I’m heading over to the Island on Thursday night for four days of course scouting in preparation for the MOMAR Cumberland. I have a brand new course designed so all I have to do is vet it out and make sure the mapping is accurate. Here’s what I can tell you about this year’s Cumberland course:

1. It will only have one kayak leg
2. It will have a real orienteering stage
3. We may bring out the pool noodles (if we get nice weather)
4. The finish line is going to rock

I’m really looking forward to scouting out some new areas and to get back on the bike after a month off. If you happen to spot me on the trails, please don’t be offended if I ride the other way… I don’t want to give you any hints… ha ha.

I also have a weekend pass to The Big Time Out Music Festival! This is a three day concert in Cumberland featuring some amazing talent. I’ve already seen a bunch of the bands this year because we booked them for the events with the City of Surrey.  The festival headliners are Metric, De La Soul, K’naan, and many more. Hopefully, i’ll see some MOMARIANS there!

AND the final GutBuster Trail Run is this weekend up at Mt. Washington. It’s an ascent up to the top from the lodge and you get to take the lift down. I’m not sure if I can make it up for it but maybe you’ll see me there.

It was great to have Greg and Francis (photo right) from Schick Xtreme3 on site during the Shawnigan Lake MOMAR. Here they are on the boat as the official starters of the race. I’m sure everyone went home loaded with a new stock of blades.

Remember that Schick Xtreme3 is sponsoring the Grand Prize trip for two to Hawaii. We will draw for this at the Cumberland MOMAR during the awards ceremony. To enter you simply have to make a donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of BC during race weekend.

And you can look for Schick Xtreme3 this week up at the Kokanee Crankworx.

The 25th edition of the Schick Xtreme3 Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race took place on July 26th in the Cowichan Valley were the series began nine years ago. It’s pretty cool for me to reminisce about all of the amazing memories that have taken place during each MOMAR weekend. From the adventure filled courses to the incredible racers and volunteers to the epic after-parties, the MOMAR has been an amazing experience and I can tell you a million great stories that are both family friendly to those not so family friendly… Going into race weekend, I didn’t really think much about the fact that this was our 25th race but sitting here now and thinking back on it all I can do nothing but smile, laugh, and sigh (from all the crazy hours). Anyway, I’ll save the trip down memory lane for the day when the MOMAR reaches 100 and your children’s children are doing the race!

Speaking of children being inspired and racing the MOMAR, this race we had 14 year old, Aaron Whalmsley race with his dad Roger in the Short Course. Roger has done numerous MOMARs usually racing with Where’s My Sherpa but at this race he convinced his son to enter as a father and son duo. Their team name was “Generation Gap” but the only gap they had was between them and the 2nd place team.

This MOMAR featured both a short 30km course and the regular 50km course. Each course started with a kayak on Shawnigan Lake (5km/10km) followed by a mountain bike stage (20km/30km) with two water challenges, and finished with a orienteering stage on Cobble Hill Mountain. In the regular course, it was Team Helly Hansen / MOMAR’s Todd Nowack winning his 5th Overall Title. Team PIT came in second followed by solo racer Roger McLeod. Sarah Seads from ELM Health won another solo female title (Sarah, how many is that now?). Jen Segger and Norm Hann were the top coed team of 2 and Team Berg Bikes, Lisa Hughes-Fisher and Nina Brown, were the fastest all female duo. The Mill Bay / Shawnigan Lake based Team Longevity were the top team of four.

The kayak stage saw Team Helly Hansen / Yogaslackers (Marshall House & Lina Augaitis), and Team Helly Hansen Vancouver Island (Justin Mark & Jeff Reimer) open up a massive gap between them and the next chase group. Both teams have been paddling a lot and with their speedy boats (double surfski and K2), they rocked the paddle. Lina and Marshall hit the beach first but Jeff and Justin were the first to punch CP 1.

One of the big changes to this year’s course design was in the mountain bike stage. Jason Sandquist took racers out the Burnt Bridge trails which were used in the last two years of the BC Bike Race. The single-track riding in pretty wicked and the loose sand really keeps you on your toes. Team Helly Hansen Vancouver Island was first into this stage and were arguably two of the strongest riders in the race. They knew that they needed a big time gap on Nowack heading into the Orienteering stage in order to have a chance at winning their second consecutive title. But multiple flats early in the stage cost them a significant amount of time and Nowack along with Frontrunners‘ owner, Normon Thibault passed them and took them out out contention.

