The Coastal Challenge #TCC2020 – Stage 2 40.2km

Posted on February 10, 2020 by talkultra

The Coastal Challenge, Costa Rica’s number one multi-day race moved to stage 2 after the runners had a good nights sleep near the Savegre River in a purpose built campsite.

The heat of day 1 had taken its toll with runners retiring to sleep soon after dinner at 1900 hours. It was a hot night with little air and the 0330 wake up call came all too early for many. Breakfast at 0400 and then with the arrival of the sun, runners departed for 40.2km.

The early morning sun was magnificent and the Costa Rican landscape glowed as the rays illuminated the landscape.

The day started with almost a disaster with many of the top men, including all the top-4 contenders going off course with women leader, Kaytlyn Gerbin. They lost over 15-minutes and what followed was a hard chase into the long first climb of the day.

The men’s race came back together with race leader, Mauricio Mendez catching Erick Agüero who had initially gone wrong, realised his mistake early and turned back. Cody Lind and Andy Symonds chased with Scott Maguire running on his own further back.

For Kaytlyn, it was over 2-hours before she finally caught all the women, the 2^nd placed woman on GC being Natalia López Arrieta.

With order resumed at the front, the race could continue as normal over a very tough course. Relentless fire road descents making the going hard both physically and mentally. Mendez finally made a move around CP3 and pulled away from Agüero while Lind and Symonds pursued together. They would stay this way all the way to the line. Maguire faded in the latter stages of the day as the heat and course took its toll, he finished 5^th once again.

“I think I was a little too focussed and early on we went wrong… Crazy! We wasted at least 10-minutes. I was in a group and we all backtracked. It was 10km before I caught Erick with Scott. I was then running alone with Rick to CP3 and then I made a move. I was feeling good, my legs were tired and the heat did not seem as hot as day 1. I was really happy to get a 2^nd stage victory, but I need to be smart for day 3, I know it will be tough, I have lots to learn!” – Mauricio Mendez

Once Gerbin had hold of the front of the race she extended the gap and her lead. She looked strong, focussed and relentless for the pursuit of the line and a stage 2 victory. Behind Arrieta once again ran strong for 2^nd and Norway’s Abelone Lyng entered into a battle with TCC regular and past woman champion, Veronica Bravo. At the final two water crossings, Lyng lead Vero but the gap at best was only a minute. Lyng fought hard and finished 3^rd ahead of Bravo’s 4^th. Ashton Keck Keck who placed 3rd on tase 1 finished 6th in 5:32:21.

“Veronica caught me and she looked strong but on the final beach sections I pushed hard and caught her again,” said Lyng. “I wanted to be finished and Veronica was looking tired so I pushed hard. It was a tough race to finish a long day but I am happy with the result. I have been worried about the heat but my adaptation seems to have worked, it is very hot but I am feeling good, that makes me very happy.”

Ranking:

Men:

Mauricio Mendez 3:50:48 – Leader on GC

Erick Agüero 3:53:58

Andy Symonds/ Cody Lind 3:56:16

Women:

Kaytlyn Gerbin 4:33:17 – Leader on GC

Natalia López Arrieta 4:44:57

Abelone Lyng 5:12:20

Stage 3 of #TCC2020 will depart with sunrise once again, ahead 47.5km to Marino Ballena. The ‘Adventure’ category will run 12.7km starting from aid station 2.

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The Coastal Challenge #TCC2020 – Stage 1 33km

Posted on February 10, 2020 by talkultra

Runners departed San Jose at 4am for a 4 hour transfer to the coast for the start of the 2020 The Coastal Challenge, Costa Rica’s number one multi-day race.

It’s always a tough day as the runners depart the stage start after 0900 and the heat of the day is already intense.

It’s a day for caution!

From the off, the elite men pushed hard setting a relentless pace to checkpoint 1 with the UK’s Andy Symonds leading the way with Mauricio Mendez. Cody Lind and local, Erick Agüero followed. For the women, pre-race favourite Kaytlyn Gerbin lead from the front pulling away from Brazils, Manuela Vilaseca.

After checkpoint one, the heat was starting to influence the race with Symonds and Vilaseca both going through bad patches, this allowed Mendez and Gerbin to extend their leads.

Mendez took hold of the front of the race and the 2016 Xterra World Champion pushed home for the win looking very strong and relaxed in 2:44:35. The USA’s Lind moved in to second place with 2:49:08 and Symonds rallied in the closing stages to hold on the a podium place in 2:51:37 ahead of the local hero, Scott Maguire from Canada in 2:53:06. Local hero Agüero was 5^th in 2:54:12.

