Sunday December 6th, 2020
Kualoa Ranch, Hawaii
Distance: Half Marathon · 10K · 5K · Adventure Walk
The crown jewel of the Paul Mitchell XTERRA Trail Run Series is the Paul Mitchell XTERRA Trail Run World Championship, and the majestic Kualoa Ranch in Hawaii has served as the host site since the creation of this prestigious event in 2008.
This year, the race is scheduled for December 2, 2018 and more than 2,000 runners from around the world are expected to gather at Kualoa Ranch on the northeastern side of the island of Oahu.
A 21-kilometer half-marathon course is considered the world championship course, and it takes runners through some of the most diverse – and scenic – terrain on the planet.
It is worth noting that there is no qualifying process to enter the Paul Mitchell XTERRA Trail Run World Championship. It is an event open to runners of all ages, with skill levels that can range from elite to beginner. In order to accommodate the various levels, there will be various courses – the 21K championship course, a 10K, a 5K, and an “adventure walk.”
The trails at Kualoa Ranch are normally closed to the public, so it offers a rare opportunity for runners to experience the unique setting.
The 4,000-acre working cattle ranchreaches from the steep mountain cliffs to the sparkling sea, and the terrain varies from dense rainforest to broad open valleys, with close-up views of beautiful white sand beaches and awesome verdant cliff faces. The epic nature of Kualoa Ranch has served as a scenic backdrop for numerous television shows and Hollywood films such asJurassic Park, Windtalkers, Pearl Harbor, Godzilla, Tears of the Sun, 50 First Dates, and LOST.
The fastest runners on the 21K course will be competing for a $10,000 total prize purse (top seven overall men and top seven overall women receive money). Everyone who conquers the half-marathon championship course will earn a finisher’s medal, and the top three runners for every age group in the 21K, 10K and 5K will receive medals and other prizes.
The Paul Mitchell XTERRA Trail Run World Championship is the culminating event of the Paul Mitchell XTERRA Trail Run Series, which is a collection of more than 70 adventurous, off-road trail runs of various distances around the world.
| Division | Time | Name | Age | Home |
| Male | 1:20:59 | Joseph Gray | 35 | Colorado Spring |
| 2nd Male | 1:22:27 | Sage Canaday | 31 | Boulder, CO |
| 3rd Male | 1:25:15 | Mauricio Mendez | 24 | Cdmx, Mex |
| 4th Male | 1:29:56 | Andy Wacker | 30 | Boulder, CO |
| Female | 1:33:44 | Grayson Murphy | 22 | Salt Lake city, UT |
| 2nd Female | 1:44:41 | Polina Carlson | 32 | Kailua, HI |
| 3rd Female | 1:46:07 | Mel Aitken | 42 | Wellington, Nzl |
| 4th Female | 1:55:29 | Zoe Sims | 23 | Kailua Kona, HI |
| Division | Time | Name | Age | Home |
| M 40-49 | 1:39:56 | Gerald Romero | 47 | Colorado Spring |
| M 50-59 | 1:50:52 | Antonio Oliveira | 52 | San Pedro da Aldei |
| M 60-69 | 1:53:14 | Todd Marohnic | 63 | Volcano, HI |
| M 70+ | 2:19:54 | Keith Campbell | 72 | Honolulu, HI |
| F 40-49 | 1:46:07 | Mel Aitken | 42 | Wellington, Nzl |
| F 50-59 | 2:21:07 | Jennifer Latham | 51 | Honolulu, HI |
| F 60-69 | 2:53:06 | Shuko Yamane | 65 | Honolulu, HI |
| F 70+ | 3:51:18 | Jo May | 71 | Houston, TX |
21k Event Record
Max King - 1:16:36 - 2010
Sally Meyerhoff - 1:28:58 - 2010
The Course (from Race Director "Kahuna Dave" Nicholas
The start for all three distances is at the Kaaawa Valley base camp. Runners leave on a hard packed dirt road and within ¼ mile face their first task – a long, undulating ¾ mile climb. At the one-mile mark 5K runners will head down a pasture and back towards the ocean and the finish line (see turquois line on map). World Champ 21K and 10K runners will continue on the upper road until heading steeply downhill, some on road, some on grass to the fantastic remains of the “lost city of Atlantis” (from the movie Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, starring Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson).
A hard right after the Atlantis Temple and runners head into a dark, dry creek crossing before heading back on some sweet single track on the ridgeline. Interesting note: this section of single track was created years ago for the legendary Hawaiian Mountain Tour bike races. It’s high pasture that dips into volcanic gulches to rise again into the sun. You’ll do this several times before the 10K heads to the finish. For the 21K world champ runners, the fun has just begun.
Back on dirt roads and past a cave from the movie Pearl Harbor it is time to catch a bit of breath as you move from one valley to another. After aid station three, runners will head into construction for the new Kualoa Tropical Gardens and onto some up-and-down single/double track. Here runners venture deep into forest, and out on the edges with spectacular ocean overlooks and finally a dip into a dark, tropical rain forest with three stream crossings. If it looks familiar, think about scenes from the recent movie “Battleship”.
Now runners might be thinking this isn’t so bad … until the terrain starts to climb. Easy at first and then brutally steep, and totally exposed to the sun. Just as you think it has leveled, the lie comes true and it is up again. At last a feed station that appears to be a dead end. But we are taking you up narrow single track – by narrow we mean a foot at most – to the spine that separates Hakipu’u and Kaaawa valleys. You’ll wish you could stop as you can see a thousand miles of blue Pacific no matter which way you turn.
Then the single track plunges steep downhill where nobody goes except on this day. Muddy, rutty, steep drop offs, slimy and slippery. We’ve put ropes to help you stay upright and I guarantee you will use them. The good news? It is only ¼ mile. At the bottom you’ll find the terrain familiar as you return to the back of Kaaawa Valley and run that gorgeous, fast and soft singletrack to the finish.
