*Pura Vida – Spanish for pure life or great life
Prologue – The beginnings of an adventure
Chapter 1 – Day 1: The day of reckoning aka what the heck did I get into
Chapter 2 – Day 2: Get the eff outta here
Chapter 3 – Day 3: Need my flippers. You still have 30 more minutes
Chapter 4 – Day 4: It is only 1 km from here. Lord I hope I don’t break a bone
Chapter 5: Day 5: The final battle: Are you planning to paddle that canoe any faster?
Chapter 6: Day 6: The victory lap – we are going to get this done!
Epilogue – The sweet taste of victory
Prologue – The beginnings of an adventure
After my adventures in 2017 in the infamous grand-daddy of multistage races (Marathon des Sables) in the Moroccan Sahara Desert, I swore that I would never attempt another multi-stage race. In the spirit of “I will never do anything like this again”, I ditched that promise in 2018, when my MDS buddy Justin Brewer successfully arm twisted me into signing up for the 2019 Coastal Challenge Race, which is a 232 km race over 6 days (Expedition distance was 232 km, there was an Adventure option for 131 km). During the course of the race, we would climb a total of 5.5 miles (8738 m) in elevation and descend the same (8740 m). I don’t believe I have ever done a race with this level of difficulty, and along the way, learned how to manage a new level of pain. According to the The Coastal Challenge Route Book:
“The course is set along the Costa Rica’s tropical Pacific coast line but weaves at times through into the Talamancas, a coastal mountain range in the Southwest corner of the country. You’ll will finish near the border of Panama in a serene fishing village that until recently was only accessible by boat. The terrain is jungle and rainforest trails, mountain trail and single track across ridge lines, highlands and coastal ranges; beaches, rocky outcroppings and reefs, river and estuary crossings, and ends in Corcovado National Park one of the premier rainforest experiences in the world as well as a Unesco World Heritage site”.
Great sales pitch, that avoided mentioning that you would be doing this in the blazing sun with 100% humidity 🙂
Fast forwarding towards the race week…..After months spent in running road races, and lack of trail running preparation due to incessant rains in the Dallas area (trails were closed), I was forced do all of my training on roads and treadmills. Two weeks prior to the race, I put in 71 mile/115km training week. I did not have an opportunity to get in any heat acclimation training (Texas winter) as the sauna was permanently shut down in the gym. I did not know if this would be a major handicap for me. I remember doing a ton of sauna training before Marathon des Sables. Regardless, attitude is everything. If you put your mind to getting something done, you will find a way to get it done. No excuses allowed!
I flew to Costa Rica (4 hr flight from Dallas) and got settled into the Best Western Irazu hotel. I met Justin and Bob Heess (who had roped in Justin to do this race, and who in turn returned the favor to me), for breakfast. We collected our race packets, and then I went to prep my bag for the race.
That evening we were treated to an incredible display of a troupe of a dancer and drummers, prior to the race briefing with race director (Rodrigo Carazo), who went over the Race details in both perfect English and in Spanish
Rodrigo went over the rules and regulations of the race. In Costa Rica, you will frequently hear the expression “Pura Vida” which means “great life”. The way the expression was being used, made me think that it stood for more than “Great Life”. It almost meant “Chillax man, enjoy life, it is short, just Chillax). Rodrigo made sure to communicate that the rules and regulations were going to strictly enforced (cutoffs, cheating, etc). In other words, there was nothing going be “Pura Vida” about the race regulations. After the race briefing, we went to bed. The next morning we had to leave the hotel by 3 AM, to ride on a bus for 4 hours to the race start. We were going to start running at 9 AM starting from an African Palm plantation.
Chapter 1 – Day 1 (34.3km, 893m ascent, 774m descent) : The day of reckoning aka what the heck did I get into
On Sunday morning, I was up at 3 AM. We packed our bags into the bus, minus the items we needed for Day 1. Justin, Bob, and I took a quick picture before getting on the bus
After riding for 4 hours on the bus and thankfully a couple of stops for bathroom breaks (Costa Rica is a well planned country with regards to rest stops), we finally got to our destination. We had to walk around 1.5 to 2km to the race start (beach).
