MOMAR team athlete, Gary Robbins, is gearing up for the Western States Endurance Run on June 27-28.  This is a 100 mile trail race in California all done on FOOT. It’s probably hard for even the most seasoned MOMAR racers to relate to running this far so I figured it would be a good idea to ask Gary a few questions about this masochistic event.

MOMAR: What is the Western States Endurance Run all about?  Why is this race considered the granddaddy of ultrarunning?

Gary Robbins: Western States was the pretty much ‘the birth’ of ultrarunning as we know it today. The first ever WS100 run was way back in 1977 and by 1979 it attracted 143 people! It has sold out every year since then! It is also steeped in American History and was originally a horse race that began in 1955 ‘to prove that horses could still cover 100 miles in a single day’. I learned of WS about five minutes after being told what an actual ultra run was back in 2004, ever since then I’ve known that I would attempt it one day:)  It’s got 18,000 feet of climbing and 22,000 feet of descent, which plays nicely into what I consider to be my strength as a runner

MOMAR: Training for this must be insane! Can you how describe much you ran during your biggest mileage week?
GR: If I did not come down with a cold during my final week of training my answer would have been 200km, in the end my max mileage was 165km in seven days. I eclipsed the 100mile/160km barrier five times this year and averaged 450km per month since Jan 1st…and there are plenty of guys ‘down south’ who were physically able to log way more than I could handle!

MOMAR: As a frame of reference, what is your best time doing a 10km road run, the Grouse Grind, and shotgunning a ‘killer’ Miller.
GR: Hmmm, haven’t done a 10k in 3-4 years, hate ‘The Grind’ cause it’s full of stressed out people and they don’t allow dogs, and can chug with the best of em but have actually never even attempted a shotgun! BCMC parallels The Grind and I can bring Roxy along. I’ve made it down this trail in 17min and can do a return lap in just over 50min. I managed to knock down a 20k road run, at the very end of a 100m week and to finish off a 60k day in March in 1h24m. I was pretty happy with that one:)

MOMAR: Has there been anyone who inspires you as a runner?  Scott Juryk, Ray Zahab, Forest Gump?
GR: I don’t know that I’d say I find inspiration from any fellow runners. I love reading about them on their blogs and seeing what it is that they do for training though. I find more inspiration through good adventure books such as Colin Angus’ ‘Beyond The Horizon,’ his wife Julie’s ‘Rowboat In A Hurricane,’ Alfred Lansing’s ‘Endurance,’ Heinrich Harrer’s ‘The White Spider,’ etc, etc. I LOVE to read about insane adventures and they always put into perspective just how small what I attempt to do really is.

MOMAR: I’ve seen ultra endurance racers lose all control of their bodily functions as they cross the finish line.  Are you willing to let this happen to you if it means a spot on the podium?  (And, yes, it would be on YouTube.)
GR: Bryan, I’ve peed on myself in no fewer than five races, but that might be as far as I’d let it go…hmmm, if we’re talking podium though…yeah, I ain’t stopping for nothing!!

MOMAR: Your dad seems to be one of your biggest fans. That must be pretty cool to have him fly out to support you at the race.
GR: My Dad is truly an amazing person, and my Mother is just as great and supportive, but they’ve never been able to see me race before! I grew up in Nfld and only started running and adventure racing when I turned 27 (five years ago), so this will be the first time I’ll have my Dad along to share in the pain and joy involved in an event such as this. I consider him my ‘money in the bank.’ So much of racing is mental and I already know what a HUGE boost I am going to get as I intersect with him and my crew six times throughout the race. That adrenaline alone has to be able to kill some of the pain along the way!

MOMAR: What is your plan to prevent chafing? Please explain in great detail.
GR: HAHA, I’m going to rub down my entire body with ‘Grey Poupon’ of course! Hmm, I wonder if I left that as my answer what kinda e-mails I’d receive? ‘Sport Shield’ is a fairly new product and it trumps ‘Bodyglide’ in so many ways. One app and you’re good until you scrub it off! My pre-race chafe regime will last all of 65 seconds:)

MOMAR: Are you willing to publicly share your goals for WS100?