An urgent call on the radio notified us that some idiot had removed the flagging before CP 12 and all the way to the Quarry. Jason was in the River and I was at the Quarry so we both ran and re-flagged it but not before the top 10 teams. Nowack said he didn’t mind this because he had his fancy map holder on his bike and it was easy to navigate through. Thibault stayed with him but lost his lead as a result. However, Team Warmland Dental/SOL and Team Cowichan Bay Kayaks missed a key turn and ended riding down a big hill before realizing their mistake and had to climb back up.

Course highlights were definitely the two water challenges. The first challenge required racers to run upstream to get a CP and then back downstream to get the other CP. The CP downstream required racers to jump into the deep pools of the Koksilah River and swim across the 10m span.

The other water challenge was the Pool Noodle Swim on Quarry Lake. Teams swam a 200m circuit with the pool noodles to collect two checkpoints. This man-made lake has an almost tropical green colour and is nice and warm. Both dips in the water do a great job of keep the racers cool (and clean). The pool noodles worked out much better than last year’s ‘choose your own inflatable’ but we missed seeing the Orca whale, crabs, and ducks…

The Orienteering Stage was last and the Carl Coger designed course gave many of the navigationally challenged racers a tough time. Although some say this year’s O course was easier than last year, it still had a few CPs that were the turning points for some racers. Thibault, entered the O course in first place but one CP gave some serious trouble and cost him a podium finish.

Nowack crossed the finish line in 4:26:37 and teams continued to finish right up until the eight hour cutoff. The finish area had a great vibe with MC Dave Norona and John Crosby entertaining racers all day long. The refreshment table was loaded with food, Edge drink, and there was even a big cooler filled with beer from Lighthouse Brewing Co. A big thanks to the students from the West Coast College of Massage Therepists for coming out and giving the racers a massage when they finished.

Full race results can be found on the Race Results page.

It was another fantastic weekend at the MOMAR!  I’ll be posting a full post race blog report with results by tomorrow but for now here are a few photos:

I wasn’t going to blog today because I’m a bit blogged out after covering the BC Bike Race, but then I came across the most interesting story on the Sleepmonsters.ca site. Simon Donato is leading a team of adventure racers to the Sierra Nevada dessert to conduct their own search for the wealthy adventurer, Steve Fosset, who went missing in Sept 2007 and in February was declared legally dead.

Take a moment to read about their plan to find Steve and this could be a zillion times more interesting that following this year’s Primal Quest (did anyone even know that it was on???).

Day 2 Course Designer, Brent Chan, has emerged from the week working and riding the BC Bike Race and has send us some photos to share. Thanks Brent!

Gary and Todd with their race schwag.

Wendy Simms and Normon Thibault at the start of Day 1.

Jeff Reimer and Justin Mark of Team Helly Hansen

The pack gets led out by Marc Campbell and the Helly Hansen FJ Cruiser.

I’m not sure who this is but he is wearing the new MOMAR race jersey.

Kristenn Magnesson and Lisa Ludwig of Team Helly Hansen with their 2nd place medals.

A happy Gary Robbins crosses the river during Day 3.

Norm and Wendy in the Red ‘leaders’ jersey. They won all seven stages in the coed category.

Brent Chan at the start of Stage 7.

Todd Nowack at the start the final stage.

The final stage of the BC Bike Race wrapped up in Whistler on Friday. Congratulations to everyone who mustered up the courage to line up on the start line for the 500km+ journey. I would like to give a big slap on the back to everyone who finished the race! It is no easy task riding for that many km especially when so much of it is the technical single track that BC is most famous for.

Congrats to all the Helly Hansen athletes who ripped it up at the BCBR including, Justin Mark and Jeff Reimer of Team Helly Hansen VI for finishing 15th; Kristenn Magnesson and Lisa Ludwig who came in second; and to Todd Nowack and Gary Robbins / Jay Latiff who finished in the 20th spot!

Way to go to Frontrunners‘ Normon Thibault and Wendy Simms for winning the coed category!

I would also like to congratulate all the other MOMAR alumni racers who finished including, Adam Smith, Graham Tutti, Billy Adams, Heather Macintosh, Geoff Huennomen, Aaron Vanderwaal, Matt Young, Jordie Allan Newman, and Robin Dutton.

