Results from this past weekend’s Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race in Cumberland are now posted - click here . Congratulations to Todd and Gary who came in first overall on by many accounts was a tough course.

NEW! Shane Ruljancich - Cumberland MOMAR Race Report - I partly credit the Mind Over Mountain adventure race series for getting me into endurance sports. I had dabbled in running a bit in high school track, but was never too serious. It was my desire to participate in an adventure race that promoted me to get into better shape and started me down this road which I now love so much.

NEW! Wendy Simms - Island Racing - So the reason we did a 48 hour turnaround in Vegas was because we had to get back to the Island for some local events that are too good to be missed. The Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race (MOMAR) was up in Cumberland Saturday, after-party Sat night up at Mount Washington and then the Ramble Mountain Bike marathon event was in Parksville Sunday.

NEW! Todd Nowack - MOMAR Cumberland Race Report - Wow! The 2008 MOMAR season has already come and gone. It’s hard to believe that we’re now sitting in October and the cool drizzly season of fall and winter is now upon us.

Gary Robbins - MOMAR Cumberland Race Report - This past weekend was the third and final MOMAR of the 2008 season and series owner Bryan Tasaka managed to hit an absolute home run with this one.

Average Adventure Addict - A Lesson from Cumberland - This was by far the hardest race I have ever done in my short time doing athletic things. I was so shattered half way thru that finishing was a HUGE accomplishment for me. Parts of the race went textbook perfect, and most other parts fell apart like a sand castle under a wave.

Jen Segger-Gigg - MOMAR Racing & Juan de Fuca Running - However, Saturday morning rolled around really quickly and YEAH, it was my 28th Birthday! Can’t think of anything better than racing a MOMAR to celebrate.

Sara Seads - Pics and Results are in for MOMAR - Hello again! Bryan has posted the pics and results to the MOMAR website from this past weekends race and you can check them out at… -Cumberland MOMAR Race Report - I just awoke from a deep post-race sleep and I am reflecting on yesterdays MOMAR in Cumberland so I thought I should post a blog while it is all fresh in my memory…So here it is my last race report for 2008 (well you never know what else might pop up on the race calendar…)::

Team Helly Hansen Vancouver Island - BIG WEEKEND: Momar and The Ramble - What a weekend. First off let me say how proud I am of Carey for her amazing effort yesterday at the Cumberland Momar. Despite a dreary forecast, the weather cleared as we set off on the kayak/canoe stage 1.

Official Press Release -

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MOMAR Cumberland: a Super Season-Ender

New Westminster, BC – September 29, 2008. The Schick Xtreme3 Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race (MOMAR) series ended its ninth season with a sold out race in Cumberland on September 27, 2008. Racers began the 45 km journey with a 9 km paddle on Comox Lake, followed by a 3 km long challenging and scenic orienteering section. Racers then hopped on their bikes for 20 km of mountain biking, followed by 10 km of trekking with navigation. The race ended with a 3 km mountain bike ride and a 1 km urban navigation towards Dunsmuir Street in downtown Cumberland.

Defending champs, Victoria’s Todd Nowack and Gary Robbins of North Vancouver (Team Helly Hansen/MOMAR) topped the podium once again, while Jerermy Grasby, owner of the Riding Fool Hostel in Cumberland, came in second overall and first in the solo male category. Victoria’s Garth Campbell and Shane Ruljancich came in third overall and first in the team of two, male category with John Markez of Vancouver following shortly behind. Team Dart-Nuun, Squamish’s Jenn Segger-Gigg and Norm Hann, with Ryan VanGorder of Seattle and Tom Roozendaal of Duncan, came in fifth overall and was the first team of four to cross the finish line. Courtenay’s Sarah Seads kept her place at the top for solo female racers.

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A group of four men from North Vancouver’s Steed Cycles recently completed in the inaugural Chilko Challenge , a 3-day, 126 kilometer XC mountain bike stage race through the heart of southern British Columbia. The group posted highly informative write-ups of their experiences on the Steed Cycles Blog . Following are excerpts from the write-ups. Perhaps this will encourage you to sign up for next year?!

