Mud, heat, submarine CP, altitude, crocos and bike wreck

Mud, heat, submarine CP, altitude, crocos and
bike wreck
This is our ride at the 2013 Adventure Racing World Championship in Costa Rica
www.arcostarica.com
www.arworldseries.com
Team #16 - Untamed Canada / Clinique du Pied Équilibre
Alexandre Provost
Nathalie Long
Jean-Yves Dionne
Jonathan Dionne
What is adventure racing? Please see adventure racing definition on Wikipedia for more
details if required.
Breathe Mag race description http://www.breathemag.ca/flashblog/2013/12/01/this-ishow-the-race-will-go/
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
Here is our little story at the race that is arguably one of the toughest expedition races in
ages. We knew it would be extremely hard and equally beautiful as it was announced as
“815km of life time experience”. It surely was.
Landing in Costa Rica
After several months of preparations that included months of training, many multi-day
races and loads of emails, we were finally there, touching our goal when we boarded on
our respective flights. Luckily we all landed safely in Costa Rica with all our gear in perfect
working conditions. We arrived 5-6 days in advance to make sure to relax, shop for food
and manage whatever we would need to manage. It may seems a lot but time always flies
and we all needed to rest before heading out on to the adventure of our lives.
We stayed at the San José Radisson (race HQ) close to the city center. It felt a bit ghetto
as San José, at least the centro, is not made for bikers...! Even walking was sometimes
sketchy as there is not much room on the side of the streets but we managed to pick up
food and last minute gear without damage. The hotel itself was nice with spa/swimming
pool, friendly personnel and good food.
Race briefing, national flags parade and crazy fireworks
The full course was unveiled at the race briefing on November 30th after we got a good
hour of briefing on snakes... Bottom line, if we got bitten, we needed to call for help and
fast. We took a very good note of that.
Next on the activity list was the national flag parade and opening ceremony. Part of that
was the most insanely low and intense fireworks we had ever seen! I was praying we
would not get hit by any debris...
With all infos at hand it was finally time to pack our gear and bike boxes for good. It may
sound like an easy task but with many transitions areas (TA) and weight restriction
(35kg/box) it can be a real Tetris game to fit as much food and gear at in the right box for
the right TA. Nath was very efficient overseeing that we were putting our things at the right
place. Finally, we were ready and eager to get going.
GO TIME! December 2nd - 2:00pm
Day 1
Very warm Le Mans start in Union close to Panama border, near the town of Sabalito. It
felt great to be on the start line with all these teams from around the world. 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 stay calm and repaired quickly every time. With the help of other
teams (we had ran out of spare tubes) we managed to get going but we were a bit far
back.
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. A long CP6/TA1 where we took
the time to wash our bikes got us in the boat for the first time on Rio Coto Colorado and
on Golfo Dulce.
Day 2
CP7 was done at low tide in some really deep mud we tagged a bit with team Issy Aventure
in what would be the appetizer for the subsequent mangrove section. At least we had
current enough to paddle from CP7. Then started a long and slow 45km paddle fest where
targets would stay in front of us and closing very slowly. There was a shower by the shore
at CP10 and we made sure to wash ourselves quickly before paddling to the end of this
leg in Rincon for CP11/TA2.
We had a stressful episode there when Nath had to get a shot of antibiotics for a rash (her
upper body had turned red in many places) and had to lay down a few minutes. I also got
bitten in the eyelid, but everything was ok in the end and we left on the 27km trek with all
our paddling gear (except the boat itself) looking to sleep on the way to CP12/TA3.
Jonathan, our official translator (Jo speaks Spanish perfectly -a crucial skill for this race
as local knowledge would turn out to be of very high importance given the inaccuracy of
the information on the maps) found a bar on the way, which in retrospect was a bit noisy...
but at least 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).
