Age-group athletes, youth qualifiers, kids and families filled Las Catalinas for three days built around the full off-road experience. The XTERRA Americas Trail Run Championship made its Costa Rican debut, Alistair Brownlee returned to XTERRA, Sullivan Middaugh won the Full Distance and Raquel Solís made it three straight.
Sullivan Middaugh and Raquel Solís won the 2026 XTERRA Costa Rica Full Distance Triathlon on Sunday, Aug 23, closing three days of competition and community events at Las Catalinas.
Costa Rican runners José Manuel Venegas Romero, Laura Murillo, Pedro Chacón and Priscila Solís Rojas also claimed continental trail titles on Saturday during the first XTERRA Americas Trail Run Championship held in the country.
Great Britain’s Alistair Brownlee, one of the greatest triathletes of all time, helped open the weekend on Friday by leading the Golden Social Run while connecting with athletes and families throughout the event.
Middaugh Takes Control
Arriving at Las Catalinas for the first time, Sullivan Middaugh, a member of USA Triathlon’s Project Podium and a 2028 Olympic hopeful, completed the 1.5K swim, 26.2K mountain bike and 10.4K trail run in 2:12:44.
His younger brother Porter Middaugh and Reed Legg led the swim, with Sullivan only three seconds behind. Sullivan attacked immediately on the bike and opened the decisive gap during the second climb. He carried the lead through the run to win by 2:44 over fellow American Legg. Germany’s Sebastian Neef followed in third.
“On the bike, I pushed it right away and was able to get a gap initially,” Sullivan said. “It was actually pretty close after the turnaround on the dirt road. Reed was maybe 20 seconds behind and Neef was pretty close too, so on that next climb I went pretty much as hard as I could go. I was able to hold the gap on the run.”
Before the race, Sullivan had called Las Catalinas “a dream location.” The 22-year-old backed that up with a victory on his first visit and led a strong performance by the Middaugh family of Eagle-Vail, Colorado.
Porter placed fourth and their father, 2015 XTERRA World Champion Josiah Middaugh, finished fifth. All three Middaughs completed the race inside the men’s top five.
Solís Makes It Three
Costa Rica’s Raquel Solís led the women from the opening swim and built an early advantage over Suzie Snyder, Lorena Erl and the rest of the field.
Avon, Colorado’s Snyder erased the deficit on the bike and entered the second transition alongside Solís.
“I did my best in transition and started the run at the front,” Solís said. “I could open a little bit of a gap, so I managed to finish first. The girls were really strong, so I’m happy.”
Solís held the lead to win in 2:52:42. Snyder finished second, with Germany’s Erl another 41 seconds behind. The victory gave Solís her third consecutive Full Distance title at Las Catalinas following wins in 2024 and 2025.
“I’m always proud that a lot of people come here to visit us and enjoy this beautiful place,” she said. “Everyone has such a beautiful energy here. The environment and the nature make it a really good experience, and I hope everyone has the chance to visit sometime.”
Snyder’s runner-up finish held its own significance. “I’m grateful to be back in Costa Rica,” Snyder said. “It’s been a tough year with an injury that has taken longer than expected to recover from. I’m grateful just to be back with the people I love, my XTERRA family, and to get that refreshing take on racing that I’ve been missing.”
Brownlee Returns to Off-Road
Brownlee’s return to XTERRA began before Sunday’s start line. The two-time Olympic champion joined former Costa Rican Olympian Leonardo Chacón at the front of Friday’s 5K Golden Social Run. He later made time for an autograph session and took part in Saturday’s professional athlete panel.
Sunday marked his first XTERRA race since winning XTERRA Weston Park in 2023. He placed ninth in the men’s field.
“This beach behind me must honestly be one of the best beaches I’ve ever seen,” Brownlee said. “It’s stunning, with amazing water and incredible islands out to sea. Costa Ricans and many of the nationalities here love triathlon, so there is a real community feel. The trails were amazing. It is a purpose-built trail network for both mountain biking and running, but the flowing singletrack on the mountain bike was especially wonderful. The special thing about this race is that it is a genuinely stunning place.”
Four Continental Titles for Costa Rica
The XTERRA Americas Trail Run Championship reached Costa Rica for the first time on Saturday, with continental titles decided over the 36K Trail Marathon and 23.9K Trail Half Marathon.
