After a long season of racing that started for me in February with some winter triathlons followed with some paddling races in early April and the start of the adventure racing season, here we were racing the World Championships of Adventure Racing in Costa Rica.
We arrived 5-6 days in advance to make sure to relax, shop for food and manage whatever we would need to manage. I must admit it was a little too much in advance but oh well.
We stayed in San Jose at the Radisson hotel. The service, rooms and food were awesome but I didn't really like the city of San Jose which was pretty polluted and not super safe if alone.
I couldn't wait to go through registration and know a little more about the race.
Finally that moment came, along with a pretty scary opening ceremony with fireworks exploding over our heads pretty low and an even more scary snake talk.
After taking the team pictures it was time for us to finish the packing of our boxes and bikes.
See below the order and length of all disciplines:
We stayed in San Jose at the Radisson hotel. The service, rooms and food were awesome but I didn't really like the city of San Jose which was pretty polluted and not super safe if alone.
I couldn't wait to go through registration and know a little more about the race.
Finally that moment came, along with a pretty scary opening ceremony with fireworks exploding over our heads pretty low and an even more scary snake talk.
After taking the team pictures it was time for us to finish the packing of our boxes and bikes.
See below the order and length of all disciplines:
2013 ARWC - Costa Rica Adventure Race
Trekking: 150km - 19%
Mountain Biking: 392km - 49%
Kayaking/Rafting: 262km - 32%
Total distance: 804km
Total ascension: 10562m
Total descent: 11600m
As soon as we started the race I guess all those worries (or almost) went away.
The race started on the 2nd of December. It was a Le Mans start close to the Panama border, near the town of Sabalito. It was a very warm day.We ran for our bike boxes for about 1km to assemble our bikes to get going on the first section.
We also got the first set of maps (we would get the maps in 3 sets during the race so the course was being unveiled as we progress). We had a rough start with 4 flats in the first 4h of racing. We manage to repair as quickly as we could every time but we were starting to run out of tubes and even repair patches. The last flat cost us a bit of time as we had to ask a few teams for spares. We were not expecting to have to repair so often in the first bike leg :/
From CP3 near Miramar, the mud fest (a recurring topic in this race) started when we had to push, tow and carry our bikes uphill through some really muddy and narrow trails. We made it in good time to CP6/TA1 (near Pueblo Nueyo) after all. This bike leg certainly had set the tone for the rest of the race in terms of challenge. Finally we were at CP6/TA1 where we stayed a little too long. If there is one thing I think I can say I am pretty good at is transitioning. I have been pretty much all the time the first one ready, helping out the others to get ready or remembering to everybody what was ahead, the equipment to have etc..So after a long transition we got in the boats for the first time on Rio Coto Colorado and on Golfo Dulce.
We also got the first set of maps (we would get the maps in 3 sets during the race so the course was being unveiled as we progress). We had a rough start with 4 flats in the first 4h of racing. We manage to repair as quickly as we could every time but we were starting to run out of tubes and even repair patches. The last flat cost us a bit of time as we had to ask a few teams for spares. We were not expecting to have to repair so often in the first bike leg :/
From CP3 near Miramar, the mud fest (a recurring topic in this race) started when we had to push, tow and carry our bikes uphill through some really muddy and narrow trails. We made it in good time to CP6/TA1 (near Pueblo Nueyo) after all. This bike leg certainly had set the tone for the rest of the race in terms of challenge. Finally we were at CP6/TA1 where we stayed a little too long. If there is one thing I think I can say I am pretty good at is transitioning. I have been pretty much all the time the first one ready, helping out the others to get ready or remembering to everybody what was ahead, the equipment to have etc..So after a long transition we got in the boats for the first time on Rio Coto Colorado and on Golfo Dulce.
Day2
CP7 was located in a channel in the middle of the mangrove. By the time we reached it it was almost low tide. We were at this point tagging along with my friends from Issy Aventure. We had at this stage to get out of the boats and pull our boats through the mud etc. I was paddling with JY and I must say we were moving pretty well under the circumstances :).
The rest of the paddle was a long 45km with a brief stop on a beach where there was a shower.
