Adventure Racing: Coastal Challenge Race Report - Day #3

Friday, February 09, 2007 - 06:42 PM

SHORT FAST DAY ALLOWS TIME FOR RECOVERY
Juan Carlos Holds Over-All Lead, But Javier Montero Tops the Day; Beverly Abbs Continues to Control Women’s Division

Yesterday was long and hard -- 60+ km for the Expedition Category and 40+ km day for the Adventure runners. Both groups were happy to finish fast today in the 18 km leg of the race, which started just after 7 a.m. local time out of Tierra Morenas.

Javier Montero, from Costa Rica, finished first today in 1:27:03, but Juan Carlos Zuniga, another Tico, held tight to his over-all three-day lead following only seconds behind. Trevor Garner, a surprise challenger this year from the United States took third place coming in less than 10 minutes behind the Costa Ricans.

In the women’s Expedition Category, Beverly Abbs, from the United States, maintained her overall leading position winning her third straight day in 1:37:34. Ligia Madrigal, Costa Rica, finished second, and Irene Hale, also from the U.S.A., took third.



The Adventure Category ran the same course today, the entire 18 km, and runners sprinkled in throughout the morning until just after 11. The early finish times allowed everyone to take the afternoon off -- some opting to visit a nearby waterfall while others preferred to take in some needed R&R.

“The way the course is set up this year -- hard day, slow day, etc. -- it’s a lot of fun,” said David James, an Expedition Category runner from the U.S.A. “People looking in from the outside wouldn’t understand how tough this is just based on the distances. But look at the fast times, how long it took the fastest runners yesterday, and they can start to get a better picture.”

The overall field is seeing the course start to take its toll from injuries and illness as well.
Ieva Eglite from Latvia has been sidelined since day one with an illness. Local fan favorite Roman Urbina irritated an old hip injury on day two that has hampered his progress. Mark Matyazic, the Southern Californian who placed 3rd in the men’s division last year, had an unfortunate foot injury on day one that took him out of the race. Although he sustained a somewhat serious injury, Mark sends a thumbs up to friends and family back home and is optimistic that he WILL be back next year. Tara McFadden from Ireland suffered from the heat during yesterday’s long run, but her brother Sean is here keeping her in good condition and spirits up.

Complete finish times and other details can be found on the Leaderboard at the Race’s Checkpoint Tracker (either direct or linked from www.thecoastalchallenge.com).