“It was so hot today. Although a three hour race for me I treated it like an ultra and held things back. I never ran past water, I immersed myself all the time when I could. As the day progressed and I moved up through the field and finished 2^nd, a good day!” – Cody Lind

Gerbin pushed for line with a convincing lead in 3:18:47 and behind her, Costa Rican runners, Natalia López Arrieta and Ashton Keck Keck placed 2^nd and 3^rd ahead of Norway’s, Abelone Lyng in 3:31:37, 3:48:09 and 3:56:49 respectively.

“I wanted a strong first day but I needed to respect the heat. A great deal if fire road today and that was tough…” Gerbin said after the finish. “But I have a lead now and I will run my own race each day. It was hot today, it needs so much respect.”

Ranking:

Men:

Mauricio Mendez 2:44:35

Cody Lind 2:49:08

Andy Symonds 2:51:37

Women:

Kaytlyn Gerbin 3:18:47

Natalia López Arrieta 3:31:37

Ashton Keck Keck 3:48:09

Stage 2 of #TCC2020 with depart with sunrise, ahead 40.2km to Dominical beach. The ‘Adventure’ category will run 17.4km starting from aid station 2.

#TCC2020

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The Coastal Challenge 2020 #TCC2020 – Elite Line-Up Announced

Posted on October 20, 2019 by talkultra

The 2020 ‘The Coastal Challenge’ is upon us! Six days, 230.5km of racing and 9543m of vertical gain, 9413m of vertical descent – TCC is more than a challenge!

Over the years, TCC has grown in stature with an ‘A’ list of elite runners from all over the world. The 2019 edition was won by Ida Nilsson with a record time and Pere Aurell for the men. The men’s CR is still held by the UK’s, Tom Evans.

Hugging the coastline of the tropical Pacific, TCC is the ultimate multi-day experience that weaves in and out of the Talamancas; a coastal mountain range in the Southwest corner of this Central American country.

The terrain is ever-changing from wide, dusty and runnable fire trails to dense and muddy mountain trails. Runners will cross rivers, boulder, swim through rivers, pass under waterfalls, survive long relentless beaches and finally finish in the incredible Corcovado National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site with a stunning final loop around Drake Bay before departing for their journeys home via speedboat.

Irrespective of pace or effort, the Costa Rican coastline never stops providing inspiration. This is so much more than a race, It’s a journey, a running holiday and a voyage of discovery. Friendships made in the rainforests, on the beaches and in the camps are ones to last a lifetime – the race is one of survival, perseverance and enjoyment in equal measure.

“This has been an incredible journey. It’s a stunning and magnificent part of the world and the course, terrain, views and the racing has been world-class. I have been blown away by everything – the final stage was just stunning, and it managed to compress the whole TCC experience in just 22km. I will be back to TCC and Costa Rica one day, guaranteed!” – Tom Owens, 2017 Champion

THE 2020 ELITE LINE UP

Brittany Peterson

Burst on the global scene in 2016 with a win at Moab Red Hot %%km, placed 3^rd at Speedgoat 50km, 2^nd at the Rut and then 4^th at Transvulcania in 2018. A top-ranked Skyrunner, in 2019 Brittany moved to longer races and won the iconic Bandera 100km. However, all previous results were surpassed in June when she ran the race of her life to finish 2^nd at Western States 100.

Kelly Wolf

Kelly won the 2018 Lavaredo Ultra Trail and in the process, elevated her profile to a whole new level in Europe. She has won at Tarawera, placed 3^rd at Transvulcania, 4^th at Ultra Trail Capetown and most recently has won Kendall Mountain Run and Deep Creek Trail Half Marathon. Combining speed, endurance and technical running ability, Kelly is going to be one to watch at the 2010 TCC.

Katlyn Gerbin

Kaytlyn joins the line-up of the 2020 TCC with an extremely solid and consistent resume, known in Canada and the USA for a string of top performances, it was a podium place (2^nd) at Transgrancanaria that introduced her to worldwide attention. Winner of the Pine to Palm 100 in 2016, Kaytlyn has mixed races distances for the last 3-years, excelling at 50km and 100km with victories at Gorge Waterfalls and Sun Mountain amongst others. In 2017 she won Cascade Crest 100 but her calling cards are 4^th place and 2^nd place at the 2017 and 2018 Western States.

