Hacienda Guachipelin Hosts North Face Endurance Challenge Costa Rica 2016
Get ready! The intense ultra-trail running endurance race, The North Face Endurance Challenge, returns to Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin in Costa Rica in May 2016.
For its 4th year, The North Face Endurance Challenge Costa Rica will be held on Saturday, May 28, 2016 on the slopes of Rincón de la Vieja Volcano in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Hundreds of runners from all over the world will challenge themselves and each other in four endurance trail-running races of 10 km, 21 km, 50 km and 80 km. All races are individual, with no team format.
Demanding trails cover beautiful yet difficult terrain around Rincón de la Vieja Volcano, spanning altitudes between 850 feet and 3,280 feet (260-1,000 meters). There will be aid stations along the routes.
Rincón de la Vieja is one of six active volcanoes in Costa Rica, and is the largest in the northwest province of Guanacaste. The towering ridge-shaped colossus holds several craters, and scrapes the sky at 6,286 feet (1,916m). Surrounding the volcano is Rincón de la Vieja National Park, filled with wild dry tropical forest, rivers, waterfalls and hot springs. The Rincón de la Vieja Volcano and National Park were declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999.
Organized by The North Face outdoor gear and clothing company in the USA, The North Face Endurance Challenge is North America’s premier ultra-trail running series of endurance races. Launched in 2007, the races test experienced runners in beautiful scenic locations, while promoting a philosophy of minimum impact. Due to its great popularity, the Latin America series formed; and Costa Rica – a big destination for endurance races – held its first North Face Endurance Challenge in 2013.
Runners will start and finish at eco-hotel Hacienda Guachipelin – a major center for adventure tours in Guanacaste, Costa Rica: zip lining, mountain biking, waterfall rappelling, river tubing, horseback riding, nature trails, and natural volcanic hot springs. The award-winning hotel next to the Rincón de la Vieja National Park is located 15.5 miles (25 km) northeast of Guanacaste’s main city of Liberia, with easy access from the Liberia International Airport.
More Adventure Races in Costa Rica at Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin
The newest Costa Rica adventure race – 160K Rincon de la Vieja Mountain Bike Race – happens Aug. 20, 2016 at Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin. Racers will compete in three distances: 160 km (100 miles), 100 km (62 miles), and 50 km (31 miles) by the Rincon de la Vieja Volcano.
The fourth annual Rincon de la Vieja Challenge extreme mountain bike race also happens at Rincon de la Vieja Volcano and Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin, on Sept. 3, 2016. Elite mountain bikers will circumnavigate the active volcano in a 100-mile (160 km) race. The Rincon de la Vieja Challenge is the first international chapter of the National Ultra Endurance Series (NUE) of the USA.
Article by Shannon Farley