Participants celebrate XTERRA Saipan

After sweeping the 2006 XTERRA Saipan Championship with a pair of impressive times that blew the pack away, Olivier Marceau and Renata Bucher traded in their super hero garb for their party hats when they joined all of the participants at the post-race party at the Pacific Islands Club on Saturday night in San Antonio.

A king’s feast awaited all of the triathletes who earned their evening meal though their toils on the terrain, and the air was filled with sound of racers exchanging tales from the trails.

Whether it was the choppy waters, flat tires, gnarly crashes, unyielding leg cramps, or the suffocating heat, everyone relaxing behind the Seaside Grill explained the obstacles that stood in their way on the course as well as how they overcame adversity to finish the race.

When three-time champion Marceau was called to claim his trophy, he commented on the race and took the time to recognize the efforts of all of his fellow competitors, as well as the challenge that lies ahead this weekend.

“Congratulations first to every finisher of this race because it’s not an easy race, and I think that from the first to the last I think it’s been very hard for everyone, but I’m sure you all had fun. It’s such a great course on the bike and on the run. Thanks to the PIC for their welcome tonight and the whole week. We’ve had a very pleasant stay. Good night, have fun, and see you next week for the Tagaman,” he said.

After smashing her previous record time by smoking the course in 2:49:00 to win her second consecutive XTERRA Saipan Championship, Bucher said that she had a great race because of her time spent with Marceau training on Australia’s Gold Coast.

She continued to comment on how funny it was that she has come to find so much happiness in a place she had never heard of as recently as that a couple of years ago.

“It’s hard to believe that two years ago I didn’t know anything about Saipan. One year ago I trained with Olivier doing the hard and right training and we started to talk about our favorite races and then I thought that I would like to come to Saipan.”

“Last year was my first year on Saipan and I had such a good time and I was always thinking ‘Yeah, I would like to come back.’ Now I am here again, very happy that I had such a good time here, such a good race this morning, and the best is that I have one week more and Tagaman,” said Bucher.

One by one the top individuals received the recognition that they worked so hard for along the will testing 1.5-kilometer swim, 30-km mountain bike, and 12-km jungle run course, and their fellow racers honored them with cheers and applause for a job well done.

Once when all of the names were called and the medals awarded, the pros, age groupers, and volunteers kicked off their zories and headed onto the sandy patch in front of the stage and danced the night away to the sounds of Mojo.