An interview with Melanie McQuaid, Canada's reigning XTERRA Champ

By Ron Johnson

"I don't really like losing," says Melanie McQuaid bluntly, describing why she is one of the most dominant endurance athletes in North America, and a leading contender to take the crown in the upcoming XTERRA triathlon world championships, a title she has held on three occasions.

Gearing up for this fall's big race on Oct. 25 in Maui, Hawaii, McQuaid has made the most of a gruelling competition schedule this spring and summer.

"I am satisfied that I have raced well so far this year," says a modest McQuaid, after winning the first five XTERRA Cup races of the season, and finishing second in the sixth race in Arkansas. "Some races were much better than others and I would have preferred to be without flaw at all of them. However, form and fitness tends to go up and down and the field of athletes competing in XTERRA is completely top notch so whenever I show a hint of weakness someone else is going to take the win.It all looks easy when you win five in a row but losing the sixth shows that the five were just an incredible run of outstanding form."

Born and raised in Victoria, B.C., where she still makes her home, McQuaid graduated from the University of Victoria with a degree in biochemistry and chemistry before putting foot to pedal as a professional road and off-road cyclist on the World Cup circuit.  From there, it was a short jump to triathlon, and the championships started rolling in back in 2002 when the 36-year-old claimed her first XTERRA title.

Created in 1996, the typical XTERRA race involves a 1.5 km swim, 30km mountain bike and 11km trail run. The XTERRA Cup is the leading off-road triathlon series, and offers professional racers the opportunity to compete for prize money in eight events across the United States, as well as a combined series championship.

"I never considered that I could be a professional athlete until I was offered a contract and suddenly was one," McQuaid explains. "I switched to triathlon when I had lost my passion for the World Cup mountain bike circuit and needed a change. I was obviously drawn to the off-road side of triathlon because of my mountain bike history."

In 2005, McQuaid has ranked as high as third in the world triathlon rankings across all disciplines, the year she won her second XTERRA World Championship. She also won in 2003 and 2006. It was her performance in Maui in 2003 that McQuaid sites as her most memorable moment, where she woke up in a medical tent and asked who won the race. She was elated when she found out it was her.

McQuaid, who cites red wine and homemade pizza with friends as her favourite post-race indulgence, stays close to home when training, and close to her favourite coffee beans from Victoria's Café Fantastico.

“Travelling so much means I truly value my time at home,” says McQuaid. “I spent some time in Tucson this year with some good friends but it was only because the weather in Victoria this past winter was so bad I couldn’t even ride in it. That is rare. I would prefer to be at home more of the year.”

Adding fuel to her already blazing competitive fire this season, was her dropping out of the XTERRA World Championships last season.

“I think I had great form going into the Worlds last year but may have made some poor choices in terms of the last days of my taper which led to illness on race day,” McQuaid explains. “Sometimes it doesn’t take much when you are very fit to go from super fit to super sick and I was just unlucky.”

“I definitely can use that disappointment this year for motivation and after two years of not performing as well as I can at the Worlds,” she says. “I am looking forward to a much more impressive day at that race.”

To follow Melanie McQuaid's progress towards her fourth XTERRA world title, go to her blog at www.racergirl.com, or the XTERRA web site at www.xterraplanet.com.