FINAL
RESULTS (pdf)
PHOTOS
FROM THE RACE by TONY AUSTIN
Team
Braveheart: Greg & Andrew Pitre, Justin Lee, and Steve Knoke (photos by Tony
Austin)
As I sat in the zodiac slowly moving across
the start line of kayaks filled with anxious racers, I hear a loud cry from one
racer with his face painted blue:
"I...fight you
may die, run you may live. But what will you do with that life. Now dieing in
your beds, would you trade all those night, from this day to that, for just one
chance...JUST ONE CHANCE. To come back here, and tell our enemies, that they make
take our lives....but they will never take our FREEDOM!!!"
You
may recognize the line from the movie Braveheart. It was the inspiring speech
Wallace (Mel Gibson) gave to his army before heading into battle. Some may consider
that the MOMAR is a similar type of battle where racers must sacrifice their bodies
to cross the finish line. Well that may be a bit dramatic but for Justin Lee,
Steve Knoke, Andrew Pitre, and Greg Pitre it was enough for them to make costumes,
paint their faces, and become Team Braveheart--in look and in spirit.
The
boys of Team Braveheart truly represent what the MOMAR is all about. Not only
are they competitive racers who have raced in almost every MOMAR since 2000, but
they also bring with them an incredible amount of 'spirit' that reminds us all
that even though this is a race, you can also have a lot of fun too.
The
energy level was exceptionally high for the first MOMAR of the season. Returning
to the Cowichan Valley for the fifth year, race weekend began on Friday evening
with the Frontrunners Speaker Series which featured informational talks by Melanie
Whital of Simon River Sports (Performance Paddling), Denis Fontaine from Helly
Hansen (Technical Wear for Adventure Racing), and Team Spirit (Chris Koch, Doug
Doyle, Darin Nevin, and Elsa Dahlie on Team Dynamics).
Amy
Tabata, Bryan Tasaaka, Niomi Tabata; Lynette Keulen & Louise Dekens; Mr Clean
and the Dirty Girlz (photos by Tony Austin)
The weather
forecast for race weekend was not looking good. I was checking the update three
times a day and I was slowly accepting that this might be the first MOMAR with
rain. I mean it's only been 10 races in a row where we have woken up to sunny
skies! Let's make it 11 I prayed and low and behold the weather gods must love
the MOMAR!
Kayak
start; Dave Norona, Kayak start (photos by Tony Austin)
The
race began with a 9km kayak in Maple Bay. Dave Norona was the fastest paddler
followed closely by the Tabata sisters in their flatwater K2 and Denis Fontaine
and Cheryl Beatty of Team Helly Hansen. Next up was a 2km beach run to the bike
transition area. The beach run always claims a few victims on its very slimy rocks
and sure enough a few bloody legs came into the Reckless Cycles Bike Transition
Zone.
Team
SISU's Lisa Nillson and Dave Richardson took home 3rd place honours in the coed
2's division; Normon Thibault and Sean Cruickshank; Norona out first of the beach
run (photos by Tony Austin)
Since this was our fifth
year at the same venue, I was conscious of designing a course that was significantly
different from previously years, but still featuring some of the best parts of
Mt. Tzouhalem-like the amazing single-track and spectacular views. The biggest
change was that the racers were required to rely on their map reading abilities
much more. Hardly any of the course was flagged so racers' navigation abilities
were key.
Racers had to navigate their way to the top of Mt.
Tzouhalem on a series of roads and trails. It was a tough slog up 500m of elevation
which included a nice little hike-a-bike and a run to the 'cross.' However, once
at the top, racers could now following the pink flagging through some of the finest
single-track trails in the world! Darin Nevin of Team Spirit could not stop telling
me how wicked the riding was and I also heard that from numerous other racers.
Liana
Gabert & Lisa Chong; Bill Lane raced with daughter Kirsten; Todd Blumel and
James Mackay with Team Bowmel Chrysler (photos by Tony Austin)
Sean
Lunny had the fastest bike time but Norona still held onto the lead by a few minutes
heading into CP10. Once at CP10, racers were given a new map for the trekking
portion of the race. Racers were required to navigate to CP 11-19 in any order
they chose. CPs were place all the way back up to the top of the 500m high mountain.
CP locations were placed strategically so that racers had to deal with bushwacking,
swamps, and complex trail networks. I was surprised to see racers heading off
in all directions when I thought it would be fairly obvious which way was the
best route.
This is the stage that completely broke it open
for Norona as he breezed through the stage and navigated his way flawlessly to
every CP and back to the finish line with a time just over four hours and his
fourth MOMAR title.