Costa Rican runners won all four overall championships. José Manuel Venegas Romero won the men’s Trail Marathon in 3:09:35 after a close race with Gabriel Quirós Morales. Only 1:12 separated them at the finish.
“It was spectacular,” Venegas said. “The race was a dream. I came from far away, but the place is incredible. It was the best event I have ever done. I was able to run very close to Gabriel, and the race was decided at the end. The organization and the support made it a dream come true.”
Quirós celebrated both his performance and the arrival of the continental championship in his home country. “Having XTERRA in my country is a luxury,” Quirós said. “It makes me very happy to see so many runners from different countries sharing what I am passionate about. We were in the mountains, passing through so many places and running by the beach. This race was very important for me. I finished second in the 36K, and now I can enjoy my place at the Trail Run World Championship in Malta in 2027.”
Laura Murillo won the women’s Trail Marathon in 3:43:33. “You have to be here to really feel what it is like to race in nature and enjoy Las Catalinas,” Murillo said. “It is a wonderful race with family, friends and everyone together.”
Pedro Chacón completed the 23.9K Trail Half Marathon in 1:58:59 to earn the men’s continental title. Priscila Solís Rojas won the women’s championship in 2:22:33. “It was a race that required a lot of care,” Solís Rojas said. “You have to respect both the climate and the course. You cannot lose concentration. Until I reached the finish, I did not celebrate. When I finally got there, I was emotional.”
Gabriela Calderón Rojas placed second in the women’s race and left runners with an invitation. “Costa Rica is incredibly beautiful,” Calderón said. “It has beaches, trails and feelings you can only understand by being here. It challenges you at another level. I invite everyone to come to Costa Rica.”
The Trail Marathon and Trail Half Marathon served as qualifiers for the 2027 XTERRA Trail Run World Championship, which returns to Gozo, Malta, on May 8.
Youth Winners Qualify For Worlds
Four Costa Rican athletes led the Youth B and Junior divisions in Sunday’s Sprint Triathlon.
Gabriel Cubillo won the Youth B boys’ division for athletes aged 16–17, while Valeria González Jiménez led the Youth B girls. Pablo Acón Sibaja won the Junior men’s division for athletes aged 18–19, and Fabiola Guillén Brenes claimed the Junior women’s victory.
The Sprint served as a qualifier for the XTERRA Youth World Championship, the culmination of the XTERRA Youth Tour, which will be held in Ruidoso, New Mexico, on Oct 11.
Inside the Full Distance and Sprint Courses
The age-group fields returned with their own accounts of the heat, trails and Pacific setting. Costa Rica’s Juan Ignacio Gamboa Fernández placed second overall in the Full Distance age-group race and won the men’s 35–39 division.
“The place is a paradise,” Gamboa Fernández said. “We swim in clear water and then go onto very good trails. The run is a really hard trail run through these mountains and this weather. You have to be trained for it, but we love being here and being part of XTERRA.”
Argentina’s Manuel Encina won the men’s 50–54 division after arriving with limited expectations. “I let the race surprise me,” Encina said. “Swimming in this sea with colorful fish made me fall in love with the place. The bike was very hard, but cycling is my strength and I loved the trails. I suffered on the run and did not think I could finish first. The race really surprised me, and I’m very happy.”
Adán Ley called it possibly the hardest race he had completed, including his previous half-distance road triathlons. “The course is extremely difficult, especially the run,” Ley said. “I had reconned it a few days before, so I knew I had to manage the first lap. On the second one, I threw everything I had at it. These trails are the best.”
Gustavo Varela Serrano focused on the riding and the views waiting later in the race. “The run course is hard, and the bike course is so much fun,” Varela Serrano said. “The trails have speed and flow, and on the run you get all the views of the sea and the ocean.”
Sprint competitor Gimena Álvarez Fallas credited the people working around the course. “The atmosphere was amazing,” Álvarez Fallas said. “The whole team was always attentive and ready to help or guide you. The experience, the trails and the organization were all excellent.”
Guido Mora Delgado also pointed to the people around the race after completing the Sprint. “It was a beautiful race, technical on the bike, demanding and very hot,” Mora Delgado said. “You enjoy the scenery, the people and the atmosphere. I have done races in other places, and I think this was one of the best.”
The Full Distance race served as an age-group qualifier for the 2026 XTERRA World Championship, which will take place in Ruidoso on Oct 10.
Full results available through the XTERRA Costa Rica event page. For video highlights, visit XTERRA Americas on Instagram.