At 9:00AM-ish, the horn went off, and we all took off running from the beach through the African Palm plantation. It was relatively flat, incredibly warm, and I ran a 5 min run/2 min walk routine.
I had a great time, even though it was hot and humid. All was fine. I even soaked for a couple of minutes in a stream to cool down. I chewed on a few “Nak’d” fruit bars to sustain my energy. I started to bubble with overconfidence on my performance, when I hit the first hill/jungle. I whipped out my hiking poles and started to ascend the hill.
It was quite an ascent. The combination of the heat, humidity and climbing through the jungle suddenly sent my heart rate sky rocketing. I was shocked by how difficult it was. It was like running a 5K at max heart rate pace. I stopped a few times to take a couple of breaths before proceeding. Now I understood what Rodrigo meant when he said that the first day will be a shock to most runners. Calf and quad cramps set in, and I was forced to slow down. At that point I decided to listen to my body and get into a hiking routine, as there was more climbing and I was not even halfway through the course. It became a day of reckoning and I started to wonder what I had gotten myself into.
Eventually the first hill was conquered and I started to move again. When we got to the aid stations, I made sure to eat plenty of watermelon and load up of water (I ended drink 3 liters of water on the first day).
Along the way I mingled with several runners including overtaking and being overtaken by a couple of ladies (an Israeli and an American). I was so tempted to say “Shalom” each time I passed them, but I was intently focused on the course. I also stuck with another group of runners – a lady from North Carolina, and a couple of Costa Rica.
After ascending and descending multiple hills, we had one last mountain to ascend. After getting to top of the mountain, we saw a pair of photographers, who took of pictures and pointed to us to finish line at the bottom of the valley. We had to get to the bottom and then cross a rolling river and get to the camp (The Rafiki Lodge).
I fell down several times when crossing the river and finally made it. Day 1 was complete! After a shower, dinner, and a massage, we listened to the Race Briefing for Day 2. It was time for bed, as we were going to get up at 3:00 AM for day 2 – race start was at 5:30 AM!
Chapter 2 – Day 2 (41.1km, 1740m ascent, 1860m descent) : Get the eff outta here
At 3 AM, we were woken by a race official yelling like a Boot Camp drill sergeant. I did not absorb all the words except something about pain being temporary and how we would not be here if we did not love it, maybe something to that effect.
After breakfast and coffee, we started Day 2 at 5:30 AM with a huge climb through a jungle. I started out with a group of friends and eventually we all got separated as we climbed the first peak. Taking the lessons learned from the first day from muscle cramping, I decided to take it easy and plan on ensuring I got through the next 5 days.
After climbing the 2nd peak, I made a new friend from Spain, Andrieu. We decided to encourage each other till we got to finish. After the last aid station, we had 8km to complete on a beach. We wisely decided to trek the beach as it was incredibly warm.
We finally got the finish line, a resort on the beach, where in addition to the runners, there a bunch of tourists who looked at us, like we had descended from the moon.
I talked with a Canadian tourist and his wife. He looked like Larry the Cable guy, while his wife was pretty and petite. He asked me what was the event about. I mentioned that this was a multi-day race of 232 km and today we covered 41 km through jungles and mountains. He and his wife were aghast, and he said to me “Get the eff outta here! Did you just do what you said you did? Get the eff outta here.” I could not help but smile. He and wife were very friendly. They both went on to mention how they walked 4 km that morning to a waterfall, and how they ended up calling for a Land Rover to pick them up, since they were exhausted. They wished me the best.
After a shower, lunch, massage, and dinner, we had the race briefing for Day 3. The race director mentioned that the next day would be the toughest, as we would be going through 6 km of a river. Yikes. I climbed into bed and slept soundly.