GR: I was worried you might ask this one, and typically I’d say no cause there are so many factors surrounding a race of this magnitude. I will say this however, this WILL go down as THE MOST COMPETITIVE 100 Miler EVER run in North America. There are top runners/champions from across the U.S., Italy, France, Japan, England, and on and on and on. Just to give you an idea of what I’m up against here, the seven time undefeated Champ is back after a few years hiatus. The two previous winners will return. There is a Japanese runner who just won a 100km trail race in China in a time of 6h52m…no, that’s not a typo. There is a Brit who also ran a sub 7hr 100k this year, there is an Italian who has won the 163km ‘Tour De Mont Blanc’ twice, etc, etc. In fact in the last 17 years of this race, there have only been seven different people who have claimed the overall victory. The ‘blogisphere’ is buzzing with people just attempting to pick the top ten for this one…all that I have to say is this, top ten gets you an auto entry back into the event again next year, and the worst I’ve finished in any running race in the last twelve months (hangover runs not included here) is second. This includes races in British Columbia, Ontario, Washington Stage, and Viriginia with distances ranging from 50km to 50m to 100m. I know what I can and cannot do. I will leave it all out there and am already certain and confident that I could not have done anything further to prepare for this event. I am healthy, I am rested, and I simply CAN NOT WAIT for it to begin!!

MOMAR: Will you be building a special iPod playlist to listen to during the race?  What is the song that will start off this playlist and what song do you want to be playing as you cross the finish line?
GR: I have tried and simply can not run with music, but I do like getting a song in my head and singing it over and over again in between the numerous other thoughts that rush through my mind out there. I’m really attached to K’Naan’s ‘Waving Flag’ right now and am pretty sure I’ll be singing it to myself during the tougher climbs, like the 36 switchback climb leading up to ‘Devil’s Thumb’ at mile 48!

MOMAR: Do you think you will cry when you cross the finish line?
GR: I will personally guarantee that I will cry when I cross the line, although we have yet to determine if they will be tears of joy or tears of pure suffering!!

Photo by: Glenn Tachiyama

Normon Thibault from Frontrunners takes on the rappel (photo by Nick Sopczak)

If you are following the MOMAR on Twitter, you would already know that the photo gallery from the rappelling stage on the Stawamus Chief is now online.  Big thanks to photographer Nick Sopczak for harnessing up and taking all the great shots! Check it out here.

I have also posted up new galleries from Larissa Buijs, Mark Teasdale, and Amber Thom.

The latest and greatest Coast Mountain Sports store is opening its doors on June 4, 2009 at the corner of Yates Ave. and Broad St. in Victoria, BC.

With 8000 square feet of retail space, this new Victoria location will house the prestigious outdoor brands you’ve come to expect from Coast Mountain Sports - names like The North Face, Columbia, Merrell, Marmot, Salomon, Dakine, Black Diamond, Arc’Teryx, Osprey and more. Get ready to explore the new store for a great selection of camping, paddling and electronic gear to technical packs, travel bags, multi-sport footwear and apparel.

Be sure to join us for our Grand Opening events from June 10-15 where you can take 20% off our ticket price on most items in-store. Plus from June 10-12,  if you’re among the first 50 customers in the store, you can receive FREE merchandise (with a $25 minimum purchase).  See in-store for more details and be sure to check out our Grand Opening ad in the June 10, 11 & 12 Victoria Times Columnist.

This is the first Coast Mountain Sports location in Victoria, and it has been built within a beautiful heritage building in this very colourful and historic part of downtown. The renovation construction team took strong consideration to continue to preserve the existing interior brick and ceiling surfaces, keeping the integrity and history of the building intact. The ornate exterior of the building will be cleaned up and improved to fit better into the vibrant Broad Street community.

