- We're here on the beautiful island of Malta,
in the Majjistral nature reserve for Xterra Malta.
- Check this out.
(upbeat music)
- So you might be wondering what Xterra is
and what it's all about.
Well that's why we're here.
We're going to find out and share it with you.
- Xterra has over 20 years of experience organising races.
They do trail runs and more famously
their off road triathlons.
So we're at Xterra Malta for the first
of the European Series for 2018.
- Yeah, that's right, it's off road,
so the athletes are gonna be racing on mountain bikes.
They're going to be running along the trails
and it goes without saying, it's an open water swim.
- Yeah, so the Xterra standard distance
typically lasts around two and a half hours
for the professional athletes
but due to the nature of the event
the distances do vary depending on the course.
So for this weekend, we're gonna be undertaking:
- A 1.5 kilometre sea swim
in the beautiful golden bay of Malta.
- Followed by a 30 kilometre bike ride
through the nature reserve.
- And to finish, it's an 11k off road run across the island.
- It is a truly stunning location with stunning weather
and surrounded by like minded athletes doing what they love.
So I thought I'd catch up with a few of them.
(upbeat music)
- Doug what is it you like about Xterra?
- Well, it's basically doing the hardest race
you'll ever do, whilst on holiday.
It's just great, you just go and have fun
but go really hard.
- Alright Joe, what is it you like about Xterra?
- Just great locations, great courses,
something different than just riding on the road.
- I love that every single course is different
and will present you with a different challenge.
- OK Roger, what is it you like about Xterra?
- Well obviously travelling
and meeting new places, new people and new food.
But also you know we have a feeling of being a family
all the pros get well together
and this is truly the best thing.
(upbeat music)
- And after all this event format does attract
a very different crowd, we've got the outdoor enthusiasts,
we've got the adventure seekers,
we've got the mountain bikers
and triathletes all in one race.
We've got that laid back approach from the mountain bikers
and that hardcore dedicated approach from the triathletes.
It really is exciting but that's not all that goes on here.
We're here with the Xterra organiser, Nathan.
Nathan, there's so much going on this weekend
other than the Xterra race on Sunday.
Explain to us, what else is going on?
- Oh, lots, we have a fun trail run.
We try and get people to sort of get baptised off road
by doing trail runs.
And we also have kids races.
We have a kids race which has 70 kids signed up for.
And it's a little obstacle course.
And there's various gradients of difficulty
according to the age.
And we just get them to familiarise themselves
with the running in nature and being in nature.
- So it really is like a family event.
- Oh absolutely.
We have most of our participants come from overseas
and they come for a family holiday,
they make a holiday out of it.
And we try and make sure there's something for everyone.
- Well I have definitely got a great vibe from being here
the last few days.
To you, what is so special about Xterra?
- I think just getting people together.
People who love sports but people who like to be in nature.
Even our crew, we're all trail runners,
we all love the sport, we're all mountain bikers
and just being out there.
These are our favourite sports to train.
So we decided to put a race here
because it's the best place you can be,
probably in the Mediterranean, it's a lovely gorgeous place.
- Well the bottom line is, if you love swimming,
mountain biking and trail running then Xterra is for you.
If you want to catch more videos from GTN
just click the globe to subscribe.
And if you want to work on your open water beach entry,
there's a video on that we made just here.
- And if you want to see our first Xterra pro bike
from Carina Wasle, see that just down here.