See
Results
On Saturday, June 30th, racers from all
over Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland, and Washington State came to Mount
Washington Alpine Resort to participate in the Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race.
It was a race that would showcase the relentless terrain of the area and push
racers to their limits.
Adventure racers who participated
in the third event of the Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race Series will most likely
remember the course filled with more uphill climbing than they thought possible
in any one day of racing. It was a tireless course that featured a total of 57
km and 1,600 metres of elevation gain.
Racers
started with a short LeMans run before mounting their bikes for a 25 km ride filled
with fast descents and technical single-track. The next stage, an 8.5 km paddle
on Wolf Lake, was followed by a long 16 km mountain bike climb back up to the
resort. Here racers traded bikes for runners and were required to study a short
story on the rare Vancouver Island Marmot before leaving the transition zone for
the final stage.
Racers
were then given a detailed map and were required to navigate their way along a
series of control points to the top of Mount Washington. This is where only the
strongest teams made the final push and were able to summit. Exhausted and dazed,
racers were forced to test their mental aptitude and write a quiz on the Vancouver
Island marmot before descending to the finish line.
Local
Comox Valley resident, Sean Lunny, was literally in a category by himself as he
powered ahead of the pack very quickly and finished one hour and seven minutes
ahead of the next team with a time of 5:19:33. Ina Kerchhoff and Ryan Ervin of
North Vancouver came in second with a time of 6:27:15 and had the fastest kayak
and trekking times for the race. First time adventure racer, Pano Skvivanos of
Victoria finished third overall with a time of 6:35:30. Where's My Sherpa, consisting
of Shawn O'Toole, Michelle Steel, and Randy Steel of Ladysmith and Roger Walsley
of Chemainus won the team of four division and place forth overall with a time
of 6:44:44.
Not
only did racers subject their bodies to hours of pain, but in true Canadian fashion,
racers and volunteers celebrated their accomplishments at the post-race banquet
with a hearty meal, energetic dancing, and then wrapping up the night with a rousing
rendition of O'Canada.
See
Results