Chapter 3 – Day 3 (47.3km, 1735m ascent, 1728m descent) :
Need my flippers. You still have 30 more minutes
Our drill sergeant woke us promptly at 3:00AM. We were all laughing this time, listening to the lectures on pain and success. He was really a great guy. Today, the goal was to make sure that we beat the 3:30PM cutoff at the 3rd aid station, or else we would be not considered finishers in the race. After breakfast, we started at 5:30AM walking 3 km on a road. It was very pretty as we walked alongside a river.
We then approached the river and started to walk through it. I did not pay much attention walking through the knee deep river with slippery boulders, until all of a sudden, in front me a couple of people waded into neck deep water and started swimming. I followed them too, and was aghast. Try swimming with a back pack, hiking poles and running shoes. For the first time I started to get worried. I made a mental note to check back in the race brochure, on where it mentioned to have a PADI certification (scuba diving) in order to get through the course. I wished I had flippers…….After doing this for about 500m, I noticed that we had a sweeper (race official that sticks with the last runner on the course), who knew exactly where to cross in the river without any swimming. I stuck 5km with the sweeper, jumping from one rock to another. After almost 2.5hrs. we made it to land and the first aid station. I think this was the longest 2.5 hrs of my life.
After re-fueling, I started climbing and headed to towards the famous Nauyaca water falls. On the we went past an animal park where I saw howling monkeys, a toucan and a couple of parakeets. I kept moving on as I was painfully aware of the cutoff at the 3rd aid station.
After a 2 minute pause at Nauyaca falls, I started climbing again. I made a new friend from England (Tim, an accountant), and we trekked and hiked all the way to aid station 2. Along the way we were separated, and I got lost, and added 500m. Luckily I traced my way back to the course, and continued through the jungles. During part of the journey I ran into an American lady walking her horse and dog on the trail. I knew she was from the USA, and asked her where she was from. She mentioned that she moved from New York 15 years ago and it was the best decision of her life. After saying goodbye, I continued pushing on, and caught up with Tim.
After climbing and descending steep ravines, we finally arrived at the 2nd aid station (15km from the 1st aid station). I was thirsty and tired. I sat down and munched on a sandwich, ate a bunch of watermelon and a few biscuits, and asked how much time was left to get to the 3rd aid station. I was told that it was 10km away and that 2.5hrs was left.
After hearing that, I stopped thinking about being tired, and quickly pushed off. 2.5hrs on that terrain was not much time. I started running down every downhill at a tremendous pace, hitting a couple of half mile stretches running a 6:30 min/mile (A speed I don’t think I have achieved ever in my running career). I fast hiked every hill. This was no time to fool around, I had to make that cutoff. After what seemed like an eternity, I finally came out of the jungles and roads and came to the 3rd aid station. I asked how much time I had left. I was told that I beat the cutoff by 30 minutes. Imagine my relief!!!!! I loaded up on more water, and then decided to walk the remainder of the course, which included an 8km walk on the Whale’s Tail beach, followed by a climb and then another 5km on a main road.
The Whale’s Tail beach is literally a beach that has a section in the shape of a whale’s tail. Whales come to mate here (did not see any whales). It is a tourist section. The instructions were to walk on the beach until you came to a dead end, which is exactly what I did. I soaked in another creek, before starting to climb into another jungle, which then turned into a main highway. The third and final station was right there. I re-fueled up and then fast hiked the last 5km to the finish line, which was in a National Park. It was dark by the time I arrived, but I was so relieved to finish successfully. After another shower in questionable open air shower, dinner and massage, we listened to the Race briefing for the next day, and got into bed.
Chapter 4 – Day 4 (37.6km, 2083m ascent, 2072m descent: It is only 1 km from here, Lord I hope I don’t break a bone)
Day 4 started with a mighty climb going up to 700m/3200 ft elevation. It was another one of those climbs where I would walk for 10 mins and then take a 1 min break, all the while going through an uneven and steep jungle path. Once I got to the top, I chowed down on another PB&J sandwich, before continuing to move on. Today was a day of struggle with the combination of heat, humidity, and undulating climbs and descents. I was by myself for most of the day till the end. It came to the point where I decided to give myself a timeout and think about what I was doing out here. I was not here to prove anything to anyone, I was here to have fun. So I stopped and looked at the scenery and to take a few pictures and “smell the roses”
I continued to climb more hills until I came to one of the race volunteers, and asked him how far it was to the next aid station. He mentioned that it was 4 km away. After going around 4 km, there was still no aid station. By now I was incredibly thirsty. I was getting desperate. Right around this time, I started going down some of the most incredible descents I have ever ventured on. My quads were aching hard. I also could not use the poles to go down. So I sat down on my butt, and pushed myself down the slopes till I could get to a walkable/runnable section. There were plenty of opportunities to break my bones, and I thank the Lord that I did not break any.
