Announcement from friend of the American Trail Running Association Josué Stephens.
200+ mile ultramarathons have been growing in popularity, mostly in the United States, with some of them even adopting the tagline ‘200 is the new 100’. This November 7, ultra-endurance runners from around the world will line up in the Caribbean beach town of Parismina, Costa Rica, to start the all-new Costa Rica 200 – a rugged 200-mile ultramarathon race through Costa Rica – over the Talamanca Mountain range, finishing in the Pacific surf town of Quepos.
An incredible way for ultra athletes to see the country Costa Rica, from coast to coast, the mountainous 205 mile (330km) course follows most of the 174 mile (280km) established El Camino de Costa Rica route with some challenging route additions, bringing the total elevation gain to 52,600 feet (1600m).
The core of the course, El Camino de Costa Rica, is managed by the nonprofit organization Mar a Mar as a walking route developed using the Camino de Compostela pilgrimage route in Spain as its model. The main objective is to bring sustainable tourism to the rural and indigenous villages of the country. Costa Rica 200 will collaborate closely with Mar a Mar and the villages along the route in trail maintenance, permanent signage along the route, hiring local resources for production and supporting a different community school project each year.
Entry is limited to 150 participants, and athletes from over 15 countries are expected to attend the Costa Rica 200 in its first year. $7500 total in cash prizes will be awarded to the Top 3 Female and Male finishers of the Costa Rica 200. Livestreaming and racer tracking via satellite will be available throughout the race.
Race registration is limited and open now at www.costa200.com. Registration includes a seamless travel package to make athlete travel and participation simpler.
About Costa Rica 200
The Costa Rica 200 is a collaboration between two experienced event producers, Josué Stephens/Offbeat Adventure Co., and Gerhard Linner/Sentir Costa Rica. Offbeat/Josué has experience in event production & development for events from 100 to 10,000 people in over 25 countries. Gerhard/Sentir is an adventure tourism company with extensive experience producing and developing events in Latin America. For more information visit our website, or follow us on Instagram and Facebook.