Chilko Challenge Day 1- The Beginning
The Chilko Challenge! What a nutty event! Loved it! The organizers were super cool and explained the night before Day 1 that this event was grass roots and we shouldn’t be expecting dream single track riding on groomed trails. Instead we should be ready for a tough plow through the Chilcoutin on some of the most remote beautiful trials, which would entail SOME bushwacking. A must was a GPS which they gave us co-ordinates for each day in advance so we could program them into the unit. The views were incredible! Continue reading…

Chilko Challenge Day 2- Epic Suffering!
Day 2 was our longest day by far. My Giant Reign was the perfect bike. It would consist of huge climbs, long alpine meadow rides and fantastic views. The initial weather forecast called for sun and clound, but the day started with beautiful sunny skies. Looking at the weather at the start of the day I re-evaluated what I was going to bring - neoprene gloves, nope don’t need those. Goretex pants, gone. Wow could I have made any worse decisions. Continue reading…

Chilko Challenge Day 3- Creek Crossing Fun!
It was cold the night before day 3. We woke up with a good layer of frost on our tents and grass. There was a dog that had followed a group of riders through all of day 2 (someone had to take a 2 hour car ride to return this dog to its home ranch) and it barked half the night. Continue reading…

Jen finished in 32 hours 31 minutes and 57 seconds.  She was the 5th female and 9th overall, incredible stuff!

Keep tuned to her blog at http://challenge-by-choice.blogspot.com/ for her race report.

Coming through the fourth timing station at the Darwin turnoff Jen was the fourth female overall.  Check out her times.

Bib# 100
Last Name: Segger
First Name: Jen Lee
Start Time: 10:00am
FC - 17miles: 2:41
SPW - 41miles: 8:15
PS - 72miles: 15:52
DW - 90miles: 20:29
LP - 122milies:
PR - 131miles:
Finish - 135miles:

You can find updated results here: Time Splits and Results

Trainharder.com blogger Hugh Trenchard is currently competing in the Cascade Classic .

The Cascade Classic is the longest consecutively run elite stage race in the US and has attracted most of North America’s top cyclists and teams over the years. The quality of the race courses, the beauty of Central Oregon and the fun atmosphere of the race has made it a perennial favorite and has the competitors returning year after year.

Hugh is Rider Number 170 and is riding for Team Schawlbe.

Check out the results here: 2008 Results

Stage 7: The Whislter Finale!

It’s hard to believe that just 7 days ago, racers stood at the Shawnigan Lake start line in nervous anticipation of the 550+ kilometre adventure that awaited. Seven days later, it’s all over but the recovery!

After one last, delicious breakfast in Squamish, provided by BCBR Catering Manager Rick Slowski (owner of Tommy’s Catering in North Vancouver) and his incredible crew, racers geared up and hopped onto a string of buses for the quick ride north to Whistler.

Read more here…

Stage 6: Squamish Highlights

The outdoor recreational capital of Canada (Squamish) hosted the BC Bike Race for the last 2 nights and served up the full meal deal of bountiful BC singletrack to racers. From punishing grunty climbs to “wooohooo”ing bermy downhill bliss, there was something for every rider on the Day 6 course. Some might call this the Squamish highlights tour, as the course consists of the Gearjammer and Test of Metal courses combined.

Read more here…

Stage 5: Cumberland to Langdale (Bus transfer to Sechelt)

July 2, 2008 Squamish, BC - BC Bike Race repeat competitors knew what was in store for Day 5 of the seven-day mountain bike stage race from Victoria to Whistler. In fact, they’ve been eagerly counting the days to get to this stage. And new comers quickly found out what all the hype was about.

Read more here…

Stage 4: Cumberland to Sechelt
BC Bike Race staff showed their national pride by donning red and white garb to reflect Canada Day – the national holiday that celebrates Canadian independence from Britain. Red Canadian flag and ‘BOB’ (bear on bike) logo tattoos found their way onto many racers, staff and volunteers alike. With beautiful hot, sunny weather, why not celebrate Canada Day with a 67km mountain bike ride along the Sunshine Coast?!

Read more here…

Stage 3: Port Alberni to Cumberland
BC Bike Race Stage 3 had an explosive send off as the local West Coast Rangers Black Powder Club fired dramatic black powder cannons to start the race. After a police controlled start through the city of Port Alberni, racers deked into a sampling of singletrack destined to whet their appetites and, more practically, thin out the field in the early stages.

Read more here…

Stage 2: Lake Cowichan to Port Alberni

Stage 2, the longest of the week, threw racers onto 124km of active logging road cutting through the Cowichan and Alberni valleys enroute to Port Alberni. Though the race profile appeared to highlight massive, gruelling climbs and descents, the actual elevation gain only capped out at 193m, making for a fast, undulating course.

