The Atmosphere Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race (MOMAR) series wrapped up the season in the Comox Valley on Saturday, Sept. 22. Although just over 20 per cent of the participants came from the Comox Valley, close to 40 per cent of racers to make the podium were locals.
Courtenay's Sarah Seads managed to win her ninth overall win in the solo female racer category with a time of 5:42:55. Seads also won the random draw for an entry in the BC Bike Race. "It was crazy fun and I am so stoked on winning the BC Bike Race prize," Seads said.
"I have done quite a few MOMARs and this was, hands down, my favourite Cumberland race to date," says Seads. "I loved all of the self-navigation. Only a very small portion of this year's course was flagged and I think that makes for a great race as it requires brains not just brawn."
Seads also loved the trekking section which required self-navigation and route choices.
"This is my favourite trekking format as it allows you to collect the checkpoints (CPs) in any order you like and there are hundreds of racers heading in all sorts of different directions!" says Seads. "It was great to see a CP in the middle of absolutely nowhere – quite far off trail which meant a mandatory bush whack using a compass bearing."
Seads called the mountain biking portion "absolutely perfect."
"They managed to combine some of the best XC trails of Cumberland into one epic, fun and flowy bike section from top to bottom," states Seads. "It was a great way to showcase the amazing biking trails we have in our backyard."
Todd Nowack of Brentwood Bay claimed his 11th MOMAR title win, crossing the finish line at 4:23:28. Hayden Earle of Victoria came in third overall at 4:50:07, with Courtenay's Brad Crowe coming in a close third at 4:52:59.
Courtenay's Chris Wilson, with partner Cory Bainbridge of Campbell River, was the overall winner for the 30km Sport Course, crossing the finish line at 4:01:51. Shauna Connaughton and Louis Lam, also from Courtenay, came in second with at time of 4:06:56, followed by Tod Gilbert and Kate Parsons of Nanaimo (4:14:42).
The MOMAR required individuals and teams to mountain bike, kayak, trail run, trek and orienteer through a series of checkpoints, over 30km or 50km of rugged terrain. A mystery challenge – a 50m swim out to checkpoint 14 – was added to this year's race.
For complete race results and more information on the MOMAR series, visit www.mindovermountain.com.
– Mind Over Mountain Adventure Racing