Coast Mountain Sports is excited to become a part of Victoria’s outdoor adventure community and we look forward to folding ourselves in to the colourful mosaic that makes up this vibrant city.

The spirit was high at the MOMAR Squamish and it was great to see so many racers all dressed up in themed costumes to match their team names.  Team Get Your Mind Off My Mountains and Team S.W.A.T. shared the Spirit Award which was sponsored by Ahnu Footwear.  They all win a pair of Ahnu Terra Linda XTR trail runners. Thanks to everyone who got into the spirit!

Christine Baghdassarian and Melissa Doyle were the S.W.A.T Girls and they rocked the spirit and had many votes for best spirit. Photo by Amber Thom.

Eileen Bistrisky and Tiah Goldstein of Team Get Your Mind Off My Mountains won because they sang ABBA songs (loudly) all race long! Photo by Mark Teasdale.

A very honerable mention goes to the Ladies of Suburban Rush for dressing up like very unattractive ladies. Jordy does has some pretty nice legs though… Photo by Amber Thom

A new set of photos are now available. Check out the gallery taken by volunteer Larissa Buijs from the start of the race at Alice Lake, along the first trek, and on Rob’s Corners (near CP#2).

This photos is a along the powerlines with the mountains in the back. I’m not sure if the smiling racer is Meggan Oliver or Angela Knightley from the Decrepit Sloths.

Thanks Larissa!

Reporters and Race Bloogers have been busy over the past few days!  Check out all that has been written:

• Article in the Squamish Chief Newspaper
• Article in the Whistler Question Newspaper
• Article in the Revelstoke Times Newspaper
• Blog Race Report by Gary Robbins - 2nd Overall
• Blog Race Report by Sarah Seads - 1st Solo Female
• Blog Race Report by Team Helly Hansen Vancouver Island - 1st Team and 5th Overall
• Sleepmonsters.ca report on two newbie MOMAR racers

There is also a great photo gallery posted by Mark Teasdale. Check it out.  I’ll be posting up more galleries from the party, rappel site, CP 2, and the finish line.

It was nothing but blue skies for the first race of the 2009 MOMAR season!  A record turnout of 241 registered racers signed up for either the 30km Sport Course or the 50km Enduro course designed by Jen Segger.  This was our third year in Squamish and to celebrate we added a checkpoint at the top Stawamus Chief.  I would like to thank all the Squamish community and landholders for supporting our event. More kudos go out to all of the racers, volunteers, and sponsors!!!

Congratulations to Bart Jarmula from Revelstoke for his first overall win of the MOMAR!

For full race results, click here.

Here are some photos from the day…

REGISTRATION AT THE HOWE SOUND INN & BREWING CO.

Volunteer, Yun Cheung-Ford, gives out a MOMAR T-Shirt. Everyone loved the design that Roddy Tasaka from Surface Collective created  (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

The Helly Hansen Gift Bags filled with goodies from our sponsors (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

Registration lines flowed steady all night long. (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

Team Live to Tell Rob Macleod, Graham Schulz, Malcolm Schulz, and Chris Bishop from Squamish show off their pipes. (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

Volunteers, Laura Comuzzi and Yun Cheng-Ford take a Breather from their duties to peruse the latest edition of Breathe Magazine (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

Pam Skeans and Shannon Collier from Squamish. (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

RACE MORNING AT ALICE LAKE PROVINCIAL PARK

No apparent pre-race jitters for solo racer Bart Jarmula with Team Sleepmonsters.ca, Erica Gray and Heather Fraser, (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

Coast Mountain Sports looks over the first of two maps that they would recieve on the day.  (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

The Victorious Secrets featuring Caroline Mackay, Alison Sum, Rosanna Sheppard, and Antonia Grady sex it up at the MOMAR. (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

AND THEY’RE OFF

Enduro course start (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

Live to Tell (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

Sarah Seads rips down the road past Quest University (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

