Take Off For Costa Rica
Rob Howard / 25.10.2004
The Coastal Challenge, a new running race taking place in Costa Rica in January 2005, has announced a partnership with ‘Flight Centre’. The idea is to simplify travel arrangements so competitors can book their flights more easily and at discounted rates.\"We wanted to remove some of the guesswork for our competitors and guests and provide them with a valuable resource in booking their travel to Costa Rica,\" said Race Director Tim Holmstrom. \"Travel Centre representatives can answer any questions concerning travel to the event and paint you a crystal clear picture of additional travel scenarios if you plan to come early or stay beyond the event itself. We are delighted they have chosen to assist us with getting people there and back again.\"
The 250km race takes place from January 14th to 23rd and the route follows the Pacific coastline the whole way. The daily stages vary in length and the organisers promise 60% of the route is on the coast and 25% in the rain forest, the rest is on trails/dirt roads. The are also ‘canopy walks’ and 8 zip lines set above 4 waterfalls, and each stage finished at an overnight camp. There are solo, team and relay categories, and for the competitive runners who want to go solo there is a US$20,000 prize purse.
The race is organised by a team which may be familiar to US racers and to teams who have attended some of the major races around the world. Holmstrom who has worked on Subaru Primal Quest, Eco-Challenge, and many other races as a photojournalist, as has the race Producer Craig Irwin, who has competed in major races himself, including Southern Traverse. Ari Chen is the media manager, and he too has worked on Eco-Challenge, as well as Xterra races and dozens of other outdoor sports events worldwide. The local knowledge comes from Rodrigo Carazo, another regular AR competitor, who has designed the route to make most of the coastal scenery of Costa Rica.
If you want to start the new year in an exotic location, and combine a running holiday with sunshine and beach locations you can find out more on their website at http://www.thecoastalchallenge.com.