We were happy to see the transition just after the sun set in Rincon for CP11/TA2.
Something that was pretty hard during this race in general was the length of night time (approximately 12h). Indeed I found it a lot harder to stay awake in those conditions and my intake of caffeine pills during this race was more important than usual.
Once a TA, as I was getting changed, I realized that my belly was swollen and red and that i had red spots in my lower back. I called a medic who told me right away that it was an allergy to the mangrove (I guess to the bacteria etc in the mud of the mangrove).I, indeed, was covered with that mud a few hours earlier. They decided I needed a shot but I ended up fainting in the middle of the injection (not impressed Nat....not as tough as I wish I as).A few minutes later, backpack on, we were leaving for a Hike with paddling gears to the next paddling sections.
We found a bar on the way, where we got to sleep 1.5h on a solid floor with a roof over our head (which ranks pretty high according to expedition racing standards).
Day3
After CP12/TA3 was a 10kmm hike/portage to CP13. JY and Jo did a great job at pulling the boats/cart provided by NRS.
After CP12/TA3 was a 10kmm hike/portage to CP13. JY and Jo did a great job at pulling the boats/cart provided by NRS.
At CP13 we finally jumped back in our boats for what was going to be an epic paddle through the mangrove. We had at some places to work hard against the currant but other than that we managed this section pretty well considering that some teams lost a lot of time there and other teams got unranked cause of this section. When looking for CP15 we met a lot of teams that had been looking for several hours. When we got close to the CP we noticed that the girl of one of the team was trying to hide something...this something was the CP. Not sure how to call that behavior without being rude but I will just stick to "not very sportsmanlike".
The passage from CP16 to CP17 was another tricky section. We got to the area where the passage was supposed to be and a few teams were already there sleeping. The tide was too low to go through apparently. We decided to sleep there for a while. When we woke up a few other teams were there. The tide had gained back up a little bit but the "passage" still seemed blocked.
After a little excursion on foot through the mangrove we decided to turn around as this didn't seems to go anywhere but as we started paddling back i noticed another small entrance which ended up being the passage :) Woot woot we were back on track. Despite our efforts to be discrete three other teams followed us. From there on all went well up to CP18.
We lost there the two other teams we were travelling with because of a small error of navigation. The small error will end up costing us an extra hour but we managed to get back on track after all. Finding CP19 wasn't very easy either as you can see (or not) from the picture below, the tide might have been a little too high for the CP to be obvious...
After that CP we made our way to transition to finally get out of the boats and back on our bikes.
Day4
We picked up our bikes at CP20/TA4. After a bit of shopping around for food and a few shops to try to find a piece to repair one of the bike, we started our climb to the Superman Osa, a 2km zip line with speed reaching 90km/h. It was stinking hot and some guy from a touristic truck climbing the massive hill throw me a bottle of water almost fresh...THANK YOU!!! I think i was very close to the heat stroke.
Once up there I hesitated a little but ended up going on the ride
After the ride we had to climb back up on foot and back on our bikes.
That night was not our best, with issues to locate CP25 and then CP26. We were all getting quite tired and finding the right path to CP26 from the ridge proved to be very tricky. After some time trying things that turned out to be unsuccessful, we opted to sleep for what was left of the night.
In the morning things took more sens and we were back on track again.
I saw on that ride the most disgusting thing I have ever seen, a dog being eaten (I'm not sure if he was actually dead when it all started) by vultures. Gross!!!
That night was not our best, with issues to locate CP25 and then CP26. We were all getting quite tired and finding the right path to CP26 from the ridge proved to be very tricky. After some time trying things that turned out to be unsuccessful, we opted to sleep for what was left of the night.
In the morning things took more sens and we were back on track again.
I saw on that ride the most disgusting thing I have ever seen, a dog being eaten (I'm not sure if he was actually dead when it all started) by vultures. Gross!!!
Day5
Shortly after we got to mid-camp in San Gerardo in the afternoon of the 5th day for our 4h mandatory stop.
