Costa Rica: The Coastal Challenge Route of Fire 2010
Day 6: A third consecutive overall win for Javier Montero (CRC)
Greg Dawson / photo J. Andrés Vargas / 05.02.2010
Cesar Ortega (CRC) finished second and first-time multi-day adventure racer Ty Stevens (USA) took third place overall. The six-day expedition race through Costa Rica's must rugged and surreal mountainous range showed why you can't expect what's ahead on the trail.
"Honestly, with my first expedition run, I didn't know I'd place this high," said Stevens. "Taking second midway through, my focus shifted a little bit. I pushed on day four and five, but all in all, it was just an honor to run alongside such a talented group of runners."
Team GENR8 Ty Stevens, Mark Matyazic, Alexa Dickerson, Milko Mejia, Peter (Pedro) Spiller and Peggy Dennis know being able to finish a race is one thing and completing an adventure race is another.
"The countless hours of intense terrain and varied weather conditions provided not only a challenge, but an opportunity to employ our communal discipline," said Team GENR8 team captain Mark Matyazic.
Multiple days of endless elevation, hardcore and muddy climbing made for one of the best and worst races some had to experience.
"Tendentious and a bruised heel bone made for an excruciating run, but having already finished a Coastal Challenge and another TCC expedition race, I knew I was mentally prepared for the hurdles ahead," said Matyazic. "Pain was my companion the entire journey."
The mental fortitude and ability of the runners to finish The Coastal Challenge goes beyond training for a day of running.
"It's one thing to run for one day, but when you have six days to run, you just have to mentally prepare yourself and that's exactly what these runners did," said volunteer Linda Andrus.
Top five overall men's division finishing times: Javier Montero (CRC) 21:36:14, Cesar Ortega (CRC) 22:15:03, Ty Stevens (USA) 23:53:05, Mark Lattanzi (USA) 27:09:04 and Rolando Moreira (CRC) 30:03:29.
Top five overall women's division finishing times: Margaret Phillips (Canada) 32:37:26, Stacey Shand (Canada) 35:23:13, Melida Barbee (CRC) 35:39:39 and Shannon MacLeod (Canada) 39:59:46.
For more information or to follow the race, visit <a href="#" onClick="javascript:newsitewindow('http://www.tcc adventures.com')" class="main">www.tccadventures.com</a>.
SleepMonsters