Be sure to read Gary and Todd’s post race blog posts with their detailed account and post race reflections following one their biggest personal endurance challenges to date. Gary has already posted a quick writeup on his blog with some pretty nasty photos of his hip and hand.

Remember that someone is going to win an entry into the BCBR at the final MOMAR in Cumberland!

Unfortunately, I don’t have much time to do a full blog post because Surrey Canada Day is tomorrow and it’s crazy hours getting this show ready for the 100,000+ revelers who are going to rock HARD to Loverboy!

Gary left a message saying that he felt really good today and today it was his oversized bike that gave him trouble.  There was a good chuck of single track as the stage ended on the infamous trails of Cumberland.  Gary and Todd continue to battle it out with Justin/Jeff and Graham/Adam.  Norm and Wendy continue to win.

Tomorrow they take the ferry over to the Sunshine Coast for two stages on the Rod Campansano designed course.  Day 5 was last year’s overwhelming favorite stage for those that love the singletrack.  Gary will have a new bike ready for him for Day 5 so there will be no more excuses.  I have a good feeling that Team HH/MOMAR is going to finish really strong as the have a lot more experience racing for days on end that most of the teams there.  Too bad there isn’t any navigation stages though for Todd to show everyone how it’s done!  ;0)

I won’t be able to blog tomorrow so go to the www.bcbikerace.com for the official race report, results, and photo gallery.

Happy Canada Day to everyone!

MOMAR veteren and my replacement as the Day 2 Course Designer, Brent Chan, has just sent me an update following Day 2’s 125km stage:

Helly Hansen [Kristenn Magnesson & Lisa Ludwig] girls were third today. Norm and Wendy won again but the win today was closer. Gary had a good crash but they pulled it together to finish 19th overall. Todd is riding strong and Gary has been having some moments but expects to pick things up soon. Food has been great and the volunteers are having a good time. The heat makes it a totally different race than last year. Jeremy [Grasby of the Riding Fool Hostel] is just about to go up and present his Day 3 course.

Gary will be calling as soon as the awards are done with a more detailed report. Check back soon!

For those of you that are missing the Pemberton Music Festival for the MOMAR Shawnigan and need your music fix, then check out Surrey Canada Day! I’m part of the organizing team that is putting this monster together and we have Loverboy and the Payola$ headlining this year. Did you know that this event drew over 90,000 people last year making it the biggest Canada Day festival outside of Ottawa?

Now we don’t have the $5 million talent budget that Pemberton has but we did manage to also book in some great indie talent like Wil, Aliqua, and Five Alarm Funk. We also managed to bring back Rymes with Orange for a reunion and for you Beat listeners, you’ll want to check out Elise Estrada. Who knew that there could be this much fun in Surrey?!?!

Anyway, I’m sad to be missing the Pemberton show because I would love to see Interpol, Death Cab, and Wintersleep but I’ll just have to wait until next year. Oh, and check out the DCFC “I will Possess Your Heart” video — it should make you an instant fan.

Congratulations to everyone who completed the Test of Metal on Saturday. The MOMAR alumni had a solid showing at this year’s race especially Wendy Simms from Nanaimo who was the fast female overall and 23rd OVERALL. Team Helly Hansen / MOMAR’s Gary Robbins and Todd Nowack entered the race but each had their own DNF stories to tell. I’ve linked to the racers blogs for the inside scoop.

David Kvick 02:50:58.1
Jeff Riemer 02:55:52.1
Wendy Simms 02:56:35.1
Normon Thibault 02:57:39.3 -
Justin Mark 03:01:21.1
Robin Dutton 03:04:43.7
Andrew Clarke 03:07:47.4
John Loewen 03:19:46.7
Stefan Jakobsen 03:29:31.0
Tom Craik 03:35:42.1
Annie Kvick 03:36:02.4
Duncan Coo 03:44:29.4
Andrew Pitre 03:46:55.6
Graeme Fitch 03:47:33.7
Greg Pitre 03:53:49.1
Dave Howells 03:59:41.8
Billy Adams 04:05:18.5
Isabelle Laplante 04:06:56.5
Jean-Francoi Plouffe 04:08:40.3
Jeff Gallimore 04:09:57.3
Dave Norona 04:11:08.1
Nelson Yu 04:18:45.9
Marshall House 04:22:03.6
Bobbie-Jean Taylor 04:22:36.7
Curtis LaBounty 04:22:46.7
Lesley-Ann Marriott 04:32:09.9
Rene Michaely 04:32:17.5
Graham Schulz 04:34:35.9
Malcolm Schulz 04:34:36.8
Heather Macintosh 04:41:15.1
Isabelle Thielen 05:02:04.4
Sarah Newman 05:14:01.8
Bill Lane 05:17:10.1
Dan Kucherka 05:21:05.6
Karen Stark DNF
Doug Demarzo DNF
Todd Nowack DNF
Gary Robbins DNF
Aaron VanderWaal DNF
Ben Sporer DNF

