Since moving out to BC almost 3 years ago, Kerri and I have raced the MOMAR (Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race) in Squamish.
For those new to the concept of Adventure racing, you are given a map of the local area that include check point locations you need to get to and stamp your sheet, the 1st team to do so wins. Included in the MOMAR races is mountain biking, trail running, orienteering, and usually either rappelling or kayaking.
Kerri and I have usually compete in the 50km course, but this year due to my UK travels and here final exams, we decided to jump down to the new short course (30km).
The race started out ok, with a simple 3km jog up and down the mountain side. Following this we jumped onto our bikes and started climbing out of the Alice lake area to some fun and simple single track corners.
The day was beautiful for the end of May, but it was a little hot. As such, Kerri wasn't feeling that well and decided to pull herself out of the race. I know it was a very tough decision for her, but overall it was the right decision and the best as she had exams coming up.
She told me to continue on and finish for team "Huck 'n' Eh." Race rules are that teams are required to start and finish together so we knew we would be disqualified, but hey, we paid for the race so I continued to see how well we could do.
Going solo, I started to realize that Kerri was an excellent pacer for me. Without her it was like having my accelerator stuck at 100%. This also lead me to realize that our team pace was great, which allowed me time to navigate and judge the proper turns we needed to make. Without this I made the wrong decision right at the start of the navigation section. This let me astray for about 1km. Figuring out my mistake and losing some time I made a quick decision to shortcut through the dense, unmarked, trail-less forest. It worked and got me back on track (read - I was lucky!!).
After the quick 5km run on navigation, I picked the bike back up for another climb to the start of the downhill mountain biking section. Fortunately I have ridden this trail in the last 2 races and was use to the terrain, until the last section. This is where things got interesting.
The race marshals at this location were trying to motivate me by saying that the 3rd place team was only 2 mins ahead and if I picked up the pace slightly I would be able to catch them. This worked, until I turned the next corner. All I remember thinking is "WoW... This is steep and Fast, I can't believe I'm riding thisssssssssss......" My bike ended up at the bottom of a 10 foot embankment and I supermaned down the trail with a nice soft landing on a mixture of limestone and shale. This clearly slowed me down for a minute or two. I ended up brusing my left thumb bad enough that I couldn't mountain bike and leaving 2 holes in my right elbow, but my helmet didn't have a scratch on it!
I pick up the bike and with a couple of curses I started into a slow jog through the rest of the 7km of mountain biking. The were about 2 or 3 times following this where I almost quit the race, but knew that Kerri would be disappointed that the team didn't finish, so I kept telling myself just a couple more steps.... After those couple of steps my legs fully seized, not just one but both. Man did that hurt, I quickly massaged them and chewed back a couple of liquid painkillers.
The raced ended in Squamish, which provided some paved areas where I could hop back on the bike one handed. At this point I assumed I was maybe in 5th or 6th. Just then I spotted another team ahead. They saw me as well and we all raced to find the finish line through the back streets of Squamish. I managed to pass them just as we reached the bike drop and were told to race to the finish line 100m away. The adrenalin was kickin and I pushed it all the way to the line.
Kerri and Adam were there to cheer me on and also to my suprise let me know I finished 2nd!! Overall it was a great day, it was too bad Kerri had to stop, but we'll kick it next year. It took me a couple of weeks to heal each day finding new cuts and bruises.
Have I convinced you to try Adventure Racing yet? It is an amazing time and the squamish race is by far one of the best as the scenery is stunning.
Here are some pics:
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| MOMAR Squamish 2009 |
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