Read more here…

BCBR Stage 1 Race Update

Under brilliant blue skies and a hot summer sun, the BC Bike Race start gun fired to launch more than 400 riders from around the world into the first stage of the second annual multi-stage mountain bike event. Over the next 7 days, racers will cover stages totalling more than 550 kilometres as they race a combination of singletrack and logging roads from Victoria to Whistler.

Read more here…

CBC News

The first Canadian man and woman to surge across the finish line of the Ottawa marathon this past weekend won’t be going to the Olympics in Beijing in August even though they both met international Olympic standards.

Gitah Macharia came 14th overall at the ING Ottawa marathon Sunday with a time of 2:16:55 and Tara Quinn-Smith came fourth in her category with a time of 2:33:58.

Quinn-Smith beat the women’s international A standard of 2:37:00 by more than three minutes and the B standard of 2:42 by more than eight during her first-ever marathon race.

However, she did not meet Athletics Canada’s tougher A and B women’s standards of 2:29:08 and 2:31:00 respectively.

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This past weekend saw a wide variety of endurance events occur around the lower mainland including The Amazing Hunt, the Elk/Beaver Lake Ultra, the BMO Bank of Montreal Vancouver Marathon and the 2nd Gutbuster of year at Mt. Tzouhalem. Check out all results and write-ups from participants below. And if anyone else participated in any of these events please feel free to share your comments!

BMO Bank of Montreal Vancouver Marathon - Results

• Studio YVR - Weekend Whapup - I ran in the Half Marathon version of the Vancouver Marathon today. It went pretty well…
• Runninggunner - FINISHED!!!!! Vancouver Marathon Race Report - Yesterday I ran my second Marathon, The Vancouver Marathon. I didn’t go in with hugely high expectations for this race as I had mostly been using at as a training race…
• Canuck Runner - BMO Bank of Montreal Vancouver Half Marathon - I’ll post a more detailed race report later but the official results are in…
• Bruce Bunn - Vancouver 1/2 Marathon Update - You could not have had a better day to run the streets of Vancouver and Stanley Park!

Mt Tzouhalem Gutbuster - Results

• Average Adventure Addict - Mt Tzouhalem Gutbuster - AKA learning to love my calves and quads! - What they should have renamed the race was “Death to the Legs” but I guess no one but the masochistic few would have entered then!
• What’s up with ELM? - ELM Gut-Busters! - Thanks to Lisa Perry (right in blue ELM race jersey:) for this great post-race pic and race recap!

The Amazing Hunt - Results

• Miss 604 - The Amazing Hunt Vancouver Recap - Luckily, we didn’t do much that involved exercising fingers so I am fully capable of writing this post…

Elk/Beaver Lake Ultra - Results

• Notes from the Edge - E/B 50km - 3:46:47 - Saturday was the annual Elk/Beaver 50km race or as my co-worker says, “the ultimate test of your boredom endurance…”

Victoria Times Colonist 10k

• Race winners and results - congratulations to Erik Kiauka (30:31) and Lisa Harvey (34:14) for their winning performances. Official race results are available in the PIH Searchable Database.

• Participant write-ups:
  • Sarah - ELM Women Rock the 10K! - Man oh Man…what a fantastic weekend in Victoria! I have a tonne to blog about but wanted to start with the highlight…
  • Marilyn Arsenault - Times Colonist 10k (35:50) - The weather was just about as perfect as it can get for race conditions today…cool, overcast with barely a breeze!
  • Ryan Day - Times Colonist 10k (30:41) - Another week, another 10k. Not gonna lie here, I am glad I am done racing till Ottawa, it has been fun and i’ve learned a fair bit, and more or less accomplished what I hoped I would….
  • Dirge Rhetoric - 3 Races, 3 weeks, 3 pb’s…well sorta - Three weeks ago we, (me and my sticks) ran The Sooke River 10k in 38:14., a new course personal best…
  • Daniel Wells - Times Colonist 10k - The weather co-operated (the rain held off until late morning) and it turned out to be a good day to race… overcast, 9 C and not a lot of wind…
  • A Runner’s Tale - Times Colonist 2008 10k - It wasn’t pleasant. Still, I ran better than I feared under near perfect conditions and for that I’m thankful. If nothing else I ran a PB as a father, which must count for something?
  • Crinson Chronicles - 39:12! - Well folks, the title says it all for today’s post … a new personal best at the 10K distance!!
  • Lawrence’s Blog - TC 10k Race Report - It was nearly ideal conditions for a race this morning. It was warm, overcast, the wind held off (for the most part), and the rain held off….