*****

Julien Chorier

Julien is a true ambassador of the sport with a resume that many a runner would love to have just a tenth of. Name any iconic race and Julien will have raced it and most likely place on or around the podium. Career highlights are 1st at Hardrock 100, 1st at UTMF, 2^nd at Transgrancanaria, 3^rd at UTMB, 1^st at MIUT and 6^th at Western States. He is no stranger to multi-day racing having raced at Marathon des Sables Morocco and also, MDS Peru. It’s an honor to have Julien at the 2020 TCC.

Jordi Gamito

Jordi should have toed the line at the 2019 TCC but injury prevented his participation. In 2020, he is back! He is a winner of the tough and challenging Everest Trail Race and has placed 3^rd at the 2018 UTMB. In 2014, a 4^th place at UTMB showed his potential to the ultra-running world and this was followed with 6^th at Raid Ka Reunion. 3^rd at the Eiger Ultra and 4^th at Transgrancanaria. He is a big smile; infectious personality and he will embrace the challenge of Costa Rica.

Cody Lind

Cody has been racing for some years but may well have only come on your radar after 2017 with a very committed foray in the Skyrunning circuit – He placed 8^th at Tromso in 2017 and then followed the SWS circuit racing on iconic courses throughout the world. Recently he raced them Rut in the USA and came away with victory. Cody manages to mix speed and technical ability, it’s a perfect mix for the trails in Costa Rica

Andy Symonds (tbc)

Andy is one of the UK’s greatest mountain runners. He has traditions in fell running and has mixed Skyrunning and ultra-running throughout a long and successful career. He recently placed 5^th at UTMB after 3 attempts. He has raced Marathon des Sables and placed in the top-10 but Andy will always be considered a mountain specialist. He has won Lavaredo, placed 3^rd at Marathon Mont Blanc, 5^th at Transgrancanaria and has represented his country at many World Championships. The technical and demanding trails of Costa Rica with plenty of climbing and descending provide Andy a perfect playground.

Mauricio Mendez

Mauricio is a rising star from Mexico who is currently an Xterra World Champion. He joins TCC as somewhat as a dark horse but no doubt he will be the hope of the locals. He started running because of his Father and in his own words, is a dreamer!

The Race:

Stage 1 34.6km 1018m of vert and 886m of descent
Stage 2 39.1km 1898m of vert and 1984m of descent
Stage 3 47.4km 1781m of vert and 1736m of descent
Stage 4 37.1km 2466m of vert and 2424m of descent
Stage 5 49.8km 1767m of vert and 1770m of descent
Stage 6 22.5km 613m of vert and 613m of descent

Total 230.5km
Vertical 9543m
Descent 9413m

Stage 1

It’s a tough day! Runners depart San Jose early morning (around 0530) for a 3-hour drive to Playa Del Rey, Quepos. It’s the only day that the race starts late and ‘in the sun!’. It’s the toughest day of the race, not because of the terrain or distance, but because of the time of day! The runners are fresh and feel great. That is until about 10km and then they realize the heat and humidity is relentless. It’s a day for caution – mark my words! The 34.6km is very runnable with little vertical and technicality, it welcomes the runners to Costa Rica.

Stage 2

From here on in, it is early breakfast, around 0400 starts with the race starting with the arrival of the sun! The only way is up from the start with a tough and challenging climb to start the day. It’s a tough day with an abundance of climbing and descending and a final tough flat stretch on the beach, just as the heat takes hold.

Stage 3

It is basically 25km of climbing topping out at 800m followed by a drop to sea and a final kick in the tail before the arrival at camp. For many, this is a key day and maybe one of the most spectacular. Puma Vida.

Stage 4

It’s another tough start to the day with a relentless climb, but once at 900m the route is a roller coaster of relentless small climbs and descents, often littered with technical sections, rain forest, river crossings and boulders. At 30km, it’s a short drop to the line and the finish at 37.1km.

Stage 5

The long day but what a beauty! This route was tweaked a couple of years ago and now has become iconic with tough trails, plenty of climbing, sandy beaches and yes, even a boat trip. The finish at Drake Bay is iconic.

Stage 6

The victory lap! For many, this stage is the most beautiful and memorable. In just over 20km, the route manages to include a little of all that has gone before. It’s a stage of fun and challenges and one that concludes on the beach as a 2018 medal is placed over your head – job done!

The 2020 TCC starts in February as runners from all over the world will assemble in San Jose before transferring to the coast for stage 1 of the race starting on Saturday 8^th. Year-on-year, the TCC has grown to be one of ‘the’ most iconic multi-day races. Once again, the elite line-up sets the bar, but the race is all about inclusion. Join the 2020 TCC and come experience Pura Vida!