Rom Akerson and Lesley Paterson captured the XTERRA Costa Rica Championship crowns on a hot day at Playa Conchal on Sunday.
In the men’s race Akerson, the hometown favorite, had the fastest bike split of the day and held off a hard-charging Josiah Middaugh on the run to take the tape in 2:19:04.
Middaugh, who finished as the runner-up for the second straight year, was 53-seconds behind and Mauricio Mendez came in third just 12-seconds later.
“Rom was on fire today,” said Middaugh. “I pre-rode the course with him and could tell he was fit and ready for the course. I had some leg cramping issues early in the bike, but it hurt less to pedal than to coast and stretching on the side of the trail didn’t seem to help. I usually never cramp but it was good to experience once. We had some tight racing up front since I didn’t catch Mauricio until the end of the bike. Rom stayed strong on the run though and we couldn’t catch him.”
In the women’s race two-time XTERRA World Champ Lesley Paterson overcame a shoulder injury, slow swim, and ravaged feet on the run to win her first XTERRA major since 2013.
Her winning time of 2:44:43 was more than a minute faster than Emma Garrard, who took the lead about three miles into the bike and held it through the mid-point of the run when Paterson went flying by.
“I simply couldn’t match Lesley’s pace on the run,” said Garrard, adding that Costa Rica was beautiful and although it was hot, the race started early so a lot of the course was in the shade.
Sara McLarty, who had a stellar swim and finished third in her first-ever XTERRA, posted “my wheels only left the ground once today : ), but it was an amazing experience” on her twitter feed.
Laura Mira Dias from Brazil finished fourth and Christine Jeffrey from Canada came in fifth.
Pro Men
Pl Name Final
1 Rom Akerson, CRC 2:19:04
2 Josiah Middaugh, USA 2:19:57
3 Mauricio Mendez, MEX 2:20:09
4 Sebastian Neef, GER 2:25:50
5 Fabricio Guidelli, ITA 2:37:42
6 Nils Daimer, GER 2:38:19
7 Craig Evans, USA 2:41:02
8 John Garita 2:41:29
9 Julio Ballestero 2:44:55
10 Alex Modestou, USA 3:00:36
Pro Women
Pl Name Final
1 Lesley Paterson, GBR 2:44:43
2 Emma Garrard, USA 2:46:22
3 Sara McLarty, USA 3:10:32
4 Laura Mira Dias, BRA 3:11:12
5 Christine Jeffrey, CAN 3:13:41