It’s not easy capturing the essences of an adventure race that spans 50km of remote wilderness. However, the MOMAR is incredibly fortunate to have an amazing team of both professional and amateur photographers moving throughout the course on race day taking some awesome shots.  BIG THANKS goes out to David Silver, David Fornier, Nick Sopczak, Sophia Ha, Matthew Beckett, Carla Yarrow, Rumi Kodama, Aimee Asselin, Melissa Marsh, Earl Purvis, Jordy Ydse, and Caroline Falconer!

Here is my list of the Top 20 Best Photo Moments from the MOMAR in 2010. The first ten are from Squamish and the last ten are from Cumberland. Enjoy!

1. MOUNTAIN BIKING DOWN HALF NELSON – Photo by David Fournier  —-  The Half Nelson Trail opened just in time for the MOMAR in Squamish.  Local trail builder Ted Tempany led the design and construction which was a government funded project. This 3km roller coaster like ride is a true rush for the XC rider and was a highlight of the Squamish course. This photo captures the Trent Hillbillies in fast action.

2. UP THE CHIEF - Photo by David Fournier —-  I still remember the ‘oh shit’ look on many racers’ faces when on race morning ’09 we handed out the maps and it revealed the tightly guarded secret that we were sending them UP the 600m Stawamus Chief. This stage was near the end of the race again this year as David captures the ‘death march’ up to the top. It’s all about the reward though, right?  Next stage: Rappel!

3. RAPPELLING OFF THE CHIEF - Photo by Nick Sopczak—-  A team member of the Ponytails descends off the top of the Stawamus Chief down to a rock shelf 150′ below.  The Sea to Sky Highway and Howe Sound are in the background.   The MOMAR is the only company to have ever used the Chief trails for an organized race.  Big thanks goes out to Colin Moorhead and his team at the Squamish Rock Guides for managing the rappel!

4. TEAMWORK AND FUN PERSONIFIED – Photo by Rumi Kodama—-  Richard Alm lead a team of Innovative Fitness trainers and clients through the rigours of the MOMAR. There are other photos showing Richard crossing the fast flowing and glacier cold Mamquam River numerous times with not only his teammates’ bikes, but also with his teammates on his back. What a stud!

5. CROSSING THE MAMQUAM – Photo by Jordy Ydse —-  This is the Mamquam River crossing where the water is cold and the bottom is slippery. Team Corsa Cycles look like pros making the trip across.  Big shout out goes to Dave and Sandra at Corsa for their incredible support since our first year in Squamish.

6. BATTLE WOUNDS – Photo by David Fournier —-  Megan Fretter and Hailey Van Dyk of Team Atmosphere show off their injuries during a rest stop on the Chief. Megan apparently went over the handlebars and cut both knees; the medics had to order her to stop and get patched up. Hailey’s is more in the ‘boo boo’ category.

7. MAKING RICHARD SIMMONS PROUD – Photo by Earl Purvis  —-  There’s always a strong contingent of teams that bring some serious spirit to the MOMAR. At the Squamish MOMAR, it was The Richard Simmons Fan Club (Brie Ansell and Erin Van de Water) who had the most and walked away with the Spirit Award.

8. FINALLY! FINALLY! FINALLY! – Photo by Earl Purvis  —-  Vancouver’s John Markez is an incredible adventure athlete and is always a favorite to win the MOMAR. For years now, John has come close but something (big crash, urban nav, controversial CP location, etc) always seems to prevent him from having that totally clean race. But at the Squamish MOMAR this year, there was NO stopping John and he FINALLY won it all! Woohoo!

9. HOW DO THEY DO IT? – Photo by Mark Teasdale —-  It always amazes me that the MOMAR racers can hammer through eight hours of racing and then still have the energy to stay until last call. This year’s afterparty at MOMAR Squmaish was fantastic with a great band and DJ that kept the dance floor packed all night long.

10. JEN SEGGER RULES! – Photo by Mark Teasdale —-  Yes. She. Does. For years, I had always wanted to bring a MOMAR to the Sea to Sky corridor but it wasn’t until I saw professional adventure racer, Jen Segger, at the Yeti that the ball actually started rolling. Jen became Squamish’s Course Director and designed some of the most challenging and spectacular MOMAR course to date. Thanks JEN for raising the bar and for your amazing work with the MOMAR!