As we got to our gear bin a note was attached on top of ours. A note from my wonderful boyfriend who was filming the elite team as part of a crew and who was there a day earlier. Simple words that made me cry so much. It's amazing how a "keep on going, you are very strong" and something like "i'm proud of you" can destabilize your emotion when you have been racing for 5 days and are sleep deprived.
After this little emotional moment I went back to what I had to do.
First things first we needed to plug all of our batteries if we wanted to get enough lights for the rest of the race.
After that, a little bit of food, a quick frozen shower and some medical assistance and we went to sleep.
We then left for the 92km high mountain trek. We were all in relatively good shape and high spirits even if we were lower than expected in the rankings (22nd coming in mid camp).
CP29 was located at the base of Cerro Chirripo in a large cabin (3400m). We made our way up there in good time even if we felt the altitude was slowing us down a bit.
We slept again a t the refuge since we have been told that the next one was a fair way away and the weather was very cold up there. A team would even had been rescued from hypothermia or something like that.
As we woke up I had this strange feeling that someone was missing from the room and as we were packing up to leave again I kept looking around to see if that person would come back quickly but when the guys started leaving I realized we were all there and that there was nobody else...Weird feeling...really.
We climbed Chirripo in pitch dark. Cerro Chirripo is the highest peak in Costa Rica at 3820m of altitude. We went on toward CP32 with a fantastic sunrise over the ridge. I had a blast on that section, up to the next refuge and the start of the muddiest section ever.
Day6
I had suffered a little bit from the altitude (to work on for Ecuador 2014) and I had a big cold developing (cold that stuck with me for the 3 weeks following the race eeerrrrrrr)
The way down the high mountains was a native trail in an Indian reserve, Costa Rican jungle at its best. The trail was literally a mud slide all the way down the mountain, crazy. We thought we would be able to move faster after the rocky ridge but we were going twice slower. Tough section for our team, we helped each other as we could and finally made it down.
I had suffered a little bit from the altitude (to work on for Ecuador 2014) and I had a big cold developing (cold that stuck with me for the 3 weeks following the race eeerrrrrrr)
The way down the high mountains was a native trail in an Indian reserve, Costa Rican jungle at its best. The trail was literally a mud slide all the way down the mountain, crazy. We thought we would be able to move faster after the rocky ridge but we were going twice slower. Tough section for our team, we helped each other as we could and finally made it down.
The next night was a hard one on our spirit. We had a rough time locating the path to CP34 and ended up bushwhacking in some very dense jungle which believe me I wasn't happy about. Not a great idea as it is very dangerous and utterly slow. We finally found our way and elected to sleep by the river in our mandatory shelter. JY even made a fire, a real camp site!
Day7
We hit the trails again when we woke up and ended up tagging along with the Yoga slackers for most of the end of the trek.
We followed one of the local who showed us where a CP was in exchange for some money (the guy did the route 4 times with different teams within the last 24h). That guy was moving seriously fast considering the rubber boots he was wearing...crazy!!
There was a mandatory 1h stop for medical check at CP36 in Paso Marcos with some really good food.
I was surprised my feet were still in very good condition.
Shortly after we got to CP37/T7 (Bajo Pacuare) to finally get off our feet and hop on the bikes for a relatively short leg (40km) to the first rafting section. Before being able to leave we found that somehow my front wheel was not in my bike box and had been left at the previous TA (mid camp).
We didn't know what to do first because we had another wheel but without breaks on and the guy from transition said that Antonio was bringing it but he didn't know how long it would take. We ended up leaving with the wheel without break which wasn't great considering my riding skills.
I disliked that bike section and the fact that we turned around and around for one CP, going up and down the mountain (with no front break).
In the early hours of the morning we got to transition where a lot of teams where about to leave for the rafting after being transported there.
We didn't know what to do first because we had another wheel but without breaks on and the guy from transition said that Antonio was bringing it but he didn't know how long it would take. We ended up leaving with the wheel without break which wasn't great considering my riding skills.
I disliked that bike section and the fact that we turned around and around for one CP, going up and down the mountain (with no front break).
In the early hours of the morning we got to transition where a lot of teams where about to leave for the rafting after being transported there.
