Way More Than You Ever Wanted to Know About
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Chris Kostman got his start early in ultra sports: He set world ultra cycling records in high school in 1984 and 1985 and completed the 3127-mile, eleven-day Race Across America bicycle race at age 20 in 1987. That was a springboard to competing in events as diverse as the Triple Ironman in France, the 6.5-mile Skaha Lake Ultra Swim in Canada, numerous winter ultras on mountain bike or snowshoes in Alaska, and scores of 24-hour mountain bike races and 200-mile or longer road bike races. This led to a career producing some of the toughest endurance events available through his company, AdventureCORPS. Hosted in Death Valley, on the slopes of Mt. Shasta, and beyond, these events include multi-day cycling lifestyle camps, centuries and double century bicycle rides, the venerable Furnace Creek 508 bicycle race, and the world-famous Badwater Ultramarathon 135-mile foot race. Chris has published over 240 articles about the endurance world. He is trained and educated as an archaeologist and works part-time in that field, both undersea and on land in the Middle East and South Asia. Further details below and via the links above.
Archaeology, Exploration, and Expeditions
Chris works in the field of archaeology through Archaeoscience International™ and the University of California at Berkeley and is also the creator and host of the Official Website for the Insititute of Nautical Archaeology-Egypt's Sadana Island Shipwreck Project. Chris has worked on, or led, expeditions to Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates and has published extensively. He is also involved in cave and technical diving. See his C.V. Chris has also competed in numerous wintertime wilderness races in Alaska.
If you need advice on going somewhere really off the beaten track, need an experienced team leader or member, or want to collaborate on a research project or wilderness expedition, contact us. Chris is always interested in new adventures.
Chris Kostman: Who Needs Him?
Excerpt from the feature story by Roy Wallack in the July 2008 Competitor Magazine
"Over the 20 years since I first interviewed him, I've seen Chris Kostman carve out a multi-faceted niche that is unique in cycling and endurance sports. He's a record-setting athlete with a penchant for crazy events like the Iditabike and the Triple Ironman; a trend-spotter and coach who rode the L.A. personal-trainer wave like John Travolta in the movie Perfect, and helped turn a local trend called Spinning into a world-wide phenomenon; and an entrepreneur who's built endurance events that are among some of the most sought-after by athletes from all around the globe, including the Badwater Ultramarathon and the Furnace Creek 508." Full story.
Below is an interview with the Badwater Ultramarathon race director, Chris Kostman, which was conducted in the spring of 2003. This first part primarily focuses on the origins and history of the race, whereas this second part focuses primarily on the significance and meaning of the event, as well as Chris' background in archaeology and how that relates to his work as an endurance sports promoter and adventure entrepreneur. In the bottom right, one icon in from the corner, is a button which you can click in order to see the videos in full-screen size.
