Once
again the weather was fantastic as racers awoke to clear blue skies and the anticipation
of what was to be the most challenging course ever designed on Mt. Tzouhalem.
A record number of participants lined up in their kayaks in the tranquil waters
of Maple Bay for the start of the five stage, 36 km, course that featured kayaking,
trekking, a beach run, orienteering, and mountain biking.
The
4th annual Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race (MOMAR) in the Cowichan Valley on
Vancouver Island, BC, sold all 200 racer spots weeks in advance and was the third
sellout in a row. Racers came from all over BC, Oregon, and Alberta for this one-day
epic multi-sport event. In a race that featured many first time participants as
well as numerous MOMAR regulars, the course spared no prisoners and the majority
finished with bruised and bloody bodies--the battle scars of every adventure racer.
The
tough 9 km paddling stage and choppy ocean conditions claimed its first victim
as solo racers on tippy performance boats had difficulty maintaining an even keel.
The majority of racers battled the conditions and hit the beach for their short
but scenic beach run to the bike transition area. The mountain biking staged was
an intense climb that featured 500m of elevation gain to the top of Mt. Tzouhalem
and a short hike-a-bike up a washed out road. Here, racers dismounted their bikes
and ran out on on the Kona Cross Trail to a spectacular viewpoint over looking
the Cowichan Valley and to the first Mystery Event of the day sponsored by the
Zone @91.3.
Along
with the course map, racers were given instructions that somewhere along the course
they would come across a photographer who would take their team photo. However,
it wasn't just any old photo, the theme was "Craziest" without restrictions...
As they left this checkpoint, they were given instructions for the Part II of
the Mystery Event -- to come up with a team personal ad "Adventure Racer
Seeking Love." Personal ads were then matched with photos which made for
some very interesting captions. Dave Norona was easily the craziest photo
of the bunch--a photo obviously inspired from a scene in Silence of the Lambs...
Norona took home a weekend getaway at the Howard Johnson Hotel in Victoria or
Nanaimo.
The
mountain biking stage was a technical 15km course on Mt. Tzouhalem's best single-track
trails like Twist'n'Shout, the Tea's, and the Twilight Zone. For the experienced
riders, the downhill was fast, flowy, and fun, but for the novice riders it was
much more challenging and somewhat intimidating. Everyone managed to finish the
ride more or less in one piece (Batman and Robin excluded).
Out
of the Bad Dog Bike Transition Area, racers traded bikes for runners and proceeded
up the steep trail called Awesome for another 500m of elevation gain and 10km.
At the top, racers met the start of the Orienteering Stage where they had to bushwack
through Salal, deadfall, and swamps to find six control markers within 60 minutes.
The Orienteering course was made extra difficult this year with route selection
and time management the key. Penalties for missing controls and going over the
time limit were costly.
Three
time winner, Dave Norona, had a commanding lead after the kayak stage; however,
2001 champion, Normon Thibault, and Team Puke (Dave Bergman and Justin Mark) were
close on his heels at the end of the bike stage. Only minutes separated, Norona,
Thibault, and Team Puke at the start of the orienteering stage. Unfortunately,
this is where the race fell apart for the lead pack. Unable to find one of the
controls, they went over the time limit and incurred serious penalty time. John
Loewen, Nanaimo, was the fourth racer to enter the orienteering stage and navigated
his way flawlessly to all six markers in 54 minutes.
Following
the final decent to the finish line on twisting single-track, Norona crossed the
finish line first in 4:33:05, followed by Thibault in 4:33:42, Loewen in 4:34:13,
and Team Puke in 4:41:06. When the dust settled, Loewen's precise orienteering
ability and zero penalty time helped to crown him the new 2003 MOMAR_001 Champion.
Second
place over all went to Rick Martin (4:45:15) from Vancouver. Third in the men's
solo and forth overall went to Clayton Annis of Campbell River (4:45:56).
Top
solo female went to Calla Barras of North Vancouver who despite having to backtrack
on the bike section finished with an impressive time of 4:59:00 and 12th overall.
Second solo female went to first time racer, Claire Townsend of Victoria, and
third to Sue Price of Williams Lake.
In
the team of two category, Team Last Minute Wonders (Jon Bredick and Lucy Reiss)
of Campbell River were the top team with a time of 4:45:53 and third overall.
Team RecGroup.ca of Ryan Ervin and Eric Hung of North Vancouver were the top all
male team of two. Team Snot Sisters, Carol Tickner and Natasha Dilay of Victoria,
were once again the top all female team of two with a time of 4:55:54 and 10th
overall.
In
the all male team of four category, Team Where's My Sherpa from Ladysmith was
the top team of four. They were followed by Team Deep Cove of North Vancouver
and Team SOL of Duncan.
Courtenay's
Age B4 Beauty was the top coed 4 team followed by Team Body Barn Dumbells of Duncan
and Team IQS from Vancouver.
Only
two all female team of four competed in this year's race and only Victoria's Team
Out of Our Element managed to finish. The other all female team The Naughty Nurses
were having an excellent race when one of their teammates fell off a log in the
orienteering section and fractured her wrist in five place. She's getting surgery
on it now and has vowed to be back for redemption in Ladysmith.
