The Brazillian Bombshells on the finish line podium
The questions heading into the past weekend’s Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race were 1) whether the nasty forecast would spoil the six year streak of sunny skies at the MOMAR Cumberland; 2) whether Team Helly Hansen / MOMAR would ‘three-peat’; and 3) who would win the trip to Costa Rica.
It was a beautiful day on Friday when racers arrived for package pickup at the Riding Fool Hostel. Free cans of Lighthouse beer were given out as well as the always popular MOMAR graphic t-shirt designed by my brother Roddy Tasaka who owns Surface Collective (… subtle family plug… ;0)). The participant gift bags were also extra special and filled to the brim with tons of goodies. Berg Bikes was set up there too showcasing their new dual suspension XC mountain bikes. The night was a great start to the weekend but definitely the ‘calm before the storm.’
Friday night checkin at the Riding Fool Hostel (photo by Tony Austin)
We were pleasantly surprised and relieved that the weather on race morning was cloudy and cool, but rain free. Comox Lake was flat calm and our plan to adjust the opening kayak stage was not necessary. The 8km kayak leg includes a 1km lake crossing and this is where the unstable paddlers tend to tip over. Yes, there are ways that this crossing could be avoided in the course design, but it does make the stage more challenging and rewards those that spend the time training in choppy conditions.
Over 200 racers on the start line (photo by Tony Austin)
Team D-Bay (Jeff Gallimore and Yvonne Visser) posted the fastest kayak split time (45:15) followed closely by Team Helly Hansen / MOMAR (Gary Robbins and Todd Nowack) and solo racer Darrell Soefield from Bellingham, WA. At the back of the kayak pack was Jamie Gauthier who was very unstable on his surfski and flipped NINE times (we can safely assume Jamie didn’t get in many training hours in the water this season!).
The start of the 8km paddle stage (photo by Tony Austin)
The navigation trek was the next stage and racers had to find eight checkpoints located in a maze of trails. Recent logging and new trail building gave this stage a new feel. One of the CPs was marked as ‘advanced’ and I recommended that the slower teams might want to consider skipping it in order to complete the entire bike stage. Once again, master navigator, Todd Nowack, proved his savvy with the map and compass and led Team Helly Hansen/MOMAR through all CPs with a time of 1:27:02 – the fastest for the day.
Team Reno 9-1-1 on the trek (photo by Tony Austin)
Team Grrrr prowl through the checkpoints (photo by Tony Austin)
Upon completion of the trek, teams had a short 1.5km kayak back to race headquarters and the start of the 20km mountain bike stage. This year, I took out the infamous Bucket of Blood section and instead added five awesome XC trails all on the lower slopes. I also added a 1km run out to Allen Lake at CP 15 and an urban mystery event in downtown Cumberland. Teams were given four addresses and they had to find out the business located at each location.
Team Spirit winners Reno 9-1-1 on patrol (photo by Tony Austin)
Jen Stanick of the Dirt Divas navigate the streets of Cumberland (photo by Tony Austin)
Frontrunner’s Normon Thibault, Riding Fool’s Jeremy Grasby, Helly Hansen’s Justin Mark, and Frontrunner’s Jason Sandquist would all battle it out with hopes to catch the overall leaders Team Helly Hansen /MOMAR. Justin Mark would post the fastest bike split for the day. However, Gary and Todd held onto their lead and finished first overall and complete a sweep of the 2007 season. This is the first time it has been done in the eight year history of the MOMAR.
Gary Robbins and Todd Nowack of Team Helly Hansen / MOMAR are all jacked up as they cross the finish line and claim the 'three-peat' (photo by Tony Austin)
Other category winners, Local Comox Valley resident, Sarah Seads of ELM Health, had another impressive race as was the first female across the line (click here to read her personal race report on her blog). Jason Sandquist was the fastest solo male and finished second overall. Team Reckless Cycles won the team of two coed category. Team Fit and Savvy lived up to their name and won the team of two female category. And in the team of four category, Team Player won the coed, the Brazillian Bombshells won the all female, and the Team Reno 9-1-1 won the all male.
Sarah Seads of Courtenay was the first female to cross the line. 26 minutes faster than the next female (photo by Tony Austin)
The rain and wind did eventually arrive and progressively grew worse with every hour. By the six hour mark, the wind was fierce and the rain was coming down in buckets. It was a true test of mental will for many teams during the final bike stage. The wet conditions made riding challenging as the roots and rocks were slick. Surviving and getting to the finishing line was the only goal for many teams at the back of the pack. Two cutoff points were included to ensure everyone finished in less than eight hours.
The glory of the finish line was a welcome relief and our co-MCs John Crosby and Dave Norona cheered every team through. Dave and John had everyone laughing and in good spirits. The word of the day for them was Earmuffs!
Dave Vitakangas's mom, Rhonda, (left) created these awesome toga for Dave and his support team.
But the MOMAR is really about the after-party. The night featured a gourmet dinner complete with roast beef, chicken, pasta, salads and dessert. During the award we recognized 1st to 3rd in each category and we gave out over $12,000 worth of prizes. Sarah Seads won the Berg Bike custom bike frame ($1500 value) and it was Jason Sandquist who won the 15 day Schick Xtreme3 trip for two to Costa Rica ($5000 value).
We also held a ‘Super 50/50’ draw and collected over $1000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The winner won $527 cash and we had two runner up prizes which included a Toshiba flat panel TV and a Apple iPod Nano.
Team Reno 9-1-1 won the prize for Team Spirit and the R’eyd Guys won the Lighthouse Brewery Team in Most Need of a Beer prize for finishing the entire course the slowest. Both teams won coolers filled with Lighthouse beer other goodies.
Who is this guy???
Bellingham's Darrell Soefield used a hammock for a toga. Posing with race coordinator, Janine Tasaka, and 8 time MOMAR champion and now the MOMAR's MC, Dave Norona.
The after-party also featured a TOGA theme. Lots of great variety on the toga with some teams really putting in big efforts to make killer togas. We gave away an Apple iPod Nano to the person with the ‘Biggest Surprise’ under their toga. Some items worthy of honorable mentions were a rubber chicken, a baby, MOMAR ass cheeks, bike parts, and a dartboard. However, the winner was Kirk Lewis who had Mistletoe placed strategically under his toga.
Tommy Hooper and the Hippies on stage.
Finally, it was time to head downstairs to Fat Teddy’s Bar and Grill where Tommy Hooper and the Hippies played all night to a packed dancefloor. This party never misses and that’s why this race has always been the most popular in the history of the MOMAR.
I would like to extend a HUGE THANKS to everyone who was part of the MOMAR. Congratulations to all the racers for taking on the challenges of the race in the crazy weather. Thank you to all our incredible sponsors who do so much to help with prizing, promotions, equipment, and so much more. Thank you to the Comox Valley community for welcoming us in and allowing us to put on the event in your area. And our biggest THANK YOU goes out to all of our AMAZING volunteers for giving up your weekend to help us put on another success event!!! You guys are the BEST!!!
See you all next year!!!
Bryan Tasaka and the MOMEC team
