The Coastal Challenge: Rainforest Expedition Run January 2009

The Route

Rainforest Expedition Run

Route of Fire

Route Overview (coming soon)
We will unveil the entire route later in the year with a route overview. We’ll disclose specific route details with maps and stage profiles at competitor check in. Here are some examples of last year’s route and maps.

Race Facts:
Event Dates: January 31 - February 7, 2009
Race Dates: February 1 - February 6, 2009
Length of Race: 6 Days
Distance: 225-250 Kilometers
Location: The course is set along Costa Rica's tropical Pacific coastline but weaves at times into the Talamancas, a coastal mountain range in the Southwest corner of the country. You’ll finish near the border of Panama in a serene fishing village that until recently was only accessible by boat.
Terrain: jungle and rainforest trails, mountain trail and single track across ridgelines, highlands and coastal ranges; beaches, rocky outcroppings and reefs, river and estuary crossings, and ends in Corcovado National Park, one of the premier rainforest experiences in the world as well as a Unesco World Heritage site. Much, much more. It really defies description !

Race Facts:
Length of Race: 6 Days
Distance: 225-250 Kilometers
Location: The remote and dry Northwestern coast and volcanic regions, through inland lakes, windswept highlands, jungle and tropical dry forest. The course is set in Costa Rica's driest area.
Terrain: jungle and rainforest trails, rough and winding dirt roads, farm roads and some asphalt; mountain trail and some single track across ridgelines, passes and highlands; beaches and rocky outcroppings or reefs, dry tropical forest and rainforest, open lands including river/water crossings and more...

EVENT ITINERARY January/February 2009

Competitors and guests will want to fly into the Juan Santamaria International Airport in San Jose.

We recommend booking a room at the Best Western Irazu*, as that is where we will hold our pre-race functions and we will be leaving for the race start from there very early in the morning on February 1st. You can contact Best Western and make your arrangements based on your dates of travel. Best Western also has a free shuttle from the airport about every 30 minutes.

Booking at the Best Western Irazu
Host Hotel - Best Western Irazu in San Jose: http://centralamerica.com/cr/hotel/irazu.htm

IMPORTANT: For those of you who have not yet booked rooms at the Best Western Irazu, we recently received new instructions from Carolina Arias for on line reservations for the Best Western. She is our new point of contact and works with Olger Villalobos.

ONLINE RESERVATIONS FOR THE COASTAL CHALLENGE

1. Go to http:// www.webgotravel.com
2. Choose Hotels
3. Click Book online
4. Go to Group reservation
5. Type 9145 in the ATTENDEE CODE ( nights between Jan 28th - Feb 01 st )
Type 8138 in the ATTENDEE CODE ( night of Feb 07th )
6. Select the dates´s range and number of attendees
7. Click: continue
8. Select the room you prefer
9. Complete the information

DIRECT HOTEL RESERVATIONS
Contact: Carolina Arias, Tel: 011- 506- 2290- 9300 ext. 2805, Fax: 011-506-2520- 2487 or Email: carias@grupomarta.com

Requested Information: Room type ( King or two double beds ), occupancy, date of arrival, date of departure and credit card information in order to guarantee the room reservation.

Let us know if you have any difficulties.

January 31: Official registration and a poolside reception for competitors and guests at The Best Western Irazu in San Jose.
February 1: We will transport you to the Race Start about 2 hours away.
February 1 - February 6: We will be on course
February 6: Race ends at Bahia Drake (Drake’s Bay). We spend the day there and awards ceremony and closing party will be take place either in Drake’s Bay or Dominical. (TBD) We will have one more night of revelry and beach combing before departing for San Jose the next morning.
February 7: We will transport you back to The Best Western in San Jose. It’s about a 6 hour drive and will leave in the late morning (10-10:30AM) and arrive in San Jose in the late afternoon. We recommend departing on the 8th but if you absolutely have to depart on the 7th we suggest you book a late afternoon flight. If you must leave earlier on the 7th, ie (early afternoon) you must notify us of your flight times and we will try to accommodate you with an early morning shuttle back to San Jose but we cannot guarantee you’ll make an early afternoon international flight. You must notify the organization in advance if this is the case because space may be limited.

Gear Lists

Mandatory Race Gear List**

Hydration System
Energy Food
Electrolyte Replacements
Sunscreen
Emergency Whistle
1 x 24 Gallon Rubbermaid ActionPacker (Transported By Race Organizers) You can find this for $29.00 at REI http://www.rei.com

Recommended Gear List** (Transported by race mgt.)

Tent/Hammock
Sleeping Bag/Sheet
Extra pair of running shoes 1/2 size larger than you normally wear
Flip flops for camps
Extra Energy Food
Race Clothing
Casual Clothing
Mosquito Netting
Self-inflating sleeping pad (thermarest)
Ear Plugs for sleeping

** Subject to change

The Weather

Click HERE to view the current weather in Costa Rica. Click HERE for annual weather and rainfall in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica is a tropical country which contains several distinct climatic zones. There is no winter or summer as such and most regions have a rainy season from May to November and a dry season from December to April. Annual rainfall averages 100 inches nationwide with some mountainous regions getting as much as 25 feet on exposed eastern slopes. Temperature is more a matter of elevation than location with a mean of around 72 degrees in the Central Valley, 82 degrees on the Atlantic coast and 89 degrees on the Pacific coast.