For most MOMAR racers, paddling is the least trained discipline. However, with some proper instruction and regular training you can knock some serious time off your race. In a 10km kayak stage, it is much easier to become 10 minutes faster than in a  running or bike stage.  Check out the MOMAR Training Articles on paddling for more tips.

The Big Chop Summer Paddle Series is a great way to practice your paddling in fun race environment. There are six races left in the series so be sure to put it in your training calendar.  The race is only $8 and you can rent kayaks too. Check out www.bigchop.ca for more details.

Carolyn Daubney at the Big Chop.  Did you know that Carolyn is the ONLY solo female to win the OVERALL title at the MOMAR? She did it at Ladysmith in 2002.

Sarah Newman and Marshall House power the Seaward Passat G3 in preparation for the Shawnigan MOMAR.

And then Sarah wins a tub of Edge Energy Drink for her efforts

We have added a new MOMAR 101 Clinic in Vancouver to the schedule.  The clinic date is July 12th and is taught by veteren MOMAR racer, Tom Jarecki.

It’s great to see so many people taking the 101 clinics again this year especially because navigation plays such a crucial role in your success at the race.  Here’s a brief summary of what the MOMAR 101 will teach you:

MOMAR 101 is for new and experienced Adventure Racers who would like a comprehensive introduction to the adventure racing and navigation skills needed to successfully complete a MOMAR race and other shorter adventure races. This course focus on navigation. This one day course is easy enough for beginning racers, and challenging enough for those who want to polish more advanced racing and navigation skills. Be prepared for plenty of inside racing tips specific to the MOMAR! Limited to 8 participants per clinic.

Click here to sign up and reserve your spot!

I just found the link to the SNAP Newspaper’s photo gallery from this year’s MOMAR Squamish.

But enough with Squamish. It’s time to start dreaming about Shawnigan Lake!  Are you getting in some good training days (hours?)???   Be sure to check out the NEW MOMAR 301 - Advanced Navigation course with Todd Nowack that we have recently added to this year’s course list.  There are only six spots available in the July 12th clinic so please sign up early.  Here’s the course synopsis:

The MOMAR 301 clinic is an advanced navigation specific course designed by Todd Nowack, head navigator of Team Helly Hansen / MOMAR.  The goal of this course is to make you race smarter and faster by giving you Todd’s tips and tricks that will speed up your navigation abilities.  This ‘hands-on’ course will use orienteering specific maps and will consist of a series of excercies that will demostrate how you can be more effective on the maps by making smarter route choices.  If you’re looking to shave off that additional time to get closer to the podium, or if you’re simply looking to have a better understanding of how to navigate well, then this course is for you.  Participants should be comfortable with a compass, have participated in at least one previous MOMAR, and should be quick on their feet.

The contrast between Paris and Nicole’s version of the Simple Life and the one that local adventure racer Lina Augaitis experienced last week could not be more different.  Or could it?  In the reality TV version, Paris and Nicole had nothing but the basics (see photo above) and by the sounds of Lina’s adventures the same was true for her.  In Lina’s blog post titled “The Simple Life” she wrote:

….ahhh this is the life…but how can we be so pleasantly content living with relatively nothing, among the dirt, the grass, the mountains, with no houses, no showers, no tv, no couch, no bed, no plate, just a spoon we all have to share?….EASY.  One glance around, one look up and down and side to side tells me how I know this simple life is the ultimate…

Me personally, I think that’s a bit too simple, but to each their own…  I’ve made it a policy in life to NEVER share a spoon ;0).   Take the time to head over to and read Lina’s post today for some great photos and her stories.  I’m still trying to figure out the whole Acroyoga / Slackline things she has going on but I’m going to Cirque de Soliel next Satuday so maybe I’ll understand it more after that.

Lina climbs the desert rock (photo credit: from Lina’s blog)