On October 26, Esperanza of Nosara resident Barry Oliver hopes to be swimming, cycling and running his way to victory in the Xterra World Championships in Maui, Hawaii.
The grueling off-road triathlon attracts both professional and amateur athletes from around the world. The Xterra World Championship race consists of a 1.5 km ocean swim, 30 km mountain bike over lava rock trails and finishes with a difficult 10 km run up and over Maui’s rugged terrain.
To qualify, Oliver, 45, raced in the Costa Rica’s inaugural Xterra triathlon last March in Playa Conchal, in the men’s 45-50 amateur age category. He finished in the first place in a time of 3:11:51, a full half hour faster than his next competitor.
Oliver is a Broker/Owner of Century 21 in Nicaragua but lives in Esperanza of Nosara, Guanacaste. He moved to Central America in 2001 and now lives in Esperanza with his second wife and two children, Nolan (1.5 years) and Angela (10).
A total of 11 competitors from Costa Rica are entered in the Xterra World Championships, including Olympian and professional triathlete, Leonardo Chacon. Oliver is the only amateur entered from Guanacaste.
Oliver has dedicated his life to the sport. He ran his first marathon at age 10 and completed his first triathlon at 13. At one stage, he was ranked seven in the world in the age category of 19 and under and during his 20’s, he raced semi-professionally in Argentina. He has since competed in over 250 triathlons.
To prepare for this month’s competition, he is training six days a week. He mountain bikes one to three hours over local trails, from Nosara north to Marbella and south to Samara. He also swims three to four days a week either in the ocean or in a friend’s pool and also runs the trails in the area.
Oliver’s motivation is simple: it keeps him healthy and fit, it sets a good example for his children, and he meets great new people and sees lots of nature.
Apart from training, he also spends time drumming up sponsors to help fund the cost of the trip to Hawaii. So far, he’s received donations from a number of local Nosara businesses including: E SOTO Clothing Inc., 506 Tennis Center, Coconut Harry’s, Limo Dan’s and Tennis Club Colibri. He’s still looking for more help. Barry Oliver´s email is [email protected].
He flies from San Jose to Maui on October 16 in order to train in Hawaii in advance of the big race on October 26.
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