11. IT TAKES A GREAT TEAM TO MAKE THE MOMAR HAPPEN – Photo by David Silver —-  Friday Night Registration is a big part of the MOMAR’s complete weekend experience.  In Cumberland, we’re hosted by the Riding Fool Hostel and the casual and historic nature of this venue is great for giving the racers and volunteers a chance to hang out with a cold beer.  In this photo, we have our volunteer Emily handing out beer, RFH staff Innis, and MOMAR staff (Tamara and Lisa).  Cute MOMAR shirts too! 

12. THAT’S A LOT OF KAYAKS – Photo by David Silver —-  It’s always a great sight seeing the hundreds of kayaks take to the water on Comox Lake for the start of the Cumberland MOMAR.  I would bet that there is not another race from Alaska to Peru that has this many kayaks on a race start line as there is at the MOMAR. Of course, this could not happen without the incredible support of all the kayak companies that rent and deliver boats for this race!

13. GREAT RIDING IN CUMBERLAND - Photo by David Silver —-  Cumberland ‘s trail network is amazing and it’s a big reason why the MOMAR has remained in the Comox Valley all these years.  Two new trails were build last winter called Thirsty Beaver and Blue Collar and both were part of this year’s MOMAR.  Racers love them both despite the mucky conditions. Thanks to all the people like Jeremy Grasby, Dan Espeseth, Terry Lewis, Al Munday and many more who dedicate countless hours to creating all the flowy trails.

14. WHERE THE #%$& ARE WE? - Photo by David Silver —-  A significant portion of the MOMAR Cumberland course requires teams to self-navigate from one checkpoint to the next. Here’s a team trying to orient themselves from a viewpoint on the Trekking Stage. Those teams with good map reading skills and patience usually have the advantage over the teams that rush their way through or follow other teams. It’s always interested to watch from the transition to see who emerges from the trails first (and last).

15. ASS OVER TEAKETTLE - Photo by Matthew Beckett —-  We’ve all been there. Wikipedia should use this photo to go with the phrase “Ass Over Teakettle.”  Enough said.

16. REDNECKS LOVE ADVENTURE RACING - Photo by David Silver —-  I think this is my favorite costume of all time. The Bong Cousins (Irene Borecky & Dave Hope) came complete with mullets, beer hats, and a pregnant belly. They were the unanimous winners of the Spirit Award for the Cumberland MOMAR. Seeing this photo still makes me laugh.

 17. PROPS TO JEREMY – Photo by David Silver —-  He’s the owner of the Riding Fool Hostel and has raced in 9 of 10 Cumberland MOMARs. He’s won a few and been on the podium pretty much all the other years. And he does it all in a plain old sea kayak and a single speed mountain bike. Jeremy Grasby is his name and we honoured him with an Award of Excellence for his amazing support for the MOMAR over the years. Great guy.

18. THE CHILI MAN - Photo by Sophia Ha —-  Not only has Al Bergman of Berg Bikes sponsored the MOMAR for the past six years, but the Berg Chili Stand has become a fixture at the MOMAR finish line. Credit goes to Berg Bike athlete Lisa Hughes Fisher for making the awesome veggie chili.  Think custom when it’s time for a new bike.

19. ALL DONE! – Photo by Carla Yarrow —-  It takes racers up to 8 hours to finish the MOMAR and for those that come in close to the cutoff time, the MOMAR inflatable arch and finish line chute is enough to make them (almost) weep.  We put a lot of effort into making every racer’s finish line experience special — MC Dave Norona will call your name and cheer you on, volunteers will give you a finisher medal and rattle some cowbells, and we’ll take a souvenir photo of your sweaty smiling face to prove you did it!

20. SUPPORTING MAKE-A-WISH – Photo by David Silver —-  The MOMAR is very proud to have the Make-A-Wish Foundation of BC/Yukon as our official charity. Over the past four years, MOMAR participants have generously donated $17,000.00 to a cause that “enriches the lives of children with life threatening medical conditions through its wish granting work.”  Here’s a photo of Dee Raffo who was the lucky winner of the trip for two anywhere WestJet flies. 

Well, that’s it!  So many great photos and so many great stories to go along with them. I could easily do a TOP 100 but 20 took me long enough.

