XTERRA Trail Run Series makes Maryland debut on April 6 at Seneca CreekRead

By Ellen Fishel, The Baltimore Sun3:03 p.m. EDT, March 30, 2013

Steven Leibowitz is trying to run as fast as he can, but the trail is muddy and tree roots are hiding under the soil, slowing him down. Now there's a stream blocking his path, with no way to cross, save a few widely spaced rocks. But Leibowitz can't give up. He has to keep running.

It might sound like a scene from "The Hunger Games" or "The Blair Witch Project." But for a runner in the XTERRA Trail Run Series, it's just the path to the finish line.

XTERRA, a national multisport company, puts on races that are much more than your average 5K on the street. Its Trail Run Series, in which participants run grueling cross country-style courses in parks and trails ranging anywhere from five kilometers to a full marathon, is making its Maryland debut this year on April 6 at Seneca Creek State Park in Gaithersburg.

The 10K race is the second of four in the inaugural Atlantic Series, one of 17 regional series that feed into the national race in September. Series director Kristen Thomas said the abundance of great trails and parks in the region made adding this series a logical choice.

Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/outdoors/bs-sp-outdoors-xterra-trail-race-0331-20130330,0,6217653.story#ixzz2QkmakIZf

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