5K VR race on his treadmill during the Aloha Friday Live show. Anyone who enters “I’ll take on Tommy” into the comments section then posts a faster time than Tommy by November 9 will win a free Maui Gold Pineapple or Maui XTERRA Hat.
The XTERRA Maui No Ka Oi VR events are a benefit for The Surfrider Foundation/Maui Chapter, which is dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s ocean, waves and beaches.