Gary Robbins with a view of Howe Sound in the background. (photo by Amber Thom)

Mountain Devils (Lesley-Ann Marriott & Terry Stuart) summit the Stawamus Chief and arrive at CP 11 and then off to the rappel site. (photo by Amber Thom)

The father and son duo made up of Roger and Aaron Walmsley raced as team Generation Gap. Aaron was our youngest racer at 15 years old. (photo by Amber Thom)

Bart Jarmula from Revelstoke. (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

Team Helly Hansen Vancouver Island’s Justin Mark falls in the glacier fed river while wife and teammate Carey Sather looks on. (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

Meanwhile, teammate Jeff Reimer rides the river in style. (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

THE FINISH LINE IN DOWNTOWN SQUAMISH

DONE! Happy times for Michelle Maislen from Washington State.  (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

Garibaldi Highlands’ Kim Stegeman and Kate Drew celebrate their MOMAR finish. (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

The Ladies of Suburban Rush and the Gentlemen of Suburban Rush at the finish line. (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

Canadian adventure racing legend and seven time Eco-Challenge competitor, Bob Faulkner, crosses the finish line. (Photo by Mark Teasdale)

THE AWARDS CEREMONY AT QUEST UNIVERSITY

The top three in the solo male category: Gary Robbins (2rd), Bart Jarmula (1st), and Shane Ruljancich (3rd). Winners took home a Helly Hansen and Smartwool prize package, second place won Ryders sunglasses, and third won a wall tattoo from Surface Collective.  (photo by Amber Thom)

The top three in the Sport team of two female (photo by Amber Thom)

And the party! DJ Q-Pid played great tunes all night long and these were the last ones on the dance floor. (photo by Amber Thom)

Coast Mountain Sports have invited us to their Friends and Family Spring Event this Wednesday and Thursday.  Save big on all your gear for your next big adventure!  Click HERE to download the PDF that you can print out and bring into your nearest Coast Mountain Sports.

Wow. That was a long break from Blogging! I was getting lazy and posting updates via Twitter for the past month.  But, I’m back now and a lot has happened since the last update.

The first MOMAR of the season is just a few weeks away and we are all set to go.  We have over 200 racers signed up and ready to rip it out on a newly designed course by Jen Segger.  Over 90 of the 200 are first time MOMAR participants which is a great stat to see as we love having a new batch of weekend warriors give adventure racing a try.

MOMAR sponsored athlete, Gary Robbins, has been running and running and running and running some more.  He’s become the Forest Gump of the North Shore!  Gary was named Ultra Runner of the Year so he gets a BIG CONGRATS.  He’s been blogging his race stories and they are a well worth a read especially while you drink a milkshake and eat a cinnamon bun!

Last weekend was the Suburban Rush and Aimee Dunn and I had a blast in our third year racing together. It was actually my fifth time doing this race and that was enough to get me a nice certificate for participation! They sold out their event with 250 racers and the competition keeps getting better every year.

I also spent time in Squamish scouting out Jen’s course.  The rappel site is so awesome. Freaky as hell. It makes the rappels from the last two years like bumps in the prairies!

The final few weeks will be busy behind the scenes for the organizing team, but we are very excited for the big day and most of all the big PARTY!

More blogs to come!

Bryan Tasaka
Event Director

The April issue of Explore Magazine has a feature article on MOMAR Squamish’s Course Designer, Jen Segger. The article details the amount of training and focus it take for Jen to complete at the international level.

Jen is currently in Whitehorse, NWT, taking on the Rock and Ice Ultra.  She is running in the 6 day stage category and just finished the first day in second place (third overall).

Jason Terauchi-Loutitt who did the MOMAR 2006 and won the recent Yeti Snowshoe series was also on the start line but suffered from frostbite and is a DNF. Tough break for Jason.

MOMAR’s media sponsor, Sleepmonster.ca, is doing a great job in covering the race with reports and photos. Read it all here.