Comox Valley competitors were in fine form at the Atmosphere Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race (MOMAR) on Saturday, an event that began and ended at Burnaby's Barnet Marine Park.
Racing in the 50km Enduro Course, Courtenay's Sarah Sead's of Team ELM placed first in the solo female category coming in at 6:30:29. Team ELM Fearless Leaders, Kathy Campbell and Lynn Swift, also of Courtenay, came second in the team of two female category at 7:33:41.
First in the team of four category and sixth place overall (5:31:48) was team Precision Tree Services, comprising Jesse Wheeler of Courtenay, Victoria's Chris Urquhart and Barry Duplantis, and Ryan Clozza of Vancouver.
Both Swift and Campbell said they thoroughly enjoyed the second annual Burnaby race. Their toughest discipline was the mountain biking, something they say they'll be practising for the Cumberland MOMAR in September. Although it was tough, they still loved the Burnaby Mountain bike trails, noting that some trails were very technical. As strong trail runners, they both thought the trek up from the marine park was really fun, adding that those new trails are a strong addition to the Burnaby Mountain trail network.
"Gary and Bryan did an awesome job of using the whole terrain and mixing the technical up with the flowing stuff," says Swift. "Definitely our favourite is the orienteering on both the campus and marine park. The orienteering club did a great job of putting up fun checkpoints and hiding them away in beautiful spots, especially that one tucked under the dock that we had to wade out (up to my chest) to."
"Most of all we love all the people involved with the MOMAR," says Swift. "These are the friendliest and most inclusive group of racers we have ever been involved with, right from the volunteers, to the racers, to the organizing team."
The overall winner for the 50km Enduro Course was Todd Nowack of Brentwood Bay, winning his 10th MOMAR title, crossing the finish line at 4:20:06, just as adverse weather conditions set in.
"We started the day with great weather but thunderstorms, bringing hail and torrential rain, began just as Todd crossed the finish line, lasting for a few hours," recalls race director Bryan Tasaka. "Racers were soaked and covered in mud when they crossed the finish line – all part of the adventure!"
Bart Jarmula of Revelstoke was a close second, crossing the finish line at 4:31:31. Victoria's Hayden Earle was third overall with a time of 4:54:08, followed by Norm Thibault of Nanaimo (5:17:30).
Vancouver's Mike Rascher, an Olympic gold medallist in rowing (Barcelona, 1992), came in fifth overall at 5:20:05 and first in the team of two male category, along with teammate Geoff Huenemann, also of Vancouver. North Vancouver's Justine Simmons and Cristina Piccone placed first in the team of two - female category at 6:31:37.
The Enduro Course included 10km of kayaking, 6km of trekking, 18km of mountain biking, a 7km orienteering stage through the SFU campus, followed by another 6km of biking then a 3km orienteering run. The exact course route was only known to racers on race day, about an hour before the race began.
The 30km Sport Course included all the same elements, just 20km shorter.
Victoria's Gord Webster and Paul Hooper placed first overall in the Sport Course with a time of 3:54:53. New Westminster's Chad and Jennifer Oatway came in second overall at 4:16:49, followed by team Go Mama Go - Maude Leduc of Halfmoon Bay and Lisa Allen of Sechelt (4:31:14).
The 200 plus racers and volunteers headed to Burnaby from Washington State, Oregon and all over B.C.
The final MOMAR event of the year returns to the historic mining town of Cumberland on Sept. 22. For more information on the MOMAR series, visit www.mindovermountain.com.
– Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race