---
title: "The Coastal Challenge: the madness is about to begin"
published: 2016-02-10
updated: 2026-08-04
source: "https://dev-abp.massivoai.com/en/articles/the-coastal-challenge-la-locura-esta-por-comenzar"
---

# The Coastal Challenge: the madness is about to begin

**This Sunday Costa Rica will host one of the most difficult races in the world: The Coastal Challenge. It will be 227 kilometers through the deep jungles of the southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica, desolate beaches, mountains and rivers. The Coastal Challenge is a crazy adventure that every trail runner must experience, because they will never forget it.**

This year 100 athletes will have the privilege of running the event. The question is, how many will finish? The difficulty of the course forces many to withdraw before completing the six stages. "It's the \[hardest\] race I've ever done in my life," said New Zealander and favorite to win Anna Frost last year after abandoning the race due to a muscle tear.

"Every year more athletes worldwide are drawn to this race, starting with the natural landscapes they traverse and at the same time it challenges them athletically to a level they never would have imagined," said Rodrigo Carazo, Race Director.

This year's six stages will be as follows:

**Stage 1**: 32 kilometers. From Playa del Rey to Rafiki River Camp.

**Stage 2**: 38 kilometers. From Rafiki to Playa Dominical.

**Stage 3**: 45 kilometers. From Dominical to Bahía Ballena.

**Stage 4**: 35 kilometers. From Coronado to Palmar Sur.

**Stage 5**: 53 kilometers. From Sierpe to Bahía Drake.

**Stage 6**: 24 kilometers. Bahía Drake - San Josecito - Bahía Drake.

In total they add up to 227 kilometers over six days. An average of 37 kilometers per stage with a cumulative elevation gain of over 10,000 meters. And who are the ones running such a crazy adventure? Athletes like Iain Don-Wauchope, the defending champion of the Coastal and one of the most recognized ultramarathoners in the world. Also Spanish runner Chema Martínez, a great marathoner and now ultramarathoner who promises a great battle for first place with Wauchope.

For Costa Rica, Ashur Yousseffi will run, who finished second last year behind Wauchope and this year also promises to put up a fight. But not everyone is elite. Obviously, anyone entering the Coastal must be an athlete accustomed to running long distances, but it is not an event reserved for the elite. In fact, the Coastal offers a shorter version that totals 150 kilometers over six stages, averaging 25 kilometers per day.

This year athletes from Spain, United States, South Africa, United Kingdom, Canada, Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico, Singapore, Denmark and others will run. Athletes must bring their own tent or hammock to spend the nights between each stage. The organization provides them with food and assistance on the route, but nothing else. During most of the race, athletes are alone with their thoughts, the sound of their footsteps and all the animals watching their feat with curiosity.

A Buen Paso uses [Massivo](https://massivoai.com), the event-registration platform that powers this article.