Trinidad Coast 2 Coast Multisport Race
Kicking off the Caribbean C2C
Ryan Mendes (Photos James O'Connor/CaribbeanStockPhotography.com / 09.10.2006
The Tropical Power Coast 2 Coast Multi-Sport Race will kick off tomorrow with an impressive field of competitors. Entrants include last year’s winner from Trinidad and Tobago, Jason Gooding; the winner of the 2005 Female Category, Nina Chaves; top local cyclists Erle Rahaman-Noronha and Guy Costa; marathoner Bryan Minard and runner Cantius Thomas. Frank Fifils, a leading paddler from Guadeloupe, is the sole entrant from the wider Caribbean, while international racers include Elina Maki-Rautila from Finland, top-ranked South African paddler Andrew Blackburn, and the reigning World Multi-Sport Champion, New Zealander Richard Ussher.
The stage is set for an exciting two-day, five-stage race to the finish as participants run, cycle and paddle along a scenic but grueling course that starts at the Toco Lighthouse on Trinidad’s East Coast and ends at Chaguaramas in the West. Ryan Mendes and Bruce Hay of ECO Adventures, the race organizers, went through the course in detail with the athletes at the Race Briefing, held last night.
The route begins with a short 1.4 km run along Trinidad’s picturesque north-east coast, followed by a 40 km cycle to Matelot. Athletes then transition to Stage 2: a 32 km run through beautiful rain forest trails to Blanchisseuse, which marks the end of Day 1. Stage 3 begins on Sunday at 5:00 am with a 58 km ride to Diego Martin’s North Post, followed by a hilly 8 km run to Macqueripe. The final stage of the course is the 30 km paddle to Williams Bay, Chaguaramas, through the swells of Trinidad’s First Boca, which sits between the Gulf of Paria and the Caribbean Sea.
Athletes will be competing for $10,500 US in cash prizes. Along with title sponsor Tropical Power Limited, the Coast 2 Coast event is supported by The Ministry of Sport, The Tourism Development Company, Digicel, Rotoplastics, Subway, Toyota, Lucozade Sport, BWIA and Marine and Safety Limited.
For more information see www.ecoadventurestt.com.
Photos by James O\'Connor/CaribbeanStockPhotography.com.
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