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Costa Rica

Costa Rica occupies a privileged spot in the heart of Central America. While its territory of 19,652 square miles touches both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, the country is surprisingly accessible – one can travel from coast to coast in just three hours by car (or 45 minutes by plane). The variety of landscapes and microclimates that can be enjoyed in one day make this country a paradise destination.

Costa Rica is a democratic and peaceful country, and it has not had an army since the year 1949. Although the country is small and it covers only 0.03 % of the surface of the globe, it proudly shelters a 5% of the existing biodiversity in the entire world. 25.58 % of the country is composed of conservation and natural protected territory.

Costa Rica’s territorial division includes 7 provinces, which are: San José, Alajuela, Cartago, Heredia, Guanacaste, Puntarenas, and Limón. Together they offer an attractive tourist destination, of almost limitless possibilities, that include extensive rainforests, volcanoes, rivers traveling through the mountains, beaches and natural resources safeguarded by an important organization of national parks and forest reserves.

LA FORTUNA

Situated at 253 meters above sea level, this community is made up of people with great spirit and business drive, who have converted a largely agricultural region into a booming commercial and tourism destination. The city features a lovely surrounding landscape, the most imposing features of which are the picture-perfect cones of Volcán Arenal and its eternal companion, Volcán Chato. Fortuna offers visitors a full range of tourism services and products, and is an important departure point for Caño Negro, the Venado caverns, Monteverde and other incredible destinations.

Course

GFNY CR race begins in the city of La Fortuna, traveling west on National Highway 142, passing through the Arenal Volcano National Reserve on the 16.8 kilometer ascent to the Arenal Lake Dam. From the dam, the participants will continue towards the town of "Nuevo Arenal" 45 kilometers from the start. In Nuevo Arenal the participants will find a short but steep climb of only 700 meters but with an average slope of 12%, here they will feel their legs!

From Nuevo Arenal to the city of Tilarán, the terrain continues undulating with steeper climbs and descents that will make the course more demanding than in the previous part. The next major climb will be at kilometer 63 where participants turn right and enter "El Atajo" which begins with a 1.2 kilometer long gravel section and then towards the Tejona wind power projects, which means that the participants will have to face windy conditions in this area for 6.3 kilometers.

Once the "El Atajo" is finished, the participants will turn left on highway 142, heading east towards Tilarán for 6.7 kilometers.

In Tilarán, 76 kilometers from the start, the participants will have completed the first half of the journey. From Tilarán, the participants will go to "Tilawa" where they will find a 4 kilometer descent and then continue on highway 142 towards La Fortuna.

The next test will arrive at kilometer 91 at "Río Piedras Wall", a 1.4 kilometer climb with an average slope of 7% and gradients with up to 15% in the steepest part. From there the course continues to undulate towards Nuevo Arenal, there will be 2 shorter but steep climbs, until reaching La Fortuna, undoing what has been done until La Fortuna and the finish line at kilometer 150.4.

LONG COURSE IS A COMPETITION: Only the finishers of the long course are eligible for category rankings and Overall and Podium awards. If you want to race and be ranked in your category, you must complete the long course. Top 10% of finishers in each age group earn a spot in the Qualifier Corral at every GFNY World event.

MEDIUM COURSE IS NOT A COMPETITION: The riders of the 50 miles medium course will be provided their start-to-finish time, but will not be ranked by finish time. All finish times will be listed in alphabetical order.

Perks included as part of GFNY Costa Rica

THE JERSEY: All riders receive the official GFNY Costa Rica race jersey, which is mandatory attire at the race. The jersey is designed in NYC and Made in Italy.

CHIP TIMING: GFNY Costa Rica is a timed race. Each athlete has their own timing chip, which starts right after you cross the start line and stops when you cross the finish line. Timing results will be available at gfny.cc/results.

FINISHER MEDAL: Every GFNY Costa Rica finisher receives a medal, no matter which distance they complete. All finishers also earn a “Finish” towards their 3x2023 GFNY medal or the 10x medal. Go to gfny.com/medals for more information on GFNY’s multi-finisher medals.

GFNY Gear

Train with GFNY to have your best race

What are your GFNY goals?
            Podium!
            Qualify (finish in the top 10% of my age group)
            Improve my time
            Finish the race


GFNY Coaching is here to help you prepare for your best race day. We offer these t
wo options:
 
a) Get a GFNY Coach for personalized training: maximize results with the time you have available.
b) Get one of our GFNY specific training plans on TrainingPeaks: structure, expert advice and a motivation boost with flexibility to match your life.

GFNY Coaching

The personalized training plan written by your GFNY Coach is tailored to your schedule, cycling experience, fitness and goals. GFNY Coaches are qualified coaches with years of success in working with athletes of all fitness levels. 

No matter your goals or your cycling experience, with GFNY Coaching you get personalized training plans, advice, and guidance to focus on your target race. Whether you have a couple of months to tune-up, or half a year to change yourself completely as a rider, you will be ready to earn that PR, get your highest placing ever, or finish your first GFNY race.

Let the GFNY experts at GFNY Coaching prepare you. GFNY coaches have raced GFNYs and understand the demands of every race and course on the calendar.

Training Plans on TrainingPeaks

Benefit from training structure and work out smarter by following a GFNY training plan. The easy-to-follow GFNY training plans are designed to give you flexibility and control over your training process and adjust based on how you feel, the weather and your physical condition.

The plans are written by GFNY Coaches, with options based on your cycling experience, and are tailored for the type of GFNY race course you’ll be racing - flat-to-rolling, or mountains.

GFNY Training Center

The GFNY Training Center section of coaching.gfny.com provides you content focused on training topics like nutrition, cadence, and power, as well as course guides to GFNY races around the World. This training and course strategy content is free to every GFNY athlete. 

News

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