Happy New Year and I look forward to seeing you at the MOMAR in 2011.

Bryan Tasaka
Event Director

It was nothing but blue skies for the first race of the 2009 MOMAR season!  A record turnout of 241 registered racers signed up for either the 30km Sport Course or the 50km Enduro course designed by Jen Segger.  This was our third year in Squamish and to celebrate we added a checkpoint at the top Stawamus Chief.  I would like to thank all the Squamish community and landholders for supporting our event. More kudos go out to all of the racers, volunteers, and sponsors!!!

Congratulations to Bart Jarmula from Revelstoke for his first overall win of the MOMAR!

For full race results, click here.

Here are some photos from the day…

REGISTRATION AT THE HOWE SOUND INN & BREWING CO.

Volunteer, Yun Cheung-Ford, gives out a MOMAR T-Shirt. Everyone loved the design that Roddy Tasaka from Surface Collective created  (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

The Helly Hansen Gift Bags filled with goodies from our sponsors (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

Registration lines flowed steady all night long. (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

Team Live to Tell Rob Macleod, Graham Schulz, Malcolm Schulz, and Chris Bishop from Squamish show off their pipes. (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

Volunteers, Laura Comuzzi and Yun Cheng-Ford take a Breather from their duties to peruse the latest edition of Breathe Magazine (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

Pam Skeans and Shannon Collier from Squamish. (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

RACE MORNING AT ALICE LAKE PROVINCIAL PARK

No apparent pre-race jitters for solo racer Bart Jarmula with Team Sleepmonsters.ca, Erica Gray and Heather Fraser, (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

Coast Mountain Sports looks over the first of two maps that they would recieve on the day.  (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

The Victorious Secrets featuring Caroline Mackay, Alison Sum, Rosanna Sheppard, and Antonia Grady sex it up at the MOMAR. (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

AND THEY’RE OFF

Enduro course start (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

Live to Tell (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

Sarah Seads rips down the road past Quest University (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

Gary Robbins with a view of Howe Sound in the background. (photo by Amber Thom)

Mountain Devils (Lesley-Ann Marriott & Terry Stuart) summit the Stawamus Chief and arrive at CP 11 and then off to the rappel site. (photo by Amber Thom)

The father and son duo made up of Roger and Aaron Walmsley raced as team Generation Gap. Aaron was our youngest racer at 15 years old. (photo by Amber Thom)

Bart Jarmula from Revelstoke. (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

Team Helly Hansen Vancouver Island’s Justin Mark falls in the glacier fed river while wife and teammate Carey Sather looks on. (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

Meanwhile, teammate Jeff Reimer rides the river in style. (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

THE FINISH LINE IN DOWNTOWN SQUAMISH

DONE! Happy times for Michelle Maislen from Washington State.  (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

Garibaldi Highlands’ Kim Stegeman and Kate Drew celebrate their MOMAR finish. (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

The Ladies of Suburban Rush and the Gentlemen of Suburban Rush at the finish line. (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

Canadian adventure racing legend and seven time Eco-Challenge competitor, Bob Faulkner, crosses the finish line. (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

THE AWARDS CEREMONY AT QUEST UNIVERSITY

The top three in the solo male category: Gary Robbins (2rd), Bart Jarmula (1st), and Shane Ruljancich (3rd). Winners took home a Helly Hansen and Smartwool prize package, second place won Ryders sunglasses, and third won a wall tattoo from Surface Collective.  (photo by Amber Thom)

The top three in the Sport team of two female (photo by Amber Thom)

And the party! DJ Q-Pid played great tunes all night long and these were the last ones on the dance floor. (photo by Amber Thom)

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!

The schedule for the 2009 Schick Xtreme3 Mind Over Mountain Adventure Racing Series has been released.  This year the series will start in Squamish on May 23rd and end on September 26th in Cumberland.

Why only two races you ask?  Well, due to a very busy year ahead as the Project Manager for the City of Surrey’s 2010 Celebration Site, I will be way too challenged to put on three MOMAR events.  We may go back up to three next year but we’ll see how things go.

One exciting change is that we are adding a short course option to both races!  Billed as the “Sport Course” this category will feature a 30km course distance.  The regular course will now be called the “Enduro Course” and will be approxmately 50km in distance. Space will be limited to 200 racers in the Enduro and 100 in the Sport so we could see some early sellouts in registration.

