Costa Rica: The Coastal Challenge
Day 3: Team Helly Hansen’s Nicola MacLeod puts out Another Strong Performance
Jackie Windh / 30.01.2008
Today’s 24 km stage was a relative break for the Expedition people, who covered 60 km yesterday, but still a tough go for most of us in Adventure category. The terrain was much easier than previous days as well – much of it rolling terrain along gravel roads, and one 350 climb on yet another muddy trail. We have moved into much hotter, drier country.There was a mass navigational error near the start. A few of the fast runners got it right – saw the flagged turnoff to the right. But it was such a beautiful morning, and there must have been three quarters of the field jogging along, gabbing, taking pictures, enjoying the view... but not looking around. We followed the leader, and then suddenly there were runners coming back at us. Most of us stopped to check maps – a few just turned back and followed the leaders. A couple of us decided to just double-check ahead before turning around, and alas, the mass turnaround had been correct.
I had been feeling strong, and had decided to push hard today to see if I could place well. Suddenly, I found myself second-last – very bummed out, but my lesson learned. I’d had no difficulty navigating yesterday, because I had been so alone that I truly paid attention. I had lost a full 30 minutes here, but I decided to push anyway, and soon I was slowly passing my way back to the middle of the pack.
Just before PC1 (10 km), I caught up with my usual crowd: Thea, Stephanie, and Brigid. Soon after, we turned off the track and on to another fantastic jungle path: back into the mud, with pretty little creeks to wade across. In one of those little valleys we could hear howler monkeys barking in the trees above us. This was the big climb of the day, but compared to what we had seen the last few days, it was a breeze.See All Event Posts
