Allen and Paterson win 2013Â XTERRA Philippines
March 4, 2013
Australia's Ben Allen and Scotland's Lesley Paterson won the third XTERRA Philippines Championship this Saturday. Allen crossed the finish line in Liloan, Cebu in two hours, 37 minutes and 40 seconds. South Africa's Dan Hugo finished only 51 seconds later, taking second place two years in a row. In the women's race, Paterson left the competition far behind with her finish at two hours, 45 minutes and 41 seconds, coming in 15 minutes faster than the 2012 XTERRA Philippines Champion, Renata Bucher.
Cebu was the second location of the 2013 XTERRA World Tour, a series of races culminating in the XTERRA World Championship on October 27. The XTERRA Triple Crown in the Western Pacific will soon continue with XTERRA Saipan on March 9 and XTERRA Guam on March 23.
Although Paterson is a two-time XTERRA World Champion and Allen was last year's Triple Crown Champion, there is no such thing as a home field advantage even for returning athletes. In fact, this year's courses are remarkable in their difficulty.
Paterson tweeted, "XTERRA Philippines is seriously hard core, like nothing I've ever experienced. I almost ran over a chicken, a goat, a cow and plenty more."
Those who want to share the excitement with friends and family abroad can make calls to the Philippines with international calling cards.