Wow. That was a long break from Blogging! I was getting lazy and posting updates via Twitter for the past month.  But, I’m back now and a lot has happened since the last update.

The first MOMAR of the season is just a few weeks away and we are all set to go.  We have over 200 racers signed up and ready to rip it out on a newly designed course by Jen Segger.  Over 90 of the 200 are first time MOMAR participants which is a great stat to see as we love having a new batch of weekend warriors give adventure racing a try.

MOMAR sponsored athlete, Gary Robbins, has been running and running and running and running some more.  He’s become the Forest Gump of the North Shore!  Gary was named Ultra Runner of the Year so he gets a BIG CONGRATS.  He’s been blogging his race stories and they are a well worth a read especially while you drink a milkshake and eat a cinnamon bun!

Last weekend was the Suburban Rush and Aimee Dunn and I had a blast in our third year racing together. It was actually my fifth time doing this race and that was enough to get me a nice certificate for participation! They sold out their event with 250 racers and the competition keeps getting better every year.

I also spent time in Squamish scouting out Jen’s course.  The rappel site is so awesome. Freaky as hell. It makes the rappels from the last two years like bumps in the prairies!

The final few weeks will be busy behind the scenes for the organizing team, but we are very excited for the big day and most of all the big PARTY!

More blogs to come!

Bryan Tasaka
Event Director

The April issue of Explore Magazine has a feature article on MOMAR Squamish’s Course Designer, Jen Segger. The article details the amount of training and focus it take for Jen to complete at the international level.

Jen is currently in Whitehorse, NWT, taking on the Rock and Ice Ultra.  She is running in the 6 day stage category and just finished the first day in second place (third overall).

Jason Terauchi-Loutitt who did the MOMAR 2006 and won the recent Yeti Snowshoe series was also on the start line but suffered from frostbite and is a DNF. Tough break for Jason.

MOMAR’s media sponsor, Sleepmonster.ca, is doing a great job in covering the race with reports and photos. Read it all here.

The new issue of the Georgia Straight newspaper has a good feature on the sport of adventure racing. Charlie Smith interviewed John Markez, Jen Segger, and myself for the article.  A Tony Austin photo of John is also included in the feature.  You can check out the article online here.

Markez also won the Dirty Duo multisport category (ride 30km & run 25km).  Could he be the one to watch this year at the MOMAR with Todd Nowack gone to Norway and Gary going at it solo?

Apparently, MOMAR is also mentioned in the new issue of Explore Magazine.

Great to get some coverage in the big magazines!  Keep it coming!

Photo by Sleepmonsters.com

It is only mid February, but the hardcore are already out racing some big events.

• Gary Robbins put in a solid performance at the Orcas 50km Ultra this past weekend.
• Jen Segger is ski racing down in Colorado competing in a 24 hour ‘rondo’
• Chris Koch and Jim Mandelli are down in South America racing with Team Spirit in the Pategonia Expedition Race. Lina Augaitis is also competing with Team Buff.
• And Dave Norona is ripping it up on the sled in the Chilcotins.

Meanwhile, I spent the day celebrating my 38th by eating about 5000 calories… although I did get a good workout in at the gym (hot tub)…  Living the dream… ;0)

Life outside the MOMAR sure has been hectic.  I have just finished producing the Surrey WinterFest event and that was all consuming. We had over 20,000 people attend and it was big success with lots of fun activities for the whole family as well as a rock concert featuring Eva Avila, Faber Drive, and Thornley.

Now that it’s over, I can refocus on the ’09 MOMAR season and locking in all our sponsors.  Jen Segger has been working on a new course design for the Squamish race and based on preliminary designs, it’s going to be epic!  This Enduro course will feature a BIG surprise section that is going to absolutely rock!

And I’m way ahead of the game for Cumberland.  The course concept is already complete and once the snow clears Liz Tribe will be start the vetting process.  I think there will be a bit more trekking in this one compared to previous years.

Keep checking back for more exciting news in the coming days!