Day 3
Sleep counter: 1h30m
We picked up our inflatable kayaks again at CP12/TA3 only to portage them for a solid
10km. We had a portage cart provided by NRS. There is not much to say besides that
carrying 57 lbs boats was just really tough, in any manners. JY and Jo pulled a lot efforts
at the front of affairs. After some time searching we finally located CP13, filled our water
containers as this would be our last source of fresh water for some time and went on the
first epic section of the race, and one of our favorite, the mangrove “Monster”.
We had to work very hard against the tide for CP14, basically going up stream for 2km.
We were with a bunch of teams and we detached ourselves when we picked up the right
channel. CP15 was a in a small channel and we had to search for some time. We met with
teams that had been looking for this CP15 for several hours. All we can say is that some
teams play dirty as a team was hiding CP15 in the water when we passed... but we saw
the whole thing. There were teams everywhere, and we resumed our way. We connected
with a bunch of team in the small channel that was supposed to be the passage from
CP16 to CP17. It was a dead end at low tide, we checked if the mangrove was “passable”
but that would not have been a good idea (we would still be there…). We elected to sleep
in our boats and we racked a solid 2h15. We then decided that waiting for high tide was
not the best strategy and I was very doubtful about that being the right place. Thanks to
Nath’s hawk eye we found the channel going north toward CP17 just on our way out. We
got CP18 but then we lost a bit of ground as navigation was tricky heading south but finally
got the right track and made our way toward CP19. It took us a good hour to figure out
what was going on at CP19… you can take a look by yourself here:
I think it is closing on CP20/TA4 that I remember thinking that we were now on the morning
of day 4... and that we had covered only ¼ of the race in terms of distance...
Day 4
Sleep counter: 3h45m
We picked up our bikes at CP20/TA4. We biked/pushed up the insanely steep hill while
being cooked by the sun to get to the Superman Osa, a 2km zip line with speed above
100km/h. Crazy stuff. The rest of that mountain bike section was simply beautiful. I said
to JY many times that this was how I had envisioned racing in Costa Rica - magnificent
views of valleys and mountains.
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 what was
left of night time. In a matter of minutes we were then back on track with daylight on our
side, which proves again that it is most of the time better to bank sleep than battle in vain
during the night. On the way to mid camp, we collected oranges straight from the trees
while riding near Angostura, so cool.
Day 5 - Mid camp
Sleep counter: 4h30m
We arrived at mid camp (CP27/T5-CP28/T6) in San Gerardo in the afternoon of the 5th
day for our 4h mandatory stop. This was a real oasis with shade, food and our gear. We
ate, showered and slept (2h) as one of the toughest section of the race was right ahead
of us, 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 as our sleep bank was still very low given all the race still ahead of us. We racked
2h45m but strangely this was not our best sleep as the humidity in the cabin made it for a
very cold one. We summited 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.
Day 6
Sleep counter: 9h15
The way down the high mountains was a native trail in an Indian reserve, Costa Rica
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 (!). 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 (1h30). JY even made a fire, a real camp site!
Day 7
Sleep counter: 10h45
In a matter of minutes with daylight, we were again back on track hitting the trails and
the rest of our journey on this trek went well. We tagged along on and off with team
GearJunkie/Yogaslacker. We completed our 92km quest with the sunset on the 7th day.
An epic trek that saw us traversing high mountain range, authentic jungle and native
villages. Engraved in our mind.
There was a mandatory 1h stop for medical check at CP36 in Paso Marcos. This was a
very wise initiative from race organisers to make sure everyone was fit to keep racing after
the mammoth trek. Again a small oasis with real food.
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 get to the first rafting section. Before being able
to leave we found that somehow Nath’s front wheel was not in her bike box and had been
left at the previous TA (mid camp). Wisely I must say, we had another front lefty wheel
and 26” tire, so we mounted it and we were able to keep going, although without a front
brake for this section. The length of the race and sleep deprivation started to hit us harder
in this leg. We stopped on a church front porch for a 25min power nap in Mata Guineo as
the clock was ticking on us. JY in particular fought it hard and we finally made it to Tres
Equis for CP39/T8 in the early hours of the morning after scrambling a bit to find CP38.
