Pushing it to the limit in Costa Rica
Harrison Taking On 2009 Coastal Challenge
Posted By ELLWOOD SHREVE, THE DAILY NEWS
Posted 1 day ago
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For most people a trip to Costa Rica includes lounging on a beautiful beach and taking in the breathtaking scenery.
Chatham resident Renee Harrison will see a lot of scenery in the Central American country soon, but she won't have much relaxation.
Harrison, 50, is preparing to embark on one of the most intense physical challenges of her life by participating in the 2009 Coastal Challenge, which begins Feb. 1.
The course for the six-day run is set along Costa Rica's tropical Pacific coastline with jaunts into the Talamancas, a coastal mountain range, before finishing in Corcovado National Park near the Panama border.
The terrain includes jungle, rain forest and mountain trails, highlands and coastal ranges, beaches, rocky outcroppings and reefs, along with river and estuary crossings.
Harrison planned to compete in this unique race when she turned 50, shortly after taking up running seriously four years ago.
After reading about the race in a running magazine, she said, "I thought, 'That sounds really exciting . . . a challenge I might want to tackle some day.' " She got on the e-mail list for the event and as she saw it draw near each year, she said, "I kept psyching and building myself up for it."
However, even the best-laid plans can go by the wayside.
"This is the year and this is the worst year that I had as far as getting into condition, because I had a lot of obstacles," Harrison said.
She suffered a knee injury while participating in a fitness boot camp earlier this year. She also had kidney surgery.
After getting back into running, she opened a new business -- The Naked Berry restaurant, which got her out of her training regimen again.
Never one to back down from a challenge, Harrison not only decided to enter the event, she is leaning towards taking on the toughest course -- the expedition level, which covers more than 225 kilometres.
Having only begun to train seriously for the race in October, Harrison knows she should probably run the adventure course -- which is shorter and less intense -- because she probably hasn't given herself enough time to build up her mileage.
She also has arthritis in her hip.
"I don't know if my hip could take that many miles a day."
Harrison can start in the expedition course and drop down if she doesn't meet the minimum time requirements.
"I don't think I'll decide that until I get there," she said.
Harrison knows the flat terrain of Chatham-Kent and running in the colder weather are not ideal training conditions for the event.
"This race is really going to challenge me, because every element is going to be a challenge. The heat and running off-road, which I've never done before," she said.
Prior to running, Harrison's had a long-term passion for working out at the gym.
The former hairstylist said her desire to get into running was sparked by a conversation she had with a client, who mentioned she was preparing to walk in her second marathon.
"I, all of sudden, said, 'Geez, maybe I should do a marathon.' "
In January 2005, she started a beginners marathon training program, which she took a short cut on in order to run in her first marathon that May.
She admits starting off too quickly, noting she paid for it later that year when she suffered a stress fracture. She went on to run marathons in Detroit, San Diego, Calif., Disney World in Florida and the famous Boston Marathon.
Where most people might have given up on the grueling 26.2-mile race, Harrison said, "I love challenges and I like to challenge myself. That's what motivates me . . . to attempt these things."
When it comes to running marathons, Harrison said, "it's not the actual race that's the achievement, it's the journey of the training . . . That's where the hard work is."
After attaining a personal-best time of three hours and 57 minutes in a marathon, Harrison continues to strive to improve.
"There's a challenge every day when you set goals for yourself," she said. "That's what keeps me out there."
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