Off-road adventures – Coast to Coast in Costa Rica

One of the big changes in the triathlon media landscape over the past four or five years has been the volume, quality and range of video content available around the sport and its athletes.

Improvements in technology, changes in social media and the relative ease of capturing content – often from a regular smart phone – has meant that getting closer to the sport, and the people within it, is more accessible than ever.

The past 18 months, a global pandemic and lockdowns have likely accelerated that trend too, with Lionel Sanders jokingly referring to himself at one point as a YouTube content creator with a sideline in triathlon racing!

The likes of Super League Triathlon, the Professional Triathletes Organisation and more recently IRONMAN, have joined that trend arguably set elsewhere, and been producing some impressive content in many different forms, which we have certainly enjoyed following. There’s plenty of choice out there to suit most tastes.

Seeking adventure… in Costa Rica

Here’s another, long-form documentary style feature, that we would highly recommend.

Caroline and Mark Livesey have featured on the pages of TRI247 numerous times over the years.

While both have now found their natural home in the world of adventure and XTRI style races, Caroline also has Pro podium finishes at IRONMAN UK and IRONMAN Lanzarote on her C.V.

Mark has been racing at a high level for several decades now, has broken nine hours for the full distance in his 40’s and has twice won his category at The Championship in Samorin. He also hosts ‘The Brick Session’ podcast.

Now living in Mallorca, the global pandemic led the adventurous pair to seek out a different challenge off the beaten track, and the “where can we go?” question – and plenty of research – returned the answer of Costa Rica. And off they went…

The result was a two-day, off-road, gravel cycling challenge of around 250km, going coast-to-coast from the Caribbean side to the Pacific – with bucket loads of ascent in the process.

They captured the whole thing in COAST TO COAST, Costa Rica – and it’s a great watch. Grab a coffee, take a break and enjoy what Caroline described as “I seriously think this is the hardest I have ever worked on a bike…”