The last part of the ride was particularly beautiful with intense colored flowers and lush
green vegetation all over the place, amazing scenery.
Day 8
Sleep counter: 11h10m
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 have ever seen. It’s hard to explain but all this is a bit blurry in our
minds as we had a really hard time staying awake, even in R4 rapids. We tried taking turns
at sleeping at the bottom of the boat but the ride was too bumpy. “Zombie Rafting” made
it for some of the most intense laughing episodes we ever had. Poor Walter, our guide.
He worked a hard one!
Somehow… we made it to CP41/T9 without falling out of the boat. It is unclear for us how
long we actually slept, but I am adding 45min to the sleep counter. We reunited with our
beloved inflatable kayaks and 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 yellow crocos
eyes all over the place… We used the current to keep moving taking turns at steering the
attached boats while 3 of us where sleeping (I’m adding another 45min to the sleep
counter). We did not wanted to sleep on those shores…
We connected with the canal shifting northwest toward Estero Parismina. We were still
fighting sleep monsters and had to settle for a 45min nap. Again there were crocos eyes
around so we tried to choose our place wisely we were now against the current. When I
woke up I could not see JY/Jo boat… I was shouting at them but no answer… quickly we
started paddling downstream… and saw them slowly moving downstream 50m below! ouf!
Somehow they had lost their anchor. Lagunas Del Tortuguero was then just a long drag
up to CP42 where at least we got to a cold drink and a few nice pictures!
Video from CP42 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xOUsuHieWU
The canal leading to CP43/T10 was amazingly beautiful with jungle and wildlife all over
with howler monkeys filling our ears. 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 hear 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
Sleep counter: 14h10
The rest of the ride was a tough and strange one. Maps were hardly making any sense,
so we had to track every move to make sure we were going in the right direction. Obviously
it was getting harder to do entering the 9th day of non-stop racing… 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. Nath was having
issues with her bike as well, and then we got into the ‘CP48 area’. After a bit of time looking
around Jo and I managed to find the CP but it was now passed 6pm (official race cut-off).
We texted the race management using the provided Delorme device from Pinnacle
Tracking.
We received a positive answer as we were on the way to CP4950/T12. Finally, the puck was rolling for our team. We happily
reached the finish line, after 4 great but dark zip lines and
another “Zombie Rafting” ride (+45min to the sleep counter) at
1h30am on Thursday December 12th as the last full course
team. Hell Yeah -we did it!
There were many talks about the race being too tough and too long. That was the
Adventure Racing World Championship -it had to be the toughest race of the year, in
years. Adventure racing is the toughest sport there is, and no man made obstacles can
make it for what challenges Mother Nature has to offer. It was truly a great one. In our
mind the race organizers delivered everything they advertised, a grand race course that
was indeed the adventure of a life time. We enjoyed every second of it.
Stats
Official 21st out of 67 teams - Leaderboard
Race time: 229h13min
Sleep time: +/- 14h55min - See sleep split details
Our GPS trace: http://bit.ly/1hTSzVL
Pictures and maps
Our FB page including many pictures
Album from Andreas Strand ©
Album from Randy Ericksen ©
Other pictures
All maps
Thanks
To all local people that were so kind and helpful during the whole journey, helping us out
by lending their garden hose to fill up our water bottles and wash our bike when we could
not pedal anymore, and allowing us to nap in their garage in heavy rains.
To Pongo, Antonio, Johanna, Patricia, José and all volunteers and rest of the organization
for coming up with such an amazing journey. All the best for your next endeavour.
To our sponsors to making this possible:
Unatmed New England
Clinique du pied Équilibre
Énergie Cardio
To our gear partners to provide the best gear on the market:
Icebreaker
Nuun Hydration
Swiftwick socks
Thule
Rollerblade
Suunto
Osprey packs
Fruit2
Pro Krunch
Alex
@alexprovo
NRS
Julbo
Dynafit
Camp de Base
Salomon
Light in Motion
The North Face
Platypus