The same volunteer who told me about the 4 km distance to the aid station came up suddenly behind me. He was able to breeze through the declines like it was nothing. I asked him how far it was to the aid station. He mentioned 1 km. I had half a mind to ask if it was 1 km on the trails, or 1 km by a drone above the forests. Thankfully almost 2 km later I arrived at the aid station.
After drinking water with electrolytes, I had 3 km left to the finish line (a school). I ran the remainder of the way through neighborhoods and past stray dogs, who barked and just looked at a crazy runner going past. I finally arrived at the finish line, where I boarded a bus with other runners to our next camp.
Chapter 5: Day 5: (48.9km, 1732m ascent, 1751m descent) The final battle: Are you planning to paddle that canoe any faster?
The goal of today’s stage was to make it to Drake Bay and the Corcovado National Park, which is close to the border of Panama. Corcovado National Park is an island rich in biodiversity (has 3% of the world’s biodiversity in terms of plants and animals). As part of the race briefing, I understood that we would take a bus ride and then a ferry to the race start. Right before Corcovado island, we would take another ferry to get on Corcovado, before another trekking another 10 km to the finish line.
We got to the start line and awaited till 6:30 AM before getting on the ferry. After getting to the start line, we then took off. This course was more runnable.
Today I made a new friend – Laura Moreira. We spent most of the day of the course together, after halfway. Prior to that I was alone, climbing and descending again through the jungles. It was simply exhausting. I paused for 10 minutes, to sit on a log and munch on another PB&J. While eating, I heard a loud buzz next to my ear. I looked around and saw a hummingbird flapping its wings. It was so neat, however I could not take a picture in time :-(.
Right at that time, Laura came up behind me, and we stuck with each other till the end of the stage. After 2km, Laura said, “Hari, I did not mention it to you when you were sitting down, but there was a snake close to you”. Needless to say, that I was the last time I sat down on the course.
After crossing a river (where I lost my sunglasses), we came to another aid station and re-fueled. Below is a pic of me chomping on watermelon aka gift of the gods!
We trekked through beautiful trails and forecasts, with going up more steep inclines and declines – this course was getting tiring, and took a moment to take more runfies/trekfies (running/trekking selfies). As my inner child says, when things are hard, slap that smile on your face, and your stress levels drop. I made sure to remember why I was here. This was a vacation in a beautiful country.
We finally came to a beach where after a 1 km we came to the river crossing, and looked for the ferry to take us across. The “ferry” was a small canoe on the other side of the river, with an older gentleman paddling the canoe. It was about 400 – 600 m afar, and I started to wonder when the canoe would get to our side. I joked with Laura about whether this canoe trip was part of the distance.
Finally the canoe made it over and Laura got in. The gentleman then asked me to help launch the canoe into the water…..say what???? After all the distance, you want me to push that canoe????? Oh well, I will do what it takes. So I pushed the canoe and somehow jumped in. He slowwwwly paddled the canoe. I had half a mind to ask if he could give me the oars, so that I could paddle faster.
Once we got to the other side and the last aid station, Laura and I trekked 4 km through inclines and declines before starting the last 6 km death march to the finish line. It was hot, but the sun was starting to set, so we took a few pictures. The sunset was amazing. I don’t think I have ever seen anything this beautiful. After what seemed an eternity, we finally came to the finish line, with most of the camp cheering for us (actually for Laura)! We were so glad to be done!
