Laurie Orchard and Neil de ste Croix competed in the 2015 Xterra Cost Rica race with Orchard taking honors in the Female 40-45 Age Group Division and De ste Croix winning the Male 50-54 Age Group Division.
The Swim was in the ocean off of the Reservada Conchal nature reserve seeing athletes swim two laps of a 750m course which saw the athletes exit and reenter the water after the first lap.
The Bike course was a 28.6 km loop of the nature reserve including sections of soft beach sand, mandatory dismount areas to descend a series of steps and long climbs. Due to the recent unusually dry conditions the terrain on the bike and run courses were extremely loose presenting the competitors with more challenging than usual conditions.
By the time the competitors began the run course the temperature was over 90f with only 30% humidity and the limited shade in the nature reserve provided a welcome relief from the intense conditions.
De ste Croix said, “Many athletes who had competed in previous versions of the event described the conditions as the most ‘brutal’ they had experienced but were thankful to the organizers for the huge amount of water and ice provided on the course.”
De ste Croix crossed the line in a time of 3:16.00, with Orchard finishing in 4 hours.
The wins mean that both athletes have qualified for the 2015 Xterra World Championships in Maui, Hawaii, where Flora Duffy will be there defending her World Championship title from 2014.
