Costa Rica has valuable people, each of them successful in their areas, constant, dedicated,and adventurous as Ashur Youssefi-Dizagetakieh, who is an athlete and physiotherapist.
A native of Orosi, Cartago, where he has infinite memories, among them: running through the countryside playing with his friends, family and riding his bicycle freely.
From a very young age, his parents taught him to be independent in every aspect of his life, to focus and strive to the maximum until achieving a goal to think about the next one.
Also, from a very young age, specifically at five years old, he started in the sports world, in which he went through multiple sports until he reached Trail Running at the age of 22.
For him, Costa Rica has natural beauties that he has not yet finished discovering and that can be very inspiring and fascinating.
He is an athlete and…
Ashur, through the pleasant conversation he had with our TCRN team, emphasized that he is a physiotherapist and also has a bachelor’s degree in Systems Engineering.
Currently, he works in his own comprehensive rehabilitation clinic along with other colleagues and professionals, with whom he keeps helping hundreds of people. The clinic is located in Tres Rios.
How does being an athlete and at the same time a physiotherapist help you?
“It is a great advantage because the decision-making and understanding of the body definitely lead you to apply the knowledge that is reflected in sports performance, in addition to applying very fast recovery techniques especially when I participate in multi-stage races” answered Ashur.
To do or achieve…
Youssefi expressed feeling complete with the goals he has achieved so far, some he has achieved very quickly and others have taken him up to 7 years to accomplish, “but the hunger for new adventures and new goals is always present, as this is my life engine in everything I do. I have very clear the next step which would be to compete in the Golden Series”.
Regarding the Ashur Physiotherapy clinic, he wants to expand more health services and is starting an NGO project with private funding.
“We have sports products imported from China and also an organization of sporting events that this year celebrates a decade, additionally, we sponsor athletes and a cycling team,” he reported.
A sporting career full of adventures
While we were talking with Ashur, we were curious about how he got into the world of Trail Running or Ultramarathon and what other sports he practiced in the past.
It turns out that, he saw an ad for an ultramarathon race once, which excited him, so he ran one, and then Don Guillermo Calvo was the one who pushed him to prepare for them. “I have competitively practiced Tae Kwondo, Soccer, Basketball, Cycling, Duathlon, Triathlon, and now Trail Running.”
For Ashur, Trail Running is an endless adventure, its main characteristic “is that you will never find the same races, and that makes it exciting in addition to its unique scenarios. It is a sport that can be practiced by anyone, but you must train your mind to be ready to encounter any type of situation and weather,” he explained.
An ultramarathon, also called ultra distance, is a sporting event that includes a foot race with a distance greater than the length of a traditional marathon of 42.195 kilometers.
There are two types of ultramarathon events: those that cover a specific distance and events that take place over a specific time (the winner is the one that covers the greatest distance in that time span).
In an ultramarathon, the most common distances are 50 km, 50 miles (80 km), 100 km, and 100 miles (160 km).
What is the most important competition in Trail Running?
In the opinion of the Costa Rican athlete, it is difficult to think which is the most important, but undoubtedly the World Athletics World Championships will continue to be a reference.
Distances, modality, or categories; best time or best mark.
His specialty is races of 70 kilometers to 120 kilometers in a single start and races of 200 kilometers to 300 kilometers in multi-stage mode.
“In mountain races, it is difficult to calculate which is the best time, since they are all extremely different races, with different terrains and slopes, that is, there are many variables,” he said
Ashur in the Portugal Trail Adventure: Expectation, preparation and achievements.
The Portugal race for him was to close a chapter that had begun in 2016, at that time, his goals were not achieved 100%, so he worked all these years to be able to return and conclude them, “among my goals were to win my first race in Europe and also win this race, and so it was”.
The Tico, born in Orosi, has had the opportunity to race in 17 different countries, winning races and prizes in the USA, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Peru, Ecuador, Portugal, and Colombia.
He obtained 2 times the top 10 in World Xterra in Hawaii in 2014 and 2015, he also participated in the World Athletics World Cup of UltraTrail in Portugal in 2016 and Italy in 2017.
Currently, he is the champion of the Latin American Trail Circuit.
Future competitions…
Ashur keeps on -touring-, that is, running a little bit of everything in short distances because he aims to raise his level at least a couple of steps. “I will participate in a race in Guatemala called Shinguala in August and, maybe in October I will travel to Mexico to to climb at least 2 or 3 peaks above 5000 meters above sea level; on December 8Trail Vulcania Costa Rica which will be the closing of the Latin American Trail circuit, to start next year with the Golden Series“.
Meanwhile, the outstanding athlete trains approximately 20 hours a week and tells us that he eats exactly the same every day.
Personally
In his free time, Ashur spends more time running and then resting somewhere where he can have something to eat, while he talks with his girlfriend about recent experiences and upcoming goals for both of them. Let’s just say that among his hobbies are: running and studying every day, to improve the quality of care for his patients because he loves to see them improve fast.
Virtues and defects according to his point of view: He works as long as necessary for a goal and does not allow anything to unbalance him, I always have God in front of him considering that, he guides his path and his decisions. “We all have flaws and this is part of the exciting thing about life, when I detect that something in me makes me move away from my goals, I work on it so I can adjust it and perhaps, that helps me to become every day a better version.”
Finally, the talented and dedicated physiotherapist, as well as Trail Running champion, expressed a message for everyone: “Work hard for your goals, do not wait for anyone’s approval to start or project yourself. Have patience, persistence, and above all discipline, do not procrastinate and eliminate all activities that do not represent productivity”.
If you want to know more about the services or purposes, you can follow AshurYoussefi on his networks: On Instagram @ashur_yousefi, @ashur_fisioterapia and @exotictrail_costarica_; on Facebook “Ashur Physiotherapy | Three Rivers and Ashur Youssefi.
