Dangers of Running in 3rd world

Run without the Garmin and just go for time, bag the run if the area that you're in doesn't "feel" right, or if you're staying at a resort, limit the run to their grounds.   

I've got a little experience running running in other countries over the last 20 years, with a few of those countries being considered less-than-developed at the time (China, Guatemala, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia).  It was a personal goal to run in each one.

First, although I haven't been to Costa Rica, it doesn't exactly have a bad reputation.  Quite the opposite from what I have heard.

Second, running in a foreign country to me is exhilarating and can sometimes be scary (just being honest) but has always been a really nice way to visit a country from a perspective that few American travellers will see.  I highly recommend it.

You have to take precautions.  Here are some suggestions...

--Carry a laminated copy of your passport, but not the original, which you leave in a safe.

--Don't bother wearing your Garmin.  In general, runners in others countries don't dress as flashy as American triathletes, in my opinion.

--Carry your own bottled water.

--Carry some cash for a cab, if needed. 

--Run with a partner. 

--Talk to the hotel concierge, trusted locals or to the guy on BT who lived in Costa Rica for two years and get a game plan and map your routes.

--Carry the map with your route with you on the run and include the name and address of your hotel (in English and in the local language if they use a different alphabet).  Let your wife have a copy of the route you plan to run. 

--Try not to run out at night unless its very public and you know exactly where you are going (I got hopelessly lost at night once (no map) and it was an exceptionally nice cabbie who got me back - having cash helped.  My imagination made it worse, but it was scary nonetheless.)

I've got a writer I would recommend for you named Randy Wayne White who used to write for Outside magazine.  He has a few really good books on his travels (An American Traveler, Last Flight Out, Batfishing in the Rainforest, and The Sharks of Lake Nicaragua).  A few of his stories are about running in foreign lands.  Very funny and good reading while abroad.

Enjoy.

That's funny--from the replies by people with experience in Costa Rica, you're probably spot-on

I just wanted to reiterate some advice that might be have been ignored, here.  Ask the hotel people for advice, they wouldn't send you anywhere that would turn out badly for you (crime or injury) to protect their rep.  Have fun!

I used to go to Toluca, Mexico, on business and was cautioned by the concierge at our hotel not to run in the evening outside if the hotel grounds.

I took a cruise to the western Caribbean last February and we were cautioned not to wander away from the main tourist areas of Belize City because of problems they were having with crime against tourists.

I've run a lot when I've traveled to Europe and Asia.  Besides Mexico and Belize, the only other places I've felt uncomfortable were in downtown Bangkok and Manilla.

The worst place I've ever been for pickpockets was in Amsterdam.

Mark

Not sure why some object to the statement of Costa Rica being a 3rd World country. It's not a personal slight or any sort of comment on the beauty or necessarily safety of the country.  It's just an term referring to the development (economic and other factors?) of the country.  I did very poorly in Economics class or I'd explain that better... but I just had to mention it.

Edit: Found this good description on http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/General/ThirdWorld_def.html...

"The underdevelopment of the third world is marked by a number of common traits; distorted and highly dependent economies devoted to producing primary products for the developed world and to provide markets for their finished goods; traditional, rural social structures; high population growth; and widespread poverty. Nevertheless, the third world is sharply differentiated, for it includes countries on various levels of economic development. And despite the poverty of the countryside and the urban shantytowns, the ruling elites of most third world countries are wealthy."

This is very common in resorty sort of places and their dependence on visitors.