Frontrunners;,
Claire Townsend; Annie Kvick(photos by Tony Austin)
The
next racer was Annie Kvick who also nailed the navigation and finished in 4h,
26min. Team Frontrunners (Normon Thibault and Sean Cruickshank) of Nanaimo was
the first team of two to finish. The Gingerbread Men (Rick Fawkes, Chris Clements,
Wade Anderson, and Blair Koel) were the first team of four male to finish and
Team Spirit was the first team of four coed to cross the line. Team Helly Hansen
won the team of two coed and 2-BAD-A (Amy and Niomi Tabata) was the first team
of two female to across the line.
The final racers finished
in just over eight long hours. Hats off to them for having the mental toughness
to power through the course and finish smiling!
FINAL
RESULTS (pdf)
As everyone who's raced a MOMAR knows,
the MOMAR experience doesn't end at the finish line. Racers and volunteers all
headed off to Providence Farm where the post-race banquet and party was held.
The banquet was held outside under the cover of tents. Everyone feasted on a great
buffet dinner put on by Barrie Fiander of Eatables Unlimited and then we went
into the awards ceremony where we gave out a TON of great draw prizes. John Briant
won a Simon River Sports Wing Blade Paddle and Denis Fontaine won a 3 day Kayaking
trip to the Gulf Islands (donated by Ocean River Sports). Everyone who entered
received a chance at winning the MARIN cruiser bikes that will be drawn at the
end of the season.
As always, the dancing followed soon after
the awards were completed. The floor was packed as DJs Roddy Tasaka and Jarom
Cohen mix up one wicked set after another. The party lasted until 3am and Normon
Thibault and Denis Fontaine were the last racers on the dance floor.
The
PARTY! (photos by Bryan Tasaka)
What a great start
to the MOMAR season! Nothing but great times, super friendly people, and heaps
of amazing memories! As I said at the banquet, I LOVE putting on these races for
you guys and it's so rewarding when we everything comes together! I would love
to hear your feedback and your experience from the race!
So
many people to thank for making this happen (see KUDOS below) but I want to acknowledge
the amazing effort of Aimee Dunn and Diana Marchand! You guys were a HUGE help
and I truly appreciate all your hard work!
I hope to see everyone
at another race soon! The next one is in Sechelt on the Sunshine Coast and it's
going to be awesome!
Thanks!!!
Bryan Tasaka
Race Director
FINAL
RESULTS (pdf)
PHOTOS
FROM THE RACE by TONY AUSTIN
________________________________________________________
KUDOS!!!
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 150 of you. Special thanks
to those that made the trip from as far as PEI, Ontario, Alberta, and Washington
State!
*
SPONSORS:
Presenting: SISU
Gold: Frontrunners, Reckless
Cycles
Media: The Zone @ 91.3, Vancouver Island Newsgroup, 100.3 the
Q!
Silver:
Helly Hansen, Marin Bikes, Simon River Sports, Bow-Mel Crysler, Budget Car
& Truck Rental, Seaward Kayaks,
Bronze: Hammer Gel, Vancouver Island
Brewery,
Community: Old Victoria Water Co., Madrone Environmental Services,
*
LANDHOLDERS: Maple Bay Marina, District of North Cowichan, Maple Bay Yacht
Club, Chew Excavating, Warren Paulin at the Cliffs, Mr. & Mrs. Kitson, Maple
Bay Rowing Club, and Sharon and Bruce Berkey. Thanks for letting us run the race
on your property!
*
SAFETY TEAM: St. John Ambulance Brigade, Coast Guard Auxiliary, Timonda Emergency
Services, Search and Rescue Society of BC, 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, Vancouver Island Canoe and Kayak Centre,
and 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!)
*
FRIDAY NIGHT FESTIVITIES: To Melanie Whital for putting on a very informative
Performance Paddling clinic. To Denis Fontain of Helly Hansen for the Tech Talk,
and to Team Spirit for their great talk on Team Dynamic
*
SPECIAL THANKS: Thanks Todd Blumel for all your help in finding new access
points and for cutting that log! To Jake McGillvery and Dave Bergman for pre-riding
the course and tearing down all the flagging.
*
HEAD VOLUNTEERS: Aimee Dunn, Diana Marchand, Liz Anderson, Wanda Miller, Marian
Oden, Michael McNab, Brian Painter, Tim Mitchell, Hugo Stead, Dave Bergman, Jake
McGillvary, and Lisa Wolff -- 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
FINAL
RESULTS (pdf)
PHOTOS
FROM THE RACE by TONY AUSTIN