Suburban Rush Adventure Race - Port Moody

• For those not familiar, the Suburban Rush is a 30k off-road adventure race which involves mountain biking, trail running a mystery challenges.
• Results posted here.
• Participant write-ups:
  • Gary Robbins - Suburban Rush Sprint Adventure Race Report - The Suburban Rush Adventure Race, which Todd and I would be competing in as a team of two, was amazingly salvaged for us the night prior by a rather random act on my part…
  • Team Helly Hansen Vancouver Island - Suburban Rush Race Report - It was so nice to race in the sun, as the clouds parted and the temperature rose to the mid-teens for this year’s version of the Suburban Rush….
  • Bryan Tasaka - Sucking Wind at the Suburban Rush - Today was the 4th annual Suburban Rush Adventure Race out in the Port Moody area….
  • Give Me a Good Reason - Suburban Rush - the suburban rush, my first adventure race and our first as a team to avoid any potentially damaging conflicts, we agreed on the following guidelines…

Summit2Shore Adventure Race - North Vancouver

• Results now posted on the Race Headquarters site
• For those not familiar, the Summit2Shore is also a short-course adventure race that is made up of snowshoeing, mountain biking, trail running and kayaking.
• Participant write-ups:
  • Team Average Jo - Summit 2 Shore - Most participants today were new to adventure racing thus completing the event through a team relay of 4 members each doing a different discipline….

For 2008 race results click here.

Race reviews and write-ups from people who ran and walked the race, others will be added to this list as they become available:

• Runninggunner - A Good Idea? - …Needless to say, this is not a race where you are going to PR. It is much more of a fun run and many people use it each year as a way of kickstarting their New Year’s resolutions…
• Let me Rant! - Vancouver Sun Run 2008 - walk, walk, walk, walk, walk, walk, walk, walk, walk, walk, walk,
  walk, walk, walk, walk, walk , walk, walk, walk, walk, walk, walk….
• Table23 Blog - Running to the Sun - But he was right. April 20th was also 4-20 - the day of smoking pot. Yippee! While 55,000 people were running the sun run, another 300 people were getting high in front of the art gallery…
• The Life of Spaguyswife - 2008 Vancouver Sun Run - Today was the 24th Vancouver Sun Run with a record 59,000 plus people in attendance. It was chilly but clear, we walked more than we ran but I absolutely loved the experience…
• Runner Leana - Vancouver Sun Run Race Report - 59,175 people signed up for the race - I believe surpassing the Peachtree Road Race as the largest 10K in North America…
• The Running Diva - Vancouver Sun Run 35:11 - The race started much like what I remember from last year…it was a fast first km with some people sprinting down Georgia St!
• 3:10 to Boston - Biggest in North America! - Truth be told, for having participated in North America’s largest 10K (that’s right, Peachtree!) , I’m embarrassed to say that I have no pics of the actual race…
• Christopher Kelsall - On the Canadian Roads Update - 59,179 participants registered for the 24th annual Vancouver Sun Run, presented by HSBC Canada…
• Derek K. Miller - Out there havin fun at the Vancouver Sun Run - As I mentioned a few days ago, my band The Neurotics played, for the 15th year in a row, at the Vancouver Sun Run…
• Dirge Rhetoric - Vancouver Sun Run - Super Props to SeaChest, running an uber sick 31:4tee something at the Sun Run today…
• Kayak Racer - Sun Run 2008 - Well this years race was a good one. the skies were clear, and it was not raining or snowing. I just hoped it was a little warmer. It was definitely a two shirt race. Burrrrr…
• James Wanless - 2008 Vancouver Sun Run - I really felt like I was insane to volunteer to run with the BCIT corporate team for the Sun Run this year…
• Innovative Team Fitness - Team Average Jo Sun Run - Over 59,000 runners braved the unusually cold April morning for the 24th annual Vancouver Sun Run…
• Tri-n Fool - Things that annoyed me about the Sun Run - I spent 30 minutes warming up then 35 minutes cooling back down while waiting to start…
• Betty’s Blog - Vancouver Sun Run 10k - Another year has whizzed by just like that since the last time we did the Sun Run…
• Indios Bravos - Vancouver Sun Run Post Mortem - Since you’re reading this blurb of mine, you can safely assume that I survived the 2008 Vancouver Sun Run…

Links to news articles:

Athletics: An Amazing 59179 Sign Up for The 2008 Vancouver Sun Run
RunnersWeb - Ottawa,Ontario,Canada
Running third overall and Top Canadian Male was Ryan Hayden from Surrey, BC with a time of 29:38. In the Women’s Overall Division, Genet Gebregiorgis from …