Day8
We left CP39/TA8 in Tres Equis on foot for the rafting section. Costa Rica is internationally known for pristine rafting rivers. We were now on Rio Pacuare for some of the most beautiful rafting ride.
I don't recall much of this rafting section except that we were falling asleep pretty bad, even on a R4 rapid :/
We left CP39/TA8 in Tres Equis on foot for the rafting section. Costa Rica is internationally known for pristine rafting rivers. We were now on Rio Pacuare for some of the most beautiful rafting ride.
I don't recall much of this rafting section except that we were falling asleep pretty bad, even on a R4 rapid :/
Somehow… we made it to CP41/T9 without falling out of the boat.
We met again at this transition with some of the medic team who took care of me at the transition where i had my allergy shot (thanks Greg for your support). After eating some fresh fruits it was time for the longest paddling leg of the race, a 89km journey from Siquirres to near Tortuguero. Still on Rio Pacuare there were red crocos glowing eyes all over the place…
We decided to let the current lead us down the river a little bit while someone was sleeping, the second person was supposed to stay awake but we did end up at one stage both sleeping in the same time in our boat which was very unsafe in my humble opinion :/
We connected with the canal shifting northwest toward Estero Parismina.
We met again at this transition with some of the medic team who took care of me at the transition where i had my allergy shot (thanks Greg for your support). After eating some fresh fruits it was time for the longest paddling leg of the race, a 89km journey from Siquirres to near Tortuguero. Still on Rio Pacuare there were red crocos glowing eyes all over the place…
We decided to let the current lead us down the river a little bit while someone was sleeping, the second person was supposed to stay awake but we did end up at one stage both sleeping in the same time in our boat which was very unsafe in my humble opinion :/
We connected with the canal shifting northwest toward Estero Parismina.
Finally we got to CP43/T10.
We left on foot for a short trek mostly on dirt roads leading us to CP45/T11 to get our bikes. While at the CP we heard that the 6pm cut-off for the next day had been extended... Again fighting sleep monsters, we settle down for 45min nap in a very nice garage on the bike ride as rain was breaking the sky.
Day 9
The rest of the ride was very challenging and frustrating as our navigation was harder and harder due to the maps but also from the fatigue.
JY bike was now in a dangerously degraded state and we had to make it into a single speed but it was barely holding together. Further down the road, my rear tire exploded… Thanks to Czech team Salomon-Suunto/Nutrend/S21 for lending us a tire (yeah, a tire). After a very rocky ride, we crossed Rio Sarapiqui for CP47 in Trinidad near the Nicaragua border. The way back south to the infamous CP48 was as rocky as the way up in many ways. I was having issues with my bike as well. I think the mud had totally screwed my derailleur and I was then barely able to ride with one speed only and couldn't put any strength on it or it was derailing :( The CP48 was a hard one for us.
We got to the area at the time that we should have gone to the finish line to be there "on time". After way too much debating I convinced the guys to text the organisation with our device from Pinnacle Tracking. Indeed we had heard that the cut-off was expended but we didn't hear anything from an official..
You can't imagine how happy I was to get a positive answer from Grant,Killian (race director of Untamed New England, who was also managing the tracking devices). We struggled through the rest of the race, zip-lining and then rafting for what seemed to be hours but we made it! We finished the full course at 1h30am on Thursday December 12th as the last full course team!!!!
We finished the race in 21st position.
It was the hardest and longest race I have ever done and according to the World Champion themself it was "too long and too hard" which makes me feel even stronger and proud of this accomplishment.
Our GPS trace: http://bit.ly/1hTSzVL
I would like to thank the race organizers for such an adventure, as well as the volunteers who made a terrific job out there.
I also would like to thank our sponsors without who we wouldn't have been racing:
I also would like to thank our sponsors without who we wouldn't have been racing:
But also our gear partners to provide the best gear on the market:
And at last but not the least my partner for being so supportive everyday. Thanks James!!!
Nathalie.
Nathalie.
Team #16 - Untamed Canada / Clinique du Pied Équilibre
Alexandre Provost
Nathalie Long
Jean-Yves Dionne
Jonathan Dionne
