Emanuel Miranda, more commonly known as Ema, is a familiar face in Town. He's been part of the community for some time now and is one of the friendly smiles at Pura Vida Ride. He works as a guide and bike mechanic, and every now and then you might even catch him serving muffins or their famous banana bread. But today we want to highlight something different: his remarkable participation in last weekend’s XTERRA Las Catalinas.
What many don’t know is that Ema is more than just the person who helps tune your bike, he is also a national champion in cycling. He has competed in both Enduro, a discipline that combines technical downhill trails with endurance climbing, and Downhill Rígido, where athletes race downhill on bikes without rear suspension, a true test of skill and control. In 2022 he earned 3rd place in the National Enduro Elite category, and in 2020 and 2021 he was crowned national champion in Downhill Rígido.
This year, however, Ema took on a new challenge by entering his very first triathlon at XTERRA Las Catalinas. For the past three months he focused especially on open water swimming and running, which were his weakest links, and on Sunday he crossed the finish line not only meeting but exceeding his own expectations.
His goal was to complete the course in under 4 hours. Instead, he finished with a time of 3:18:39, an extraordinary result that placed him 3rd in his age group and 20th overall out of 119 competitors. To put this into perspective, 10 of the top 20 finishers were from the Elite category, and the gap between 1st and 20th place overall was just 36 minutes.
We want to congratulate Ema for this outstanding performance. Town celebrates alongside him and also extends recognition to all Las Catalinas staff and homeowners who bravely took on this rewarding challenge.
Whether competing or cheering on friends and family, the XTERRA spirit filled Town last weekend. Here’s to the next one!