The Atmosphere Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race (MOMAR) returned to Cumberland, BC on Sept. 26, for its 16th season. Once again, hometown hero Brad Crowe was in the spotlight, although this time he wasn’t sharing it.
In 2014 Crowe teamed up with Clay Ward for the overall quickest time, competing in the Male Team of Two (2M) category. This year Crowe posted the overall quickest time again - as an individual.
His time of 4:51:21 for the 50km Enduro Course was :32 faster that the time posted by the (2M) Triumph Ticoons (Mat Hewitt of Vernon and Tim Musselman Bell of Penticton).
The first solo female to cross the finish line was Aimee Dunn of North Vancouver at 5:59:55, successfully defending her solo crown from 2014.
Genevieve Burdette of Cumberland and Sarah Seads of Courtenay teamed up this year, taking the top spot in the team of two female category, with a time of 5:25:28.
The overall winners in the team of four category were Powell River’s Chris Bratseth, Graham Cocksedge and Lucien Ervington, along with Nygil Goggins of Cumberland (5:33:19).
The first racers to cross the finish line for the 30 km Sport Course were Jennifer and Joel Anthony of Victoria, with a time of 3:54:08.
More than 525 racers participated in the MOMAR, heading to Comox Valley from Ontario, Whitehorse, Oregon, Washington State, Saskatchewan and all over B.C. and Alberta.
Sunny skies welcomed all the racers and volunteers to Cumblerland on race day.
“Aside from a morning shower, race conditions were perfect,” said race director Bryan Tasaka. “The amazing volunteers and community support made this great day happen, but we sure were happy to have mother nature was on our side as well.”
The MOMAR partnered up with the Cumberland Community Forest Society (CCFS), an organization dedicated to preserving 150 acres of mature forest bordering the Village of Cumberland, from Comox Lake to The Trent River. More than $3,000 was raised by and for the CCFS during the MOMAR weekend.
The MOMAR is an off-road multisport sprint adventure race that requires participants to navigate their way to a series of checkpoints, in hopes of crossing the finish line within the 8 hour limit. The disciplines include mountain biking, paddling and trail running over scenic and rugged west coast terrain.
The MOMAR series has staged 37 races in British Columbia, Canada over 16 race seasons.