COASTAL CHALLENGE PUSHES RUNNERS THROUGH HEAT ON 50+ KM STAGE FOUR
Local Juan Carlos Zuniga Maintains First Place Overall as Runners Cross Dry Highlands and a River Canyoneering Section to Finish Near Curubande.
Migrating northwest from Costa Rica’s central volcanic region up towards the Pacific, runners moved from muddy rainforests into hot, dusty highlands during stage four of The 2007 Coastal Challenge.
But the heat and dust didn’t slow down the leaders and didn’t intimidate the rest of the field. Of the 42 remaining Expedition Category runners who started out on the 50-km trail at sunrise, each meet or beat checkpoint cut offs throughout the day to cross the course’s second-longest leg.
Costa Rican Javier Montero finished first with a time of 5:16, followed by fellow Tico Juan Carlos Zuniga, who finished less than 10 minutes behind and maintained his first place overall position. Brendan Whalen, from Ireland, rounded out the top three with his first podium finish of the week.
In the women’s division, Beverly Abbs from the United States maintained her perfect record winning another day in 5:50:49. Ligia Madigal, the favorite local women’s runner, finished second trailing Abbs by just under an hour, while Irene Hale (U.S.) secured third.
Meanwhile, Adventure Runners enjoyed the first two legs of the course covering approximately 18-km in less than five hours. Gary Cambridge, from Ontario, Canada, finished tops in the day’s Adventure Run category with a time of 2:55:45, while Baiba Liepina, Latvia, took the women’s top Adventure spot in 3:00:15.
The heat and sun wore away on Christopher Bark, the day’s final Expedition Category finisher, who trained for the race in colder conditions in his hometown of Ottawa, Canada. But while he might not have had the relevant climate available, Christopher sure had plenty of mental toughness.
“The last big training run I did before I came down here was in minus 10 degree temperatures (Celsius) up in Canada,†Bark said. When you run 30+ miles in snow and ice, you might not be used to the heat, but you’re used to extreme conditions and suffering.
Chris crossed the finish line in true Expedition form — battered, tired and sore from the long day, but in good spirits. He raced from sun rise to sun set, literally, pushing himself steadily over more than 13 hours. His time might not win first place, but it earns the respect of everyone on the course.
A river crossing and canyoneering section near the end of the long and dry course was a relief and exciting experiment for all of the Expedition runners. The situation required them to get wet, and many happily plunged into the water to cool and wash off the dust. At one point, coincidentally, people from every group converged at a 40-foot waterfall at the end of the river section just as Adventure Runners along with volunteers and staff met some of the passing Expedition Runners. Just at that time, the Adventure Guests appeared as they rappelled over the top of the falls. The crowd below cheered as the guests bounded down the mountain, splashing into the falls, and dropped into the deep pool below. The tours continued with exciting and scenic river rafting before everyone met back at camp.
This was the final day of racing in the interior. Tomorrow runners will reach the Pacific Coast and eventually make their way north to the finish line on Friday. With two days left, the adventure continues today with stage five ending in a beachside campground that will allow the group to sleep to the sound of the ocean.
Complete finish times and other details can be found on the Leaderboard at the Race’s Checkpoint Tracker (either direct or linked from www.thecoastalchallenge.com).
lease note: all times are unofficial.
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