Final
Results (PDF)
The 3rd Annual Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race
was held this past weekend on May 11th, 2002. It was the warmest day of the year
so far and a total of 115 racers from as far as North Carolina came to compete
in the technically challenging 35km course with over 1000m of total elevation
gain.
The adventure race was set in the Cowichan Valley, BC,
Canada. The race started with a 7km paddle on the glassy waters of Maple Bay.
Dave Norona was the first racer through this stage before starting the 2.5km coasteer
along the shoreline of Maple Bay to the bike transition.
The
mountain bike leg featured a challenging 15 km ride on the world-class single-track
of Mount Tzouhalem. The ride was a steep and technically difficult course which
favoured the skilled riders. Sean Lunny of Nanaimo managed to catch Norona on
the climb and they raced neck and neck for the rest of the race.
At
the top of the 500m mountain bike climb, racers were required to dismount and
run out to the Cross--a spectacular viewpoint of the Cowichan Valley--where the
faced their first mystery event. At this mystery event, racers needed to undo
four small metal puzzles before heading back to their bikes and an unexpected
hike-a-bike section.
Local racers, James Luxmoore and Adam
Smith of Team Chuck-A-Bike used their intimate knowledge of Mount Tzouhalem to
catch up to Lunny and Norona and were less than 30 seconds behind them out of
the mountain bike to trek transition.
The trekking stage featured
a steep 500m climb back up the trails of Mount Tzouhalem. At the top, racers entered
the orienteering stage where they had an hour to find five control markers in
the dense salal and swamp filled area known as Field of Dreams. Lunny and Norona
again were the first ones at the start of this stage with a five minute lead over
Team Chuck-A-Bike. Team captain, Luxmoore, a professional forester with TimberWest,
used his extensive field experience to catch up to Lunny and Norona. However,
upon exiting this stage, Team Chuck-A-Bike realized they had lost their Racer
Passport in the orienteering section and were forced to go back and search for
it.
Lunny and Norona took full advantage of their mistake
and ran though the fast downhill trails to the finish line. Solo racers, Lunny
and Norona, both winners in previous Mind Over Mountain events, and who had joined
forces during the mountain bike stage, dropped their alliance and battled it out
to the finish line. Sprinting ahead, Lunny managed a narrow two second victory
over Norona with a time of 3:34:10 to claim his second win in his Mind Over Mountain
history.
Team Chuck-A-Bike was third through the finish line
13 minutes behind Lunny and won the team of two category. Norm Thibault and Wendy
Simms of Team Frontrunners finished fourth overall and second in the team of two
division with a time of 4:01. Solo racer, Dave Bergman of Duncan, finished fifth
overall and third in the men's solo category with a time of 4:02:22.
Just
over two minutes separated the top three teams of four. With a time of 5:39:40,
Team Just Don't Get Rescued of Victoria captured their first adventure racing
title. Team Hawaii 4-0 of Victoria was second and Team Where's My Sherpa of Ladysmith
finished third.
In the solo female category, Carolyn Daubeny
of Vancouver won with a time of 4:54:09. Kris Gardner of Parksville was second
with a time of 6:29:19. In third, Karen Wyatt of Nanaimo finished with at time
of 6:49:10.
The final stage of the weekend festivities concluded
at the Cowichan Golf and Country Club with a gourmet buffet dinner, awards, and
dancing well into the night.
Thank you to
the following who helped make this a enormous success:
* Volunteers -- all 50+ enthusiasctic volunteeers who helped out all day!
Especially to the following who went above and beyond and helped with the event
leading up to the race:Joanna Brownell, Roddy Tasaka, Tania Tripp, Paul Owens,
and Janine Tasaka
* 91.3 the Zone and 100.3 the Q,
who ran numerous radio ads and helped hype the race
* Adidas Canada
- for all the great door prizes and race supplies
* Frontrunners in Nanaimo
for all the prize donations and helping promote the race
* Flash-5
Energy Foods for all the energy bars, drinks, and prize packages
*
Bad Dog Grrr-aphics in Duncan for all the signage
* Spacecraft Designs
for all the print, web, and t-shirt designs
* SonicHalo Productions
for capturing this event on video
* Budget Car and Truck Rental for
supplying the vans & SUV prize package
* Elements Magazine and
Wild Isle Magazine for the the ad space
* To the following kayak companies
for bringing down boats, promoting the race, and offering great rates to the racers:
Comox Valley Kayaks, Sealegs Kayaking, Island Outdoor Centre, and especially
Wilderness Kayaking for setting up the kayak course and managing the route
* Old Victoria Water Company for the water
* Country Grocer for
all the post race refreshments
* Shipyard Pub and the Maple Bay Marina
for allowing us use of their facilities
* District of North Cowichan, Maple
Bay Yacht Club, Don and Theresa Chapman, Grosvenor International and First National
Properties, & Maple Bay Marina for allowing us access to their property
* St. John Ambulance Brigade for providing first aid attendants
* Iguana
Cycles for handling the bike check
* Madrone Enviornmental Services
Ltd. - for all the mapping
* Falconcrest Images for screening the
tshirts
* Howard Johnson Hotels in Nanaimo - for the generous door
prize donation
