The Chirripó International Cross Country Race is a competition nearly 32 km long round-trip; leaving from the community soccer field in San Gerardo de Rivas (1350 meters above sea level) and continuing for 16 km with steep ascents along the mountainous trail until arriving at the lodge called Albergue el Páramo, also known as Base Crestones (3400 meters above sea level) within Chirripó National Park.
Among the objectives of the race is the opportunity to earn funds for community development and protection of the National Park.
The first race on the mountain took place on February 25th 1989 and was organized by Rafael Fonseca Vargas and Juan Carlos Crespo with the participation of 100 runners.
This first event was won by Faustinio Villarevia Ureña with a time of 3 hours, 42 minutes and 9 seconds, considered quite the achievement for this era.
In 2010, the winner for fourth consecutive year was Juan Luis Fallas Navarro with a time of 3:15:35; unable to beat his own record time of 3:09:34 established in 2009.
In the female category the winner of the 2010 event was Andrea Sanabria with a time of 4:31:07.
We invite you to this event and to participate in the different activities during this week long festival.
In the Kitchen:
Use appropriate size pots and pans for your heating elements.
Whenever possible use a lid to retain heat.
Whenever possible use a pressure cooker, a slow electric cooker and electric coffee makers; these devices help to diminsh energy consumption.
Do not put hot or warm dishes into your refrigerator; in addition your refrigerator should be at least 5 cm from walls and never place a refigerator near a heat source such as an oven or stove.
Always try to purchase energy efficient appliances which are environmentally friendly.