All
first place winners took home prize packages from Adidas and Frontrunners. Second
place prizes were donated by Urban Lemming Cycle Shop in Campbell River, and third
place prizes were donate by Flash-5 Energy Foods.
The
race also featured the youngest racer every to compete in a Mind Over Mountain
Adventure Race. Twelve year old, Tate Rose, raced on a team of four with his dad,
Rob and Rhonda Freemason both veteran MOMAR racers. Their team Riot Squad finished
a very impressive 6th in the Coed Division with a time of 6:51:25.
The
race was followed by the banquet dinner and awards at the Cowichan Golf and Country
Club. At the awards, Team Superheroes 1 & 2 shared the highly coveted spirit
award by dressing up in custom made Superhero costumes (Batman, Robin, Wonder
Woman, and Superman). Team members Justin Lee, Andrea Carey, Andrew Pitre and
Greg Pitre won a weekend at the Tauca Lea Resort and Spa in Ucluelet, and SUV
rental from Budget Car and Truck Rental, and two weekend double kayak rentals
from Alberni Outpost.
Other
special prizes went to Colin Rennie who dumped over 10 times during the kayaking
stage. Rennie was the last to finish the paddle but made up significant ground
on the remaining stages of the race and finished in the middle of the pack. For
his efforts, Rennie was awarded a Simon River Sport wing paddle which will hopefully
help out in the next race.
The
DJ played well into the night and the River Rats from the Comox Valley were the
last to leave the party. Some racers and volunteers made it over to the local
nightclub for a few more grooves before the weekend festivities were put to bed
until next May.
All
in all, it was a great weekend with fantastic weather, friendly and energetic
racers, and over 80 AMAZING volunteers!
It
takes so many phenominal people and companies to put on a race of this magnitude.
A BIG THANK YOU goes out to the following:
*
RACERS: Of course, it wouldn't be a race without all 199 of you who signed up
to test your limits! It's so good to see so many of the regulars again and it's
great to meet so many new people!
*
SPONSORS: The Zone @ 91.3, Frontrunners, Adidas, Simon River Sports, Bad Dog Graphics,
Howard Johnson Hotels, Budget Car & Truck Rental, 100.3 the Q!, Flash-5 Energy
Foods, Seaward Kayaks, Urban Lemming Bike Shop, Vancouver Island Newsgroup, 7-Eleven,
Hammer Gel, Vancouver Island Brewery, Old Victoria Water Company, and Madrone
Environmental Services.
*
LANDHOLDERS: Maple Bay Marina / Shipyard Pub, District of North Cowichan, Maple
Bay Yacht Club, Mr Paul Chapman, Grosvenor International / First National Properties.
Thanks for letting us run the race on your property!
*
SAFETY TEAM: St. John Ambulance Brigade, Coast Guard Auxiliary, Timonda Emergency
Services, and the Cowichan Amateur Radio Society. You guys are an invaluable asset
to ensuring swift response to an injured or lost racer!
*
KAYAK OUTFITTERS: Alberni Outpost, Comox Valley Kayaks, Island Outdoor Centre,
Ocean River Sports, Sealegs Kayaking, Simon River Sports, Vancouver Island Canoe
and Kayak Centre, Wilderness Kayaks. What a huge service you provide to the racers
by bringing boats down to the race start! And thanks to all that donated such
great prize packages!
*
PRE-RACE BIKE INSPECTION TEAM: Reckless Cycles, Urban Lemming, The Realm, Dodge
City Cycles, and Iguana Cycles (extra thanks to DJ at Iguana for doing the Friday
Night inspection too!)
*
FLAGGING CREW: Thanks to Sheron Crysler, Andrea McLeod, Tim Mitchell, Barbara
Schneider, and Tim Mitchell for helping hang all the flags.
*
FRIDAY NIGHT FESTIVITIES: Cathy Robertson and staff at the Qwu'utsen Cultural
Centre for having us in you amazing facilities. To Dave Norona for presenting
your inspiring Eco-Challenge Fiji slide show. To Melanie Whital for putting on
a very informative Performance Paddling clinic. To Lisa Wolff for organizing the
Speakers. To Ria Parker and Barbara Schnieder for coming out extra early on Friday
and helping with set up. To Janine Tasaka for once again running one smooth registration
night.
*
HEAD VOLUNTEERS: Dana Luxmoore, Sandy Zipser, Sheron Crysler, Wanda Miller, Carl
Coger, Scott Stewart, Nancy Hamilton, Brian Painter, Tim Mitchell, Hugo Stead,
Lisa Wolff, Janine Tasaka, Tania Tasaka -- you guys did a fantastic job of organizing
your area and your team!
*
THE ENTIRE VOLUNTEER TEAM: To EVERYONE who lifted a finger to help with this race,
on behalf of the racers and management team we THANK YOU for coming out and helping
make the 4th Annual MOMAR a HUGE SUCCESS!!!
Thanks
again and we'll see you at the next one!
Bryan
Tasaka
Race Director
