La Ruta de los Conquistadores Launches its 2009’s Event

25.11.2008

The successful 2008 edition of La Ruta de los Conquistadores took place just one week ago but the organization is already working on the design of the next year’s event.

In fact, the online registration for the 2009’s Conquistadores is already open at the official website, www.adventurerace.com. Potential racers and media crews can check out some of the details of the innovations in the two registration packages, “Adventure” and “Companions”.

The race format, its course, the services for the participants and the logistics will experience several changes next year, so the main staff decided not to take any time-off and get back on duty immediately after the recent version of this epic challenge.

“Epic will be precisely the key word for the new La Ruta; but also adventure, fellowship and satisfaction”, stated Race Director Diego Víquez. “We have been analyzing the options even before this year’s race and now we have officially launched the registration with the new features introduced to it”.

The staff has taken into account many recommendations of the racers as well of the local and international media, friends and colleagues.

“The main modification will be the fives day format, adding one more day to the race. This is not going to alter the ‘backbone’ of La Ruta, which will remain as a retracing of the Spanish explorers’ paths across the Costa Rican territory”, explained the PR Director Luis Rueda. “In fact the first three days will stay practically the same”, he added.

However, the sum of paved roads that the race used this year will be reduced as the organizers look for alternative fire roads or other off-road passes along the way. For that purpose, the staff will count on the services of some experienced local and foreign mountain bikers as well as the knowledge of the La Ruta’s team itself.

The change on the course will be saved for the end of the race. The current fourth day’s course will be detoured when the racers hit the flat routes to the Caribbean Sea. Instead of heading East on the train tracks, they will be directed West towards the Mid-Atlantic Region.

The organization is putting its best efforts to locate this stage’s finish venue at the EARTH University’s facilities (Tropical Region and Agriculture School), “an international, private, non-profit university created under a Costa Rican law that gave the university legal status as an international institution”. (Check out www.earth.ac.cr for more.)

The fifth and final stage would begin at EARTH and finish at the same Caribbean location of the past four editions, the Reina’s Tourist Complex of Playa Bonita.

The fourth stage is planned to be between 70 and 80 kilometers, the fifth and final will be in the area of 60 kilometers.