Scouting and Family Vacation Plans in Costa Rica

Rob Howard / 16.04.2010

Antonio de la Rosa, the Race Director of this year’s World Championship has recently been in Costa Rica, helping to prepare for the first Costa Rica Adventure Race. The new race is part of the AR World Series and are benefitting from de la Rosa’s experience who has been scouting the course and going over the final details on the route to get the race book ready and CPs correctly positioned. With race staff he has scouted some amazing waterfalls, walked, biked, paddled and swam in an extinct volcano crater and in many rivers.

Visiting one fishing village which will be used as a PC along the route, a sad story emerged. During the race this village will be on a three month fishing ban, put in place by the government in order to protect the fish population and the surrounding ecosystems that support thousands of migrating birds that nest here every year. So the race is taking the opportunity to help the school and homes of this affected village, and will be using their fishing boats on a small stretch of the race!

The mountain bike leg was retraced and on the coast some waypoints were placed to make sure teams get to visit the coolest spots on the course. Swimming in the warm water is the best way to clean off all the dirt from the road. However, after all the fun the team still had to drive 14 hours back to base, and rush to the airport to drop Antonio off for his flight back to Spain.

At the same time the family and friends tours associated with the race are ready. So now they will be able to follow the race and visit some strategic points along the route. The names and places of the hotels are obviously not named due to course secrecy policies, but quality and price are considered seriously, especially given all the other expenses involved in coming to the race. (More details will be posted on the race webpage shortly.)

All team inscription fees include 3 nights in hotel accommodation, 2 dinners, 2 breakfasts and a lunch, as well as the closing ceremony and party, with lots of food and music (except drinks and transfers will not be included). In regards to gear the race will be supplying rafts, kayaks, climbing and paddling equipment (or you can bring your own if you prefer). The prize money totals $20,000, split among the top three teams and of course, the winning team will also claim a free entry for the AR World Championship in Spain in September.

The race takes place from August 21st to 27th and is limited to just 30 teams. You can find full details at www.ARCostaRica.com.