:: Hawaii ::
>> It took me three years to accomplish my goal of winning the Xterra World Championship. Reality still has not hit me. As I write this I look back at all the things and all the people who helped me make this dream come true. It took me 3 hours and 1 minute to finish the race but it seemed like an eternity.

My biggest competition here as usual was going to be Melanie McQuaid, but this is the place for the dark horse to shine. One never knows who will have the best luck to bring them to a victory. In the past eight championship races there has been a different woman winner, none able to come back and win it a second time.

For this race, I decided to pull out all the stops. I analyzed every inch of this race trying to figure out what it would take for ME to win this race. First I had to have a great swim. A few weeks ago the kind people at Speedo sent me a fast skin speed suit. I need all the help I can get in the swim. Last year Melanie exited the water 1-minute ahead of me and I never caught up. My goal this year was to keep her in my sights should she exit the water before me. The special suit did its job along with my newly shaved arms. I exited the water about 30 seconds behind her. I felt I had a great swim. Thanks Speedo (and Sean.)

This year a couple changes were made to the course. The first one was the transition. We now had one transition. It was also moved about 1k from the swim exit. We had to run uphill to get to it. The other change was the addition to the end of the bike course, which was rolling hills. And the final change was almost the entire run course. In the past the run course was pretty flat but this year it was nothing but hills. Everyone was commenting on how the new changes should suit me. I figured the old course wasn’t working for me so maybe the new one would.

As I was running uphill, I could see Melanie. I was feeling great but I knew there was a long road ahead so I ran steady. I left transition 25 seconds behind Melanie making up only five.

The trails were dustier than ever. People were falling all over the place. I was having a hard time trying to keep a line. When I looked up I couldn’t see Melanie anywhere. “No problem,” I thought to myself, “maybe she will blow her load before the run.” The sun began to beat down on my back. I was sweating like crazy. I was hot and people were falling victim to the course all around me. I kept telling myself to drink. With my new E3 drink from First Endurance I knew I would not have to worry about bonking or cramping but I had to drink it in order for it to work.

At one point I heard that Melanie had a minute thirty gap on me. We weren’t even half way through the bike course. I was pushing a steady bike pace and I felt great. I didn’t want to race her race, I had to convince myself to focus and stay on track. Patience is a virtue. Don’t rush! I continued my constant steady pace. The next report was that I was 1 minute 15 seconds behind her. She must be slowing down, I thought. I found myself at the bottom of Ned’s climb. This climb had my name written all over it. It was a long steady climb and I was ready to attack. The temperature was dropping a bit as the clouds rolled in. I put my head down and pushed hard. I didn’t look up until I was near the top and that is when I saw her. She was dropping into the plunge. I was close.

When I reached the top I heard someone yell I was 45 seconds down. I guess I got a little excited because I let it go on the plunge. I started ripping down the biggest most dangerous downhill on the course hoping to close the gap. It seemed so smooth at the top and I was feeling so comfortable on my Felt. The 20-pound bike was ripping along the course. Then it happened. I took my eyes off the course for a split second to ask a fellow competitor if everything was ok. When my eyes returned to the course ahead I had already lost control. I couldn’t save it and I became the next victim of the plunge right in front of a cameraman. I got up and looked at my bike. Everything was fine. I was a little scratched but I was loosing time. I told myself I could still do it. It was a small crash. She was just ahead. As if the first crash wasn’t enough I went down a second time 20 seconds later. This time I was hurt. I somehow face planted or the bike hit my head and shoved it into the ground. I don’t know exactly what happened but it didn’t feel good. I got back on the bike a little discouraged. For two years I have been runner up due to some freakish thing that happening to me and I saw this same. I wondered what else could go wrong. What a stupid thought because then my chain got wedged in-between my cassette and wheel. I had to jump off and pull it out.

I had to think positively at this point. I was scratched up; I had rocks in my pants and lumps all over my body. The bike was still ok, just a little shifting problem. There was only about 5 miles left. I could do this. I could still finish. I refused to give up. One by one, age group men began to pass me. A few of them were friends. They took one look at the back of me and knew what happened. Their first words were, “Are you ok Jamie?” I told them I was fine and then they began encouraging me. Then fellow pro Melissa Thomas came hammering by. She slowed down to make sure I was ok and then blew by. But not before she yelled at me to keep pushing. Once I heard that I couldn’t give up.

I made it to T2 about 3 minutes down from Melanie. Melissa was 30 seconds behind her. I could see both of them. I racked my bike and took off for the run. I could hear Greg Welch in the background asking the spectators if I would be able to use my fast feet to catch the women in front of me. I guess I asked myself that same question. I also prayed to God to give me his strength. I knew I wasn’t going to finish this race on my own. I needed him and was at his mercy. All of a sudden I felt this burst of energy. I felt fresh and relaxed. I had to push hard on the hills because that was my only chance to make up time. I could see Melissa but no Melanie. I caught up to Melissa we both exchanged encouraging words and then I took off.

I didn’t know where Melanie was or how big of a gap she had. This race has eluded me the past two years. It has been within my grasp but out of my control. Today it was out of my control again but I was in the hunt. I could finally see Melanie. All of the pain I was feeling quickly went away. Another burst of energy overcame me. My Reebok competition racing flats were flying all over the trail. I was running so lightly on the rocky downhill. I passed her halfway through the run course not wanting to look back. With one mile to go I hit the Salt and Pepper beach. Two years ago I lost the race at this very point. I was nervous but I pushed on. I kept telling myself to go harder and harder. I didn’t come this far to lose it now. I made it across the two beaches and pathway before hitting the last bit of rocks. I had to walk at this point because I almost fell twice. Once I made my way back onto the grass and I could see the finish line I began to run again. So many emotions ran through me the last 10 seconds of the race. I remembered how I thought I had lost the race because of my crashes and how all of my fellow competitors had encouraged me to not give up. The dream that I had dreamed for the last two years was finally coming true. I AM THE 2004 XTERRA WORLD CHAMPION!

Courtney’s luck from Europe caught up to him again. Five days before the race he flipped over the handlebars hurting his wrist. He thought he broke it but found out it was only sprained. On race day he had an awesome swim and great run but the bike just wasn’t there. He could barely hold onto the handlebars on the downhill. Instead of taking the race seriously for himself he decided to help anyone along the way. He stopped and tried to give his pedal to Conrad Stoltz who later had to DNF due to a broken pedal. He lent someone a chain tool that had a broken chain. My husband with the big heart was out there having fun! He represented the true essence of the sport!

It has been a long journey for the past year. I picked up 10 victories along the way loosing only two races. Courtney was there every step of the way working on my bike and countless others. Neither one of us would be here today if it weren’t for those who supported us. My sponsors, Reebok, Felt, First Endurance, Profile, Clif, Rock Shox, Sram, Spinergy, Michelin, Bell, Zeal, Crank brothers, Carnac, Extreme Steering, Yankz, Velo, and Dumonde Tech and Dan Wetherford at Squadra. Thank you for your tremendous support and great products. I would also like to thank Rick Crawford (my coach), my Mom and Dad, all of my training partners, Lisa Sher (my website designer) Team Unlimited and most of all GOD!!!!