2009 “In their Words”
- “The Coastal Challenge was one of the most well-run, fun and engaging races I've ever done... the Coastal Challenge takes the most fun parts of the on-foot sections you'd find in a race like the Eco-challenge and Primal Quest and puts them into a stage format...
This isn't just another ultra run either. The race director and course setters truly care about the enjoyment level of the racers and the uniqueness of the adventure that they provide, and are clearly not the least bit interested in boring, painful death marches...
Please create some more races just like this in some of the other coolest places on earth! We'll be there!!”
- Robyn Benincasa
- "I had never done a staged race before, but now I am hooked. I also feel like, if I died tomorrow, I would die happy because this race made me feel complete.”
- Kelly Ridgeway, first time at TCC (experienced ultra-marathoner and lovely mother of 3. She came in 3rd in the women's division and 9th overall)
- "The camaraderie among the racers was really great and I met some runners with very impressive credentials. Scott always had an encouraging word to say to me which I thought was very nice of him. Often elite runners don’t recognize the back of the pack runners. Both Scott and David always had something nice to say."
- Walt Esser, 3 TCC races under his belt.
- "The 2009 Coastal Challenge was the hardest race I have ever done. The pain you feel on the race course goes away, but the memories and experiences of the whole event leave such a lasting impression that I can't wait for the next one!!! Thanks to all the TCC Event Staff and Volunteers for providing such an amazing racing experience. Bring on Panama and the Route of Fire!"
-Jennifer Samway, first time at TCC (This was in sharp contrast to her solemn vow on Day 3 to never, ever do this race again)
- "there were moments (many of them) of extreme pain, extreme exhaustion, extreme frustration. But the feeling of having overcome them, and having pushed on in spite of them and making it to the end, is simply spectacular."
- journalist Jaqueline Windt, 2nd TCC under her belt.
- "My secret wish is that I would become younger so that I can continue to run TCC again next year and the year after and the year after that. The experience is indescribable to the uninitiated. The friendships gained invaluable".
- Jay Norman, 5th TCC under his belt ! ( Only person to race at every TCC, he just turned 71 years young on course and we have to thank Betty for letting him spend his birthday with us.
Past Participant Testimonials
- “We were all in competition with one another –but at the same time, we were out there, on our own in the Costa Rican jungle for each other”
-Jaqueline Windh
- "Doesn't really matter what happens - it will be an incredible experience. I have run races in China, Saudi, the Barbados and Jamaica as well as Canada and the US but nothing has been as seductive as this race."
-Doone Watson, Canada - "We were on the Osa Peninsula in the Corcovado National Park, an area tough to reach and closed to the public except by permit. The beaches are unspoiled and remote. The jungle was alive and is the last region in the world where jaguar run free. One runner saw a jaguar track! It was hot and we had to cross many crocodile and shark infested rivers with the assistance of volunteer river boats."
- Dot Helling Monpelier, Vermont - "I have never experienced a country of so much beauty, resources and people of wonderful spirit. I learned more about staying in the moment and enabling myself to take in every morsel of the experience around me. Even when my ankle hurt, or I felt hot, hungry, thirsty or tired, I could look around and see, smell and marvel at what was around me."
- Dot Helling, Montpelier, Vermont - "Over the last 20 years I have made a considerable effort to race the most difficult races in the most beautiful, exotic and at times the most hostile environments on earth. I have been places, seen things and experienced emotions that are possible only in hard to reach places with ultimate effort. The coastline, jungles, beaches, villages, environment and distance at the Coastal Challenge offers the challenge and promise the memories that compel all of us to do what we must do. It will be one of the worlds great adventure runs."
- Mark Macy, Colorado - “I hadn’t finished, but I had learned so much. I had gained experience and wisdom... My plan was to go easy, to better my chance of making it to the finish line. Instead, I had suddenly got competitive, tried to push, and had injured myself.
So I come out of this both wiser and stronger...and so totally ready to go again.”
-Jaqueline Windh - "We were adolescents amongst the elders of endurance racing, ignorant of what we were about to get ourselves into, but open to learning as much as possible from these amazing athletes who surrounded us. At times, it felt as if we had tapped into some secret fraternity or brotherhood of physical pain. Little did I know we were about to get the hazing of a lifetime."
- Jen Garretson and Nic Stover/ Boise Idaho - "We had traversed back and forth from beach to jungle for the last few hours, making our own path to escape the sun. We had forgotten to bring headlamps and as the jungle trail got darker, we found a strange urgency welling up inside us: jungle motivation - that compelling need to get away from areas where you can't see things, but things can see you. We were back on the beach as soon as the sun was down."
- Jen Garretson and Nic Stover/ Boise Idaho - "It was grueling. And it was glorious. The theme of the Coastal Challenge race is "Take on the distance, Take on the Challenge, Take on the Elements" - and this was truly tested in every aspect. We covered over 140 miles of sparkling white and black sand beaches, densely foliated and wild jungle pathways, and rolling farmland with hills steeper than anything I have yet seen in any footrace in the United States. We ran, we walked, we hiked and even came close to crawling a few times, as we battled 90+ degree temperatures and humidity that starkly contrasted the Winter weather in Boise, Idaho where we lived and had trained. We saw exotic wildlife and bird types that I had previously only seen in a zoo or pet shop : Scarlet McCaws, Toucans, emerald-green Quetzals, crocodiles, iguanas and 3 species of monkey, including the infamous Howlers, who should be more aptly named "Growlers" for their eerie, menacing, deep-throated call which makes them sound much larger than they really are! We crossed dozens of rivers, coasteered our way over exposed reefs, and crawled over and under fallen trees, muddy trails and rocky outcroppings."
- Jen Garretson and Nic Stover/ Boise Idaho - "It was definitely a positive experience, just being out away from everything in remote areas with the beautiful landscape...plus the test of endurance itself! It was such an incredible way of seeing the countryside. I've traveled all over, and that was one of the most unique ways of exploring the country."
- Jordan Menzies, TCC 2008 Expedition Run, “Route of Fire” Competitor, Toronto, Canada - “The race I did in 2006 still ranks among the very best experiences of my life... It really recharged my 'batteries' psychologically.
I've done a lot of races all over the world...and I'm not REALLY a runner per-say so when I say it was one of the best experiences it’s saying a lot.”
- Ben Nachrieb, Adventure Race Athlete, TCC 2006 Expedition Run Competitor