Costa Rica: The Coastal Challenge Route of Fire 2010

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Day 4: Competition at front is strong, yet friendly

Greg Dawson / photo J. Andrés Vargas / 05.02.2010

American Ty Stevens came into his first multi-day stage adventure race looking to finish with a decent time. After taking second on day four of The Coastal Challenge, he now finds himself in competition for second place.

After four days of hills, wind, rain and more hills, Stevens has all but closed the gap between first and second place race leaders Javier Montero (CRC) and Cesar Ortega (CRC).

"I didn't wake up and think I would take second," said Ty Stevens. "Those guys are tough and this was the second hardest stage of the race, but I took a risk and ran alongside Javier the entire race and it paid off."

Javier Montero (CRC) still continues to lead overall and finished the day with a time of 4:30:00.

"Running next to Javier, one of Costa Rica's finest runners, was a huge highlight for me today," remarked Stevens. "Knowing that I'm keeping pace with him is very humbling and really makes me realize how small I am on this course and in this world."

Just before checkpoint two, the wind caught Montero off balance and Stevens gave him a hand to get back on track.

"Nobody knows what you're going through except for the guy next to you," said Stevens.

At checkpoint three, Stevens was struggling to get a cup out for water and Montero waited for him, returning the favor for the balancing act earlier.

Top three men's division finishing times: Javier Montero (CRC) 4:30:00, Ty Stevens (USA) 4:38:47 and Cesar Ortega (CRC) 4:44:34.

Top five women's division finishing times: Margaret Phillips (USA) 6:22:23, Judith Abbot (Canada) 6:52:34 and Stacey Shand (Canada) 6:52:41.

For more information or to follow the race, visit <a href="#" onClick="javascript:newsitewindow('http://www.tccadventures.com')" class="main">www.tccadventures.com</a>See All Event Posts