Alistair Brownlee returns to XTERRA as Josiah Middaugh lines up alongside sons Sullivan and Porter at XTERRA Costa Rica. From August 21-23, the XTERRA Americas Trail Run Championship makes its Costa Rican debut at Las Catalinas.
XTERRA Costa Rica returns to the Guanacaste coast from August 21-23 for three days of off-road exploration in the warm Pacific waters of Playa Danta, across the tropical dry forest above town and through the car-free streets of Las Catalinas.
Britain’s Alistair Brownlee, a two-time Olympic champion with a record 22 World Triathlon Championship Series race wins, returns to XTERRA for the first time since winning XTERRA Weston Park in 2023. Continental titles will also be awarded in the Trail Marathon and Trail Half Marathon with the opportunity to qualify for the 2027 XTERRA Trail Run World Championship in Gozo, Malta.
Brownlee Returns Off-Road
Brownlee arrives in Las Catalinas as one of the most successful triathletes in history with consecutive Olympic gold medals at London 2012 and Rio 2016.
In a message recorded in April, Brownlee explained why Costa Rica had remained on his list for so long. “It’s been an event that’s been on my to-do list for quite a long time. I love adventure. I love visiting new places. I love nature. I love meeting new people. So all those things that I’m really looking forward to this August.”
While every race he has taken on across fell running, gravel and endurance cycling carries its own demands, he sees a common reason for continuing to compete.
“I’ve been lucky enough to do most endurance sports from a young age. It’s true that I started mostly with off-road disciplines. The thing that is the same is the sense of adventure and fun, which is why I’m doing XTERRA.”
That return places one of triathlon’s most accomplished athletes into a Full Distance race built around a 1.5K swim in the sheltered bay at Playa Danta, 27.3K of mountain biking and a 10.4K trail run. The riding moves directly into Las Catalinas’ purpose-built singletrack, where technical climbing, flowing descents and exposed ridgelines carry athletes above the Pacific before the run brings them back through forest, beach and town.
One XTERRA Family, Two Generations
Americans Josiah, Sullivan and Porter Middaugh will also line up in Costa Rica, bringing two generations of one of XTERRA’s defining families together during the brand’s 30th anniversary season.
Josiah Middaugh is a 15-time XTERRA national champion, the 2015 XTERRA World Champion and a member of the XTERRA Hall of Fame. He won the first edition held at Las Catalinas in 2024, overcoming Austria's Dominik Wychera on the final run to take the victory by 19 seconds.
“So happy to be back in Costa Rica,” Middaugh said after that race. “Las Catalinas is a very unique, very special place.”
He now returns with both sons. Sullivan Middaugh has established himself among the leading athletes of XTERRA’s current generation. Porter Middaugh is also part of USA Triathlon’s 2026 development team.
Recent women’s history at Las Catalinas has been led by Costa Rica’s Raquel Solís, winner of the Full Distance Triathlon in both 2024 and 2025. Solís controlled all three disciplines last year to finish ahead of Ecuador’s Elizabeth Bravo and fellow Costa Rican Mauren Solano. Paola Herrera Montero added another home victory by winning the 2025 Trail Half Marathon.
The Americas Championship Arrives in Costa Rica
The continental championships in trail running began in 2023 in the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Three years after the inaugural Americas edition at Oak Mountain, the championship now reaches Costa Rica for the first time.
The 36K Trail Marathon begins at 4:30 a.m. on Saturday and carries runners through 972 meters of climbing across dirt, loose gravel, rocky sections and exposed tropical terrain. The 23.9K Trail Half Marathon follows at 6 a.m. with 654 meters of elevation gain over a faster course of rolling climbs, runnable descents and Pacific Ocean views.
Both distances offer 116 qualifying slots, divided equally between the men’s and women’s age divisions, for the 2027 XTERRA Trail Run World Championship on Gozo Island.
Gozo hosted the championship for the first time in May 2026, taking runners around Malta’s limestone coastline, high sea cliffs and sheltered valleys. The World Championship will return there on May 8, 2027, giving runners in Costa Rica a direct route from one coastal championship landscape to another.
Built Around Las Catalinas
The event is produced by Performance Solutions under the leadership of Carlos Díaz, Luis Diego Chaverri and Leonardo Chacón. Chacón represented Costa Rica at two Olympic Games, won the inaugural XTERRA Costa Rica in 2014 and has twice finished inside the top five at the XTERRA World Championship.
The setting supports the entire festival within a compact area. Playa Danta sits at the edge of town, more than 42 kilometers of singletrack extend through nearly 950 acres of tropical dry forest, and the absence of cars allows athletes, families and spectators to move between the beach, plazas, restaurants, transition area and trailheads on foot.
Charles Brewer, the founder and developer of Las Catalinas as well as a competitor himself, has called the annual triathlon “one of the best days of the year at Las Catalinas since 2013.”
The reasons become visible throughout race weekend. Athletes disappear into the forest directly above town before returning to crowds gathered along the beach and cobblestone streets. Children can move between the Kids Run, plazas and shoreline with their families, while restaurants, live music and the Expo Village remain within walking distance of the racing.
From Brownlee’s return and three Middaughs sharing the course to the continental trail titles being decided on Saturday, XTERRA Costa Rica brings several chapters of off-road racing together in one town. Las Catalinas provides the trails, water and room for families to experience all of them from August 21-23.
Full schedules, course details and race information are available on the XTERRA Costa Rica event page.
