261 MILES IN 4 DAYS!
In early December, 2010, two elite endurance athletes will celebrate the wild beauty and biodiversity of Central America by being the first to run its entire width, from the Pacific ocean to the Atlantic ocean. The 261 mile course will include searing tropical heat, river crossings, knee-deep mud and over 13,000 meters* of elevation gain, the same amount of climbing required to summit Everest from Base Camp...four times. I'll be doing all my blogging--including live blogging from the jungle--on the Nut-rients website.
TO LEARN MORE, CLICK THE NUT-RIENTS LOGO
The run will begin in the Pacific coast town of Jaco, Costa Rica, and will end in the Atlantic port city of Limon, Costa Rica. This extreme route has been mountain biked as part of the famous La Ruta de los Conquistadores, aka “La Ruta,” named one of the ten most grueling professional endurance events by Time Magazine. No one, however, has ever dared run this course…until now.
*Approximately 45,000 feet
BUT WHY?
In addition to blazing the trail for what promises to be one of the most challenging and inspiring adventure running routes in the world, we will also raise funds for Nut-rients Foundation, an organization dedicated to fighting acute childhood malnutrition around the world. The two runners will use one of Nut-rients’ nutritional products as a key fuel for their run.
In addition, the adventure athletes will showcase the natural beauty of Costa Rica and highlight the importance of responsible, sustainable ecotourism. Both La Ruta de los Conquistadores and Impossible2Possible are sponsoring the adventure.
WHO
The runners
Will Laughlin will attempt to run the course essentially straight through, making stops only as absolutely necessary. He hopes to complete the course in four days, setting the time to beat for future through runners. An experienced ultra-marathoner, Will won the 100 mile Yukon Arctic Ultra during its coldest year (negative 65 degrees Fahrenheit) and holds the speed record for running the 200 mile Wild West Relay solo. When Will isn’t training or competing, he runs a branding and communications consultancy, writes for Tonic and other magazines, and runs a philanthropic nutritional food company, Nut-rients.
Roman Urbino Crespo will run this course in six stages as the inaugural runner of an annual stage race he plans to make available to other ultra runners next year. This course will vie for the title as the most grueling organized ultra marathon in the world! Roman is an extreme cyclist, open-water swimmer and ultra marathoner. An advocate for sustainable eco-tourism and green business practices, he is the founder and owner of La Ruta de los Conquistadores and will set the course for this magnificent run through natural Costa Rica.
WHEN
Speed Run: December 4 – 7
Inaugural Stage Run: December 4 - 9