The website has now been updated (except for the left header links) and registration will open on January 1st, 2009, at 10am. Mark the date on your calendar!

The new issue of the MOMAR eNewsletter for June just went out.  If you didn’t get a copy, then you can click here to view it online.  In this issue, we touch on everything from the upcoming MOMAR in Shawnigan Lake, to the past MOMAR in Squamish, to the Big Chop, Volunteers, BC Bike Race, and Training Clinics.

If you would like to be on the mailing list, you can sign up by entering your email in the form to the left.

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.

 
Adam Smith takes on the Rappel. Photo by Nick Sopcza.

I have finally added a few new photo galleries from the MOMAR in Squamish onto the website.  The photo galleries are from the rappel site, finish line, CP 16, and the awards/after-party.  Big thanks to all our photographers who came out and captured the MOMAR experience for all to view!

Photographer Nick Sopcza put together a great MOMAR Slideshow to music that is posted on YouTube.  It’s well worth checking out and re-living the memories!

Unfortunately, due to some technical delays, the final results will not be posted until late Monday night. However, Tony Austin, official photographer of the MOMAR, has posted his photo gallery online. Go to www.pbase.com/autie to view and purchase. Other photo galleries will be posted as they go live. In the meantime, here are a few great shots from the weekend!

And a Happy Mother’s Day to all the MOMAR mommies with a special shout out to the Chilliwack Yummy Mummies who were the winners of the Denis Fontaine Spirit Award presented by Keen Footwear (see photo below)…

I just arrived home from a fantastic weekend up in Whistler and Squamish that was filled with live music, good food, incredible XC riding, and a lot of time running in circles.

Friday morning I left home and headed north. My first stop was at The Rack Stop (MOMAR’s newest sponsor) where Steve the Owner hooked me up with a complete Thule rack system for the top on my new van. The system includes two Big Mouth bike racks and a Glide and Set kayak rack. It took Sam and Charles at the Rack Stop less than 45 minutes to install and then I was back on the road up to Whistler.

I was up in Whistler to check out the Telus Ski and Snowboard Festival and to watch Julian Marley perform. As I was walking by Citta’s, the HairFarmers (photo above) were playing live. This is the band that will be rocking the MOMAR After-Party on May 10th. They were playing Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” and the crowd was going nuts! Anyway, I wasn’t able to stay too long as I had to get back to Squamish and get going on finalizing plans for the upcoming MOMAR.

I met course designer, Jen Segger-Gigg, at 10am on Saturday and our plan for the day was to map out the entire orienteering section. This is an area that has a lot of great trails but none of which shows up on the existing local trail map. The GPS was working great but it was a challenge getting every trail and road mapped out. We ended up traveling over 20km for the day (lots of back and forth) and it was great to see these relatively undiscovered trails and some of the crazy stunts.

For those of you that are racing the MOMAR, you can expect this stage to be at least 10km. There are places where you will get really turned around if you’re not paying attention. It was a pretty tiring day and we spent over seven hours on the mapping, but now we have this race stage all ready to go. The great thing about this area is that few locals know these trails so this should level out the playing field and reduce the homefield advantage.

SIDENOTE: I have to mention this excellent Japanese restaurant that we went to after. It’s called Sushi Sen and it’s in Garibaldi Highlands. Check it out.

Today we met and rode over 20km of amazing single-track and did some trail running in a really cool forest. Part of the ride was in snow that will hopefully be gone in three weeks. The MOMAR Berg Bike held up awesome on the flowy trails of Squamish which I’m liking almost as much as the trails on Tzouhalem in Duncan. This is actually the final week for the Berg before it is disassembled and reborn as a dually! More on that in a future blog post though.

The last thing that Jen showed me was the rappel site. Holy crap! It was pretty FREAKY! I couldn’t look over. 100′ up with an awesome view of the Squamish Valley. Wow!

Thanks to Jen for the amazing weekend on the trails! Racers entered in the Squamish MOMAR are really going to love this course. Big thanks to Howe Sound Inn and Brewery for setting me up for the weekend in their first class rooms. It’s always a treat to stay there. Good times!

Photo: Me and Jen at one of the many view points

Photo: The MOMAR Berg in the Snow