FINAL RESULTS (pdf)    PHOTOS FROM THE RACE by TONY AUSTIN

The Easter Hunnies and the 2-Bad-A showing their Easter Spirit (photo by Tony Austin)

It is Easter weekend, my alarm goes off on race morning at 5:30am and I can hear the pounding rain and wind outside. I knew then that the first Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race of the 2005 season was going to be something special.

This was our sixth MOMAR in the Cowichan Valley and I wanted to make the course different for the racers like Dave Norona, Linda Morden, Normon Thibault, and Denis Fontaine who have all raced the previous five. The first thing I did was change the location of the trek and keep the start location a secret. Racers were told that on race morning they would be driven out to a mystery location where they would get their race map.

Team Spirit of '94's Steve Knoke and Andrew Pitre with all the eggs (photo by Tony Austin)

At 8:45am, racers boarded the bus in Maple Bay for a 20 minute drive to Osborne Bay Regional Park in Crofton - the Mystery start location. They were given a sealed envelop and they were not allowed to open it until instructed. The rain was still heavy and everyone was soaking wet before the race even started. After giving the pre-race safety talk that warned racers of the slippery sections on Maple Mountain and the gale forecast that forced a change to the kayak route, I instructed racers that they could now open their maps and the race would begin in… 3-2-1.

Inside the envelop was a crude and treasure hunt style map of Osborne Bay Regional Park that I drew with a Sharpie. This was the first of two Mystery Events and I called it "The Hunt". Playing on the Easter theme, the object of this challenge was to find the three egg locations scattered in this small park and return to the start where they would exchange the eggs for their second map. The first racer to return with all three egg would win a three day kayaking tour of the Gulf Islands donated by Ocean River Sports in Victoria.

Egg location #1 (photo by Tony Austin)

When the airhorn sounded to signal the start of the race, 95% of the racers all ran off in the wrong direction. Who was following whom??? It was quite entertaining watching as the first egg was just over the grassy knoll 50m away. Some of MOMAR's top racers and teams came out of the mystery event in the mid to back pack with some serious time to make up over the next 30+km. However, it was orienteering expert Roger McLeod who was the first to return with all the eggs and take the kayaking prize in just over 11 minutes. The last was Team Helly Hansen's Denis Fontaine and Sean Lunny in 24 minutes after having their map destroyed early due to the rain.

The second map detailed the trekking route on Maple Mountain, the kayaking stage in Maple Bay, and the beach run to the bikes. This was the first time we have used Maple Mountain for the MOMAR and racers had to make their way onto the Yellow Trail which was the location for the first and only Checkpoint (CP) on the 8km trek.

Helly Hansen's Dave Howells chases down Ryan Ervin at the end of the trek (photo by Tony Austin)

Ryan Ervin, Dave Howells, and Dave Norona came out of "The Hunt" in the middle of the pack but were the first three to emerge from Maple Mountain and arrive at their kayaks. Ryan Ervin was the first to complete the trek and posted the fastest stage time at 1:15:02.

Luckily the rain subsided upon Ryan's arrival however, the nasty marine forecast forced us to make a last minute change to the kayak route. With the help of Brian and Nancy from Wilderness Kayaking the decision was to bring the course inside Maple Bay where it was protected from the wind and waves. It was on the water that five time MOMAR Champion, Dave Norona, used his speedy transitions and kayaking skill to take the lead and finish with a 37:44 kayak stage split before beginning the 2km beach run to the bikes.

Dave Norona hammered out the fastest kayaking time of the day (photo by Tony Austin)

The riding on Mt. Tzouhalem is some of the best in the world and the course route included all of my favorite trails. But first, racers had to conquer 400 metres worth of elevation gain on the bike, a run out the Cross, and a 'fun' hike-a-bike section - all staples of this race.

CP 7 was located at the Cross which offers the best view of the Cowichan Valley. It was also the site of the second Mystery Event. Each team had to find one of the hidden Easter Eggs that were scattered around the CP. Inside the eggs was a chance to win great prizes like GutBuster and MOMAR race entries, Helly Hansen Lifa Versa tops, and a grand prize of a kayaking and whale watching trip donated by Cowichan Bay Kayaking. The Easter Hunnies were the lucky team to win the grand prize.

The Easter Hunnies were one of a few teams that showed their race spirit by donning bunny ears. Also showing their Easter spirit were the 2-Bad-As who handmade their ears, put on a bunny tail, and gave out candy filled eggs to the volunteers. Justin Lee, Steve Knoke, and Andrew Pitre made up Team Spirit of '94 which was a beautiful tribute to the Commonwealth Games in Victoria. The spirit award ended up in the paws of the 2-Bad-A and for their efforts they won a night at the Sandman Inn Hotel in Victoria and a gift certificate to the Shark Club Bar and Grill.

