November 24, 2008 (San Jos̩, Costa Rica) РLa Ruta de los Conquistadores launches its 2009 event which now featuring five days of racing and lots of improvements to services and added value features. Online registration is already open. Only 300 spots will be offered by the organization. La Ruta team is also looking forward to achieve a Carbon Neutral certified for future events

Following the successful 2008’s edition of La Ruta de los Conquistadores took place just one week ago, the organization is already working on the design of the next year’s event.

In fact, the online registration for the 2009’s Conquistadores is already open at the official website, www.adventurerace.com. Potential racers and Media crews can check out some of the details of the innovations so as the two registration packages, “Adventure” and “Companions”.

The race format, its course, the services for the participants and the logistics will experience several changes for 09’s, so the main staff decided not to take any time-off and get back on duty immediately after the recent version of this epic challenge.

“Epic will be precisely the key word for the new La Ruta but also adventure, fellowship and satisfaction,” stated Race Director Diego Víquez. “We have been analyzing the options even before this year’s race and now we have officially launched the registration with the new features introduced to it”.

The staff has taken into account many recommendations of the racers in self as well of the local and International Media, friends and colleagues.

“The central modification will be the fives days format, adding one more day to the trek. This is not going to alter the “˜backbone’ of La Ruta, which will remain as a retrace of the Spanish explorers’ paths across the Costa Rican territory,” explained the PR Director Luis Rueda. “In fact the first three days will stay practically the same,” he added.

However, the sum of paved roads that the race used this year will be reduced though, as the organizers will look-up for alternative fire roads or another off-road passes along the way. For that purpose, the staff will count on the services of some experienced local and foreigner mountain bikers as well as the knowledge of the La Ruta’s team itself.

The change on the whole five days’ course will be saved for the end of the race. The current fourth day’s course will be detoured when the package of racers hit the flat routes to the Caribbean Sea. Instead heading East on the train tracks, it will be directed West towards the Mid-Atlantic Region.

The organization is putting its best efforts to locate this stage’s finish venue at the EARTH University’s facilities (Tropical Region and Agriculture School), “an international, private, non-profit university created under a Costa Rican law that gave the university legal status as an international institution”. (Check out www.earth.ac.cr for more)

The fifth and final stage would begin at the EARTH and finish at the same Caribbean location of the past four editions, the Reina’s Tourist Complex of Playa Bonita.

While fourth stage is planned to be between 70 and 80 kilometers, the fifth and final will be in the area of 60 kilometers.

Lodging and Environmental Initiatives
This change on the format will also cause some other alterations on the services offered to the participants; lodging and catering will be only two of them. The entry fee for the “Adventure Package” (the only one that has been enabled) will include four nights of accommodation for all the entrants.

Participants and “Companions” (only 15 spots available) will be lodged on luxury 5 star hotels for the first three nights, including for the “Day O” (registration day).

For the fourth night, the lodging will be offered at the traditional 3-4 stars hotels in Turrialba, most of them with the typical countryside flavor of this singular “sugar and coffee” mixture town.

But the adventure is barely beginning”¦ For the fifth and final night accommodation, the organization team along with the EARTH’s staff and students will set up a camping inside the university’s facilities, which will present the opportunity of sharing not only the natural environment that surrounds the campus but the many tales of each participant as well.

Besides, La Ruta staff is negotiating the possibility of planting a tree for every participant that will sleep in the tents. This camping lot will be provided with all the services such as showers, restrooms, tent’s set up and set down and cleaning.

“This will be just our first step into another improvement that we have decided to set for our future events. We will work hard to reduced La Ruta’s footprint and get a Carbon Neutral certified,” commented Luis Rueda. “This not means that La Ruta is not a nature-friendly event but we want to do it even better. Another decisions and actions will be announced soon”.

Catering, Mechanics and Protocol Activities
The lodging change leads us to another modification. Catering will be upgraded as well since all the participants will be given with the three basic meals for every racing day: breakfast, after-race meal and dinner, plus the famous well supplied La Ruta’s checkpoints, settled along each day’s course.

As for the special activities, the organization will also use each night’s dinner to present podium ceremonies, slide shows and race videos.

“We hope this protocol will join the group even more. They will have the chance to talk to fellow racers and tell stories to each other. It will be nice to share some time with others before bedtime and next day’s adventure,” said Diego Víquez.

Finally, the Race Director also announced that the mechanic service would be included with the entry fee. The Güilly’s Bike Shop staff will take care of every rider’s bike after each stage. Tune up, adjustments, cleaning and lubrication will be applied to each machine to have it ready for the next stage.

These are only a few ideas to be achieved for the 2009’s La Ruta de los Conquistadores, to be held on November 10-14. The planning and set up for this new version has just started but it sounds pretty good so far. So don’t miss the opportunity of being part of the most epic La Ruta of all times and register now. There are only 300 available spots from now on.

Check back on www.adventurerace.com for monthly updates on the course development and general information about the race.