After a long and hard first day, already the teams are setting the pace differently between them. Although during the rafting section, of the first stage, the teams were quite even, it was not until the biking task that timing became an import issue. Once they came out of the river, the teams were struck by the heat and navigation dilemmas started to arise.

At the canopy La Linda of Sarapiqui, a great thunder storm broke out and although nobody was injured, the electrical lightning affected some of the members of the teams, who could feel small electrical discharges from the cables above the trees.

For the next task, the teams took hold of their bikes to get ready for the third stage, and head towards the daring nocturnal task of the descent of the Ravine of Caños, in Río Cuarto. This task was a proof of team work, in which they had to deliver between what was safe and what was risky and faster competition wise. This was undergone during the night and in very harsh weather conditions. Only one third of the teams managed to accomplish this task before the end of the day. The rest of the teams arrived to the control post #12 early this Tuesday morning, thus completing 10 miles of trekking.

Every aspect is taken into account. The captain of the Swedish team, who leads the race, commented about how complicated and technical this task had been. The Argentinean team Tierra Viva, said that the team’s security was the main issue during the river and canyon crossing without ropes. The Finnish team Multisport Omjakon (team 2) were the only ones that decided not to cross the canyon and headed for their bikes at 9.45 p.m. This will result in a penalty that will amount to twice the longest timing in this stage, probably 10, which will make it very difficult for the team to classify in the first places.

GPS Tracking and Leaderboard at http://www.arcostarica.com.

Rafting the Sarapiqui River

The long awaited moment has arrived, Costa Rica Adventure 2010 has begun!

At 7.30 am the 18 teams, a great number of members of the press and all the staff from ARCR were ready at La Virgen of Sarapiqui. Last minute preparations and details were being taken care off, instants before the race was due to begin.

Children from the neighbouring High school Claudio Lara Campos, from La Virgen of Sarapiqui attended the event in order to join the members in the first trekking stretch of 1.5 miles along the main road of this community. A great entourage of vehicles escorted the team while the locals greeted them as they passed by.

Faithfully supporting their teams are the sponsors: Columbia, Red Bull, AeroDiva, Toyota and Toyota Car Rental.

The race was officially given the go, at the fire of the gun, in Sarapiqui’s bridge, at 8.a.m on the dot. High anxiety mingled with smiles, even though a very tough and rough time lays ahead of each and every team during their different tasks.

At the start of their 27.5 mile rafting along the Sarapiqui river, the team QuasarLontra from Brazil (team 18) were the first to embark, followed by Sweden (team 17) and France ( team 12) in the third place.

Four hours later, heading the race, the Finnish team (team 2, Multisport.fi) arrived at 12.5 p.m. local time, followed closely by the Swedish from Explore and the French Quechua.

A very exciting morning indeed!

GPS tracking and Leaderboard at http://www.arcostarica.com.

We just got the first batch of shots from Costa Rica (thank you Dropbox).

Modesto, CA – Checkpoint Zero, LLC announced today that Hi-Tec Sports has agreed to extend it’s support of Checkpoint Tracker Adventure Racing to include the inaugural Checkpoint Tracker Adventure Racing National Championship. The race is set for the weekend of October 29th at the Red Cliffs Lodge in Moab, UT, host venue for the 2006 Primal Quest Expedition Race.

After providing prizes at select Checkpoint Tracker events all season, Hi-Tec will now also play a pivotal role in helping make Checkpoint Tracker’s first ever National Championship the marquee adventure racing event of the year.

“It’s great to see a company that played such an instrumental role in the early development of competitive adventure racing in the United States return to the sport at time when we’re seeing such incredible growth”, commented Paul Angell, President of Checkpoint Zero, LCC. “We’re looking forward to doing great things in Moab that wouldn’t be possible without the support of committed partners like Hi-Tec.”

Hi-Tec will be doing more than hanging banners and handing out brochures at the race. The company has arranged a pre-production run of an entirely new, 2011 adventure-racing shoe for all staff and volunteers and to be awarded to as prizes to top finishers. The new shoe, the V-Lite Infinity HPi, has all the key ingredients to make it an instant hit among adventure racers. Some featuring include Hi-Tec’s custom Infinity running platform with exclusive Vibram outsole, one piece engineered upper and ion-mask hydrophobic technology. Hi-Tec developed the new shoe with a disciplined focus on off-road performance. The company will also be sending their own staff to the race to talk with competitors and answer questions…about their shoes and their reentry into the world of adventure racing.

“We’ve been gradually expanding our support of adventure racing over the past year,” said Brett Weitl, Director of Marketing for Hi-Tec Sports USA. “What Checkpoint Tracker has planned for their first ever adventure racing national championship in Moab is flat out amazing. There are a lot of very talented people working very hard to take this sport to the next level. Adventure racing is near to our heart, Hi-Tec couldn’t be launching this exciting new 2011 product at a better time, or at a better event.”

About Checkpoint Tracker

Checkpoint Tracker Adventure Racing is the largest national competitive adventure racing series in the United States. It is comprised of 45 Promoters offering 91 Events ranging from Sprint length races lasting just a few hours to Expeditions that run non-stop for several days.

About Hi-Tec

Established in 1978, Modesto, CA-based Hi-Tec Sports USA, Inc. pioneered the original lightweight-hiking boot. Today, Hi-Tec Sports USA continues to design and develop authentic outdoor footwear to meet the needs of the ever-evolving outdoor consumer, while Magnum USA, a division of Hi-Tec Sports USA, leads the uniform and work footwear market. Hi-Tec Sports USA launched distribution of Golf footwear in 2003. The privately owned parent company, Hi-Tec Sports, based in the United Kingdom, leads the market in golf, court and outdoor footwear categories. Hi-Tec Sports distributes in over 70 countries, selling over 10 million pairs of footwear annually.

WEDALI

WEDALI (We Eat Dust And Like It) won the Stubborn Mule in Wausau, WI on July 17th putting them in 1st place with 465 points.

That’s with only 4.75 out of 5.0 weighted results counted…which means in theory they could scoop up another 25 points by winning a Sprint race and end up with 490 points.

No word yet on whether or not we’ll be seeing them in Moab. Let’s hope so. These guys are tough, fast and experienced. No doubt if they do attend they have to be considered a top contender.