Riders on the sweet trails of Mount Tzouhalem (photo by Tony Austin)

From the top of Tzouhalem the mountain bike course went on Chicken Run, Lower T, School's Out, the Muni Trail, and Eoz. These are all amazing trails with lots of fun stuff to ride and plenty of incredible flow. This was a definitely highlight for many of the racers. Team Frontrunners made up of Norm Thibault and Wendy Simms were the fastest through the bike stage with a time of 1:51:22.

Normon Thibault and Wendy Simms of Team Frontrunners were the fastest team of the day and finished 2nd overall (photo by Tony Austin)

However, Team Frontrunners couldn't catch Norona who never lost his lead after the kayak stage. Dave finished first across the line with a time of 4:03:35. This was Norona's sixth MOMAR title in eight attempts! Team Frontrunners finished six minutes later and was the fastest team of the day. Only a minute and a half separated Ryan Ervin and Dave Howells who had times of 4:18:15 and 4:20:43, respectively.

Linda Morden was the fastest solo female coming in at 5:16:33. Ina Ervin was close behind at 5:18:44 to take second and Kyla Adams 5:54:00 finished third.

Team Night Hawk's John Barron and Tom Jarecki run to the finish as the first team of two male (photo by Tony Austin)

Team Night Hawk won the team of two male category, the Snot Sisters won the team of two female. In the team of four category, Team SOL was the top coed team, the Easter Hunnies were the fastest all female contingent, and The TzuCru was the only team of four male but due to a morning illness to one of their teammates, they raced as a team of three and had to race unranked. Special mention goes out to Team Helly Hansen for recovering from the rough start and passing a ton of teams to finish third in the team of two category.

Of course, the final two stages of the MOMAR is the banquet and after-party. This year the party was at the Quw'utsun Cultural Centre in Duncan and featured a great salmon buffet. We gave away tons of draw prizes including schwag from Helly Hansen; a Shark blade paddle from Simon River Sports; Zone @ 91.3 CD prize packages; kayaking gear from Seaward Kayaking; car care kits from Bow-Mel Chrysler; entries to the Yeti Ascent, SAFARI, MOMAR, and the GutBuster Trail Run. We also awarded Team Peak Performance the "Phillips Brewing Co. - Team in Most Need of A Beer Award" for having a few navigational problems and crossing the line in 7:50:00. All first place teams won a $50 gift certificate to Frontrunners, second place winners won a tune-up at Reckless Cycles, and third place won a Phillips beer.

After the award wrapped up, Dave Norona was the first on the dance floor and got the party started. DJ Roddy was running solo this night and kept the dance floor packed until 1am. It was another fun party and great to see all the MOMAR regulars and to meet many of first-timers.

Well, that's the race report for the first race of the season. This was our 15th MOMAR since 2000 and I must say that organizing these races is still a ton of fun. Even with the crazy rain in the morning, I felt it really added some extra "adventure" of the race. I also promised that this race would be a bit easier since it was the first one of the year. OOPS! I think I had one too many trails in there! Sorry about that but there's just too much great terrain to ignore and it was hard to delete sections! Finally, I would just like to give an extra BIG thanks to the 65 volunteers who braved the rainy weather and came out to make this race a success!

Until the next one,

Bryan Tasaka
Race Director

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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:

* THE ENTIRE VOLUNTEER TEAM: To EVERYONE who came out and braved the cold and wet weather to be a part of this race, THANK YOU for coming out and helping make the 6th Annual MOMAR a HUGE SUCCESS!!!

* RACERS: Of course, it wouldn't be a race without all 99 of you.

* SPONSORS:
Gold: Frontrunners, Reckless Cycles, Helly Hansen
Gold Media: The Zone @ 91.3, Vancouver Island Newsgroup, The Zone @ 91.3
Silver: Simon River Sports, Bow-Mel Crysler, Budget Car & Truck Rental, Seaward Kayaks, Phillips Brewery, Ocean River Sports, Bad Dog Graphics, Tauca Lea Resort and Spa
Bronze: Carb-Boom Gel, Bad
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, Maple Bay Rowing Club, and Sharon and Bruce Berkey. Thanks for letting us run the race on your property!

* SAFETY TEAM: 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, Ocean River Sports, Sealegs Kayaking, Cowichan Bay Kayaking, and Wilderness Kayaks. What a huge service you provide to the racers by bringing boats down to the race start!

* PRE-RACE BIKE INSPECTION TEAM: Reckless Cycles and Iguana Cycles (extra thanks to DJ at Iguana for doing the Friday Night inspection too!)

* EXTRA THANKS!: Wanda Miller for once again organizing the kayak transition area, Dave Rife for coordinating the HAMS, Doug Doyle for coordinating SARBC, Sheron Chrysler for coordinating the Tzouhalem mountain crew, Marc Campbell from the Yeti for coming extra early and helping with everything, and Lisa Wolff for all of your amazing coordination of the volunteers, registration, and race central!

Thanks again and we'll see you at the next one!

Bryan Tasaka
Race Director