That night, after dinner, I got a massage. My quads were destroyed after 5 days of climbing and descending steep inclines. The massage therapist recognized that I was in a lot of pain, so he gave me an ice-cube massage to soothe my muscles. It worked like a charm and I then climbed into bed to sleep. The best thing about tomorrow was that we would get to sleep in till 5 AM, and start the final stage at 7 AM
Chapter 6: Day 6: 22.8km, 555m ascent, 555m descent: The victory lap – we are going to get this done!
On the last day, I woke up energized. The ice cube massage from the previous evening minimized the inflammation in my muscles. We were start on the beach, and go through the island, traversing beautiful waterfalls, roads, hills and finally finishing off on the beach at our camp.
Right around 7AM, the race started. It was nice and toasty, but I did not worry at all. I knew in my heart, that I would make it to the finish line. After going through the last stream and climbing some incredible waterfalls, I proceeded to start trekking down the beaten path. I interacted with several people as I marched through, and spent around 30 minutes with a English couple. The wife had done the Marathon des Sables previously, and together as a couple they had done multiple stage races. They were awesome, and I enjoyed my conversation with them (the husband even bought me a beer at the finish line). I will be sure to look out for them in future races.
Around the 13 km, I came to the only aid station for that day. The race organizers were breaking open coconuts for all the runners. It was incredibly refreshing to drink coconut water. I caught up with Laura at this point, and we trekked a few km together, at which point I started running the last 2 km to the finish line.
As I got closer to the finish line, I was running in the middle of resorts, and finally got back on the beach. I saw the finish line in a distance, and ran towards it with whatever energy I had, and finally reached the end. I was ecstatic! The race director Rodrigo, congratulated me and put a medal around my neck.
I went up to the tent, collected a fresh change of clothes and then showered. I ate lunch, and then drank a beer, courtesy of the English runner (what a gentleman). I chatted with another friend Ken for a while and also took a walk with him on the beach.
That night after dinner and chatting with new friends – Cid (from Israel), Hailey (from Idaho) and others, we attended the prize ceremony where all the winners and other incredible athletes were honored.
After the ceremony, I went to bed.
Epilogue – The sweet taste of victory
The next morning, it was time to get back to San Jose. I was excited that my wife and son were at the hotel waiting for me. All of the race participants got on to speed boats for a 1.5 hr ride to buses. We then rode for almost 5 hours before reaching San Jose.
That evening, my family, Justin, Bob and I went out to eat at a great restaurant Furca in downtown San Jose. It was an incredible meal.
The next morning, after breakfast, we said goodbye to Bob and Justin, and then headed out to downtown San Jose for a beer and food truck festival. We had a great time. In the evening we went to another awesome restaurant called Tin Jo (Asian). It was a fantastic meal. If you are ever in San Jose, I recommend visiting Tin Jo. The fried bananas and ice-cream, followed by masala chai was out of this world.
Top left, me and the drill sergeant who woke us up each morning. The rest of the pics are of the journey to the buses.
In summary, I had one of the best experiences in my life. The race was so intense (even tougher than the Marathon des Sables), that I did not even think about work for a second. All of my energy was focused on getting through this race. Before one attempts race like this, I would recommend practicing trail running (unlike winging it like I did), doing weight training and practicing hiking with poles. Unless you are incredibly fit and can run up very steep inclines, you will spend a good portion of this race hiking.
Special thanks to
- My family for letting me go on this vacation. Having a supportive family is key to doing these activities.
- Coach Lindsey Parry (Comrades Marathon official coach)- he writes great plans to work around a busy life. Thank you for the 71 mile week before the race. It got me mentally prepared.
- Justin, Bob, and Laura for the incredible times on the course
- A special thank you to the Coastal Challenge organization from the Race Director, Logistics Director, Medical Staff, Nutrition specialists, cooking crew, race crew and the aid station monitors. You put on a memorable event. It was the most exciting adventure I embarked on. I hope to do it again.
- To the audience who read through this long blog. Hope you enjoyed it and are inspired to give the Coastal Challenge a try. I highly recommend it!