Professional Adventure Racer and Certified Conditioning Coach, Jen Segger, is offering a 16 week training program geared specifically to the MOMAR.  Here are the details:

The MOMAR Training Plans which includes:

• 16 week (four month) duration
• a detailed sport specific training program (week by week) specific to preparing for the MOMAR (periodized mountain biking, trail running & kayaking program)
• a monthly strength training program (including plyometrics & core stability strengthening)
• monthly Q&A session with Jen if desired (email or phone call)
• unlimited email communication with Jen for program clarification or personal questions related to specific workouts
• tips & hints manual on becoming a better adventure racer (solo & as a team member)
• information on topics related to hydration, nutrition, recovery and tapering

*choose from either a Beginner or Intermediate Racer Program (based on your current fitness level & future race goals)

Why train? The more fit and prepared you are, the more you will enjoy race day!  The focus of these programs is on improving endurance, the foundation for MOMAR success.  Perhaps you have had a lingering rivalry with a fellow racer and you have decided that 2009 is the year that you will beat them!  Or, maybe its simply that you don’t want the hills to eat you alive this time!  Whatever your reason, commit to a plan and you will be ready!

Starts: Jan 23rd to prepare for Squamish MOMAR or May 26th for Cumberland MOMAR

Price: $399.00 CND

Jen is a certified conditioning coach who has years of racing experience to share! Tap into her knowledge and understand the benefits of applying structure to your training.  In Jens initial years as a racer, she too had a personal coach, enabling her to learn and understand how to prepare properly for competition and to enjoy the racing experience.  Jen now races for one of North America’s top adventure racing teams, DART nuun who is currently ranked 6th in the world.  She works and coaches individuals throughout the USA and Canada, helping people of all levels achieve personal goals.

To register or for more information:  Contact Jen via email at jen@challengebychoice.ca or online at www.challengebychoice.ca.

Be prepared to work hard and achieve great results!

Note: If you are wanting a plan that is customized to your personal schedule, goals & abilities, contact Jen about her online individualized coaching options.

Jen’s support crew is doing an awesome job of emailing me reports from the field:

here we are, back on line, it was 30 hours without any signal, rolling around very remote areas, wich are awesome! so, the team is at the moment arriving in Viçosa do Ceara, coming from trekking, and switching to biking. it is going to be a big trek, including climbing, ascent, descent! they are considering to do this piece in 10 hours time, since they already payed 5 from their 8 mandatory hours! on the last PC, about 5 hours ago, according to myself, Jen was the best shape in the team, she is handling very well the local hotness! Good girl! now, dart nuun are at 8th position, checked on the last PC, 5 hours ago! that’s gonna be all for now, coming back from the next PC, if the signal helps! 8-)))))))))

They have been racing for over 53 hours now.  The race organizers estimated the winning time to be around 65 hours, but i’m not sure how close the top teams are to that.

Rob Howard from Sleepmonster.com wrote:

Dart Nuun were another team who found the ride hard, but the US team are still racing and are in the top 10. They said the ride was so sandy it was hard to make progress and wasn’t an enjoyable experience! (It was because of the sand that SOLE were stripping down their bikes as much as possible and rigging a new towing system to cope with it.)

Be sure to head over to Sleepmonsters.com and read the full race report.

Another message just came in from DARTnuun’s support crew:

Hi from Brazil!!!!

Our team looks good, they used some good sleeping hours through the kayaking section and were feeling well and positive….  First thing Seggs said  smiling when came in ” Look at my hands,”!!!!! after 20 hours paddling….they were nasty…wrinkles!!!!
The team took a 25 min break, and start the bike section, we will probably meet them in 8 hours. Not sure if we will have internet connection from now; we;ll try to keep you updated!!!!

Support crew, Tati and Fred.

I’m also going to through my support behind the French team Wilsa Helly Hansen because Helly has supported the MOMAR for the last five years.  They are sitting in 10th place right now. Go HH Go!

Here’s a message from Fred who is part of Jen’s support crew:

So, yesterday, the team left the starting point at 15:30h, and ran for 5 hours approximately on the dunes, close to open sea, arriving in Tutoia for the first transition, where they got the kayaks and left to Parnaiba, racing for approximately 18h, with maybe, and only maybe, 1 or 2 hours of mandatory sleep.

The team was feeling pretty well on the transition, and they were in very good shape after running on the dunes! They spent around 10 minutes to drink and eat, then left for kayaking cruise on open sea, and mangroves!

They are now sitting in 12th spot but according to the SPOT map, they seem to be very close to the leaders, Team Nike.

Holy shit. Jen Segger finished Badwater in 9th place overall and was the 5th female! 32:37:57 was her time.  I don’t think I’ve run 32 hours this year!  Way to go, Jen!!! You rock!  You’re an inspiration to everyone and congratulations on ripping it up?

Did you leaving anything in the tank for the MOMAR in 11 days???