The Adventure Racing World Championship is still ongoing in Costa Rica, but as I write this, two teams have crossed the finish line, claiming first and second place respectively. The winners of the race, and this year's world champions are Thule Adventure Team, who finished in 168 hours,  27 minutes. That translates to a little more than seven days or non-stop racing. Second place went to Columbia Vidaraid, which came across the line at 171 hours, 34 minutes. Right now, it appears that Adidas TERREX Prunesco is in position to claim third place, although they aren't home yet.

The race got underway last weekend with the four-person, coed teams facing a 700+ km (435 mile) course designed to test their endurance, skills and determination. At the time, it was thought that the top teams could potentially complete the route in about 4 to 5 days. But, it turns out that was a very optimistic estimate. Thule is perhaps the best team in the sport today, and it took them 2-3 days longer than projected.

As is typical in adventure racing, this course mixed trail running, mountain biking and paddling. It started on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica and finishes on the Atlantic Coast. In between there were miles of rainforest to cross, rivers to kayak and mountains to climb.

Congratulations to Jackie Boisset, Mimi Guillot, Stuart Lynch and Albert Roca, the athletes who make up Team Thule. This win continues a great run for the team, who have been very tough to beat on an international level over the past few years.

The Adventure Racing World Championship is set to get underway in Costa Rica this weekend when coed teams of four take part in this year's Costa Rica Adventure Race. The official start of the event is scheduled for Sunday, when a field of 60 of the best AR teams from 26 different countries line up at the starting line.

The race is scheduled to last up to nine days, although the winners are projected to finish in just four. It will begin on Costa Rica's Pacific Coast and end on the country's Atlantic side. In between, the competitors will run, bike, paddle, climb and raft through 700+ km (435 miles) of dense jungle and mountain terrain.

The Costa Rica Adventure Race is the final event on the AR World Series calendar for 2013. The teams that are competing in the race have all had to qualify by racing in other ARWS events throughout the year. This event will crown this year's world champs, with teams such as Seagate, Adidas TERREX Prunesco, and the Thule Adventure Team expected to be in the mix. It should be quite the event for fans of the sport and be sure to check out the Costa Rica AR website for regular updates and team tracking.