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A Beach Marathon

Rob Howard / 07.12.2005

This coming weekend the ‘Jungleman’ International Marathon and Half Marathon takes place in Costa Rica’s Caribbean zone.

The unique 42 kilometer race will go from the beautiful coastal community of Puerto Viejo through the Cahuita National Park, in the province of Limón. Half marathon competitors will race to Cahuita, and those doing the full distance will run back to the Old Port of Puerto Viejo.

Despite the race title much of the route is along sandy beaches but only 250 lucky competitors will get to run on the sand. This is the limit allowed by the administration of this protected area, in order to keep the stability of the ecosystem.

The race organized by the team behind La Ruta de los Conquistadores is only in it’s second year but will have at least 230 local racers and 20 visiting athletes from Canada, USA, Germany, Panama, Nicaragua, Peru and Ecuador.

Last year winner of the Marathon was the local runner Gilberto Brenes (3 hours, 17 minutes and 3 seconds) and Gerardo Guerrero won the Half Marathon (1 h 26m 12s).

The women’s 42Km race was won by Ligia Madrigal (4h 40m 11s) and Eugenia Allen won the half distance in 1h 42m 24s. The organizers are expecting faster time this year with a bigger, more competitive field.