Seen and heard at the 2008 Sun Run
Vancouver Sun - British Columbia, Canada
Sarah Bartok, midday announcer with 95Crave FM, strode through her very first organized run with an ease that had her floored. “I just did what they told me …

Runner-up a year ago, Patterson rolls to wheelchair win
Vancouver Sun - British Columbia, Canada
… but that didn’t diminish Scott Patterson’s satisfaction at coming away with the male open wheelchair trophy at the 2008 Sun Run Sunday. …

Spectators cheer on Sun Run participants
Canada.com - Hamilton,Ontario,Canada
VANCOUVER — As a wave of high-speed runners exited Stanley Park and turned onto Beach Avenue on Sunday, they were greeted by cheering fans and occasional …

Crowd’s enthusiasm fuels the SunRun
Vancouver Sun - British Columbia, Canada
The jogger went by us a little more than half way through the 10 km run. The sign on the back of his T-shirt read: “There will come a time when you can no …

Langat breezes to win at Sun Run
Vancouver Sun - British Columbia, Canada
Kenya’s Festus Langat kept alive the tradition of East African winners of the elite men’s division in Sunday’s record-breaking Sun Run as he cruised to a …

Top female finishes Sun Run in under 40 minutes
Vancouver Sun - British Columbia, Canada
VANCOUVER — It was the slowest Sun Run 10K for elite women since 1991, but the top finishers still had reason to celebrate and feel warm inside Sunday on a …

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National Triathlon Team member Colin Jenkins has just posted the second installment of his Road to Beijing series on the Slowtwitch website. Click here to read it.

Results are now posted for the Reach the Peak trail event held last Saturday in North Vancouver. The event entailed running from sea level in Deep Cover straight up (4500 feet elevation gain) 14km to the top of Mount Seymour. As there is still quite a bit of snow on Mount Seymour, participants had to carry snowshoes until enough snow required their use. A total of 35 people participated.

• The results are posted on the Run the North Shore website in Excel format - click here to download
• Two write-ups have been written thus far by people who raced in the event - Lina Augaitis and Barb Sweeney.

Results for Sunday’s first Gutbuster of the season at Victoria’s Royal Roads University are now posted:

• 6km results
• 11km results
• Photos by Tony Austin

Finally, a recap has been written by the Frontrunner’s crew:

GutBuster 001: Royal Roads Recap

The trail running season got underway this past sunday with the first of five races in the 8th Frontrunners GutBuster Trail Running Series presented by The North Face. GutBuster 001 held at Royal Roads University is a deceivingly difficult course with many short steep hills and lots of roots and fallen trees which keep the runners focused. 238 runners took to the trails and challenged themselves to either the 6km short course event or 11km long course event. The weather behaved itself and everyone was treated to a fairly dry course….lets hope for more mud next year!

GutBuster Trail Running Series Race #1 (April 6th, 2008)

Kelly Guest of Victoria was first across the line in the long course event in a time of 49:27 having opened up a comfortable gap on second place finisher and co race-director, Nick Walker, who finished at 50:42. Last years overall series champion, Shane Ruljancich, ran a strong race to finish in 51:11. On the womens side, Meghan Day, returned to racing and finished almost 6 minutes up on last years GutBuster series champion, Cara Obee (1:01:18). Meghan finished 12th overall in a time of 55:37. Masters Runner, Jo Rosen, finished 3rd overall in a time of 1:01:34. Jo is an exceptional trail runner and should be in contention for the overall series championship.

Thank you to the Royal Roads Running Club for designing the course and providing all the great volunteers along the route. Royal Bay Bakery for providing the delicious cinnamon buns, cookies and coffee at the awards and Cook St Village Health Center for providing complimentary massage and therapy after the event.

Long Course Results

Short Course Results

Photos by Tony Austin

• 2008 Diezs Vista 50k race results
• These race reports have also been written:
  • Report and video from Carlos
  • Race Report from Todd Nowack
  • Race Report from Gary Robbins
  • Race Report from Baldwin Lee
  • Race Report from Rob Mackay

Other weekend results include:

• Spring Ahead Half, Mission, BC
• April Fool’s Half, Gibsons, BC
  • Race report from Betty

• Run For Life 5K, Delta, BC
• Spring Warm Up 10k & 5k, Surrey, BC

And finally a race report by James Sinclair on the Spring Bunny Hop:

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