BELLINGHAM - While 32-year-old Brent Molsberry completed his running, biking and paddling portions of the Bellingham Traverse on Saturday, Sept. 17, he found difficulty in generating a competitive atmosphere with other racers.

It wasn't because competitors weren't trying to win the race but because most people put their bodies through one-sixth of what Molsberry endured and he couldn't rely on anyone pushing him.

"It's hard because you really want to be competitive with others," said Molsberry, who is from Bellingham. "But, you look over (at other competitors) thinking, they're done in five minutes, and I got to keep going for another hour."

Molsberry was the first soloist racer to cross the finish line - completing all six legs of the Bellingham Traverse in a time of 2 hours, 54 minutes. He finished in seventh place out of 160 teams that competed.

"It was a great race," Molsberry said. "It's a combination of all the things I like to do in one. It hurt really bad. As soon as I crossed the line, my leg seized up."

Of all the hiccups that sometimes occur in a long race such as the Bellingham Traverse, a train blocking course access was to blame for Molsberry's cramping legs.

"When you get off the kayak, you have to cross a railroad track," Molsberry said. "I had to wait there four or five minutes. I was just looking back to see if anyone in my division was coming. (The wait) helped me cramp up."

Molsberry was the first soloist to cross the finish line, but the honor of first overall winner went to Boss Construction, which comprised of Tahoma Khalsa, Eric Moll, Spencer Walsh, Stewart Bowmer and Jason Porter.

The five-member team linked arms as they jogged the final stretch, finishing in a time of 2:19.

"It was cool," said Porter, who completed the mountain bike portion of the course. "I've done that course in other races I've been in, so it went good. It was a lot of fun and I had a great team."

Most teams competed in groups of five, but tandem teams also raced, as well as a few soloists.

The first females to finish were a tandem pairing named Team Air, made up of 42-year-old Marti-Reimer Varga and 51-year-old Char Waller, who finished the course in 3:06.

Reimer-Varga completed both runs and the road bike, while Waller navigated the mountain bike and kayak leg.

"We raced together in Ski to Sea and wanted to be a real strong team," Reimer-Varga said. "That first run for me was so much longer than it seemed. At the end, I told Char she needed to finish the race for me."

Waller and Reimer-Varga said the 'Air' acronym of 'Team Air' represents the first names of Reimer-Varga's two daughters, Annika Reiss and Iona Reimer-Varga, while the 'R' represents the first name of Weller's daughter, Rose Wakeland.

The tandem said they were running in the name of strong female athletes and wanted to be an example for their daughters.

The Bellingham Traverse was composed of six legs. Beginning at Boundary Bay Brewery, the first team member completed a 5.5-mile run to Lake Padden, where the second team member mountain biked a 6-mile route along the lake. After the mountain bike leg, the next competitor completed a 17-mile course around Lake Samish back to Fairhaven Park. The next team member ran the fourth leg - a 3-mile trail run to Marine Park - where the last team member kayaked to Cornwall Bay. Finally, all team members met at Cornwall Bay and ran a final half-mile back to Boundary Bay.

While many competitors turned out to test themselves against a challenging course, others viewed the race as an opportunity to raise money for charity.

No charity group was more prevalent than the Action for Africa team. A total of 25 teams represented Action for Africa, and together the teams raised more than $20,000 for the organization.

Board member Marcia McEvoy said the money will be donated to a charity named World Vision, who works to give aid to areas in need in Africa. McEvoy said most of the earnings from the Bellingham Traverse will go to a little town in South Africa named Lesotho. She also said some of the money will be given to aid the current famine in Ethiopia.

Event Director Todd Elsworth's main volunteer, Ken Mann, said while it's not required to race for any charity, a lot of racers choose to do so.

"The more money you raise, the more times you get entered into a raffle, where you can win prizes" Mann said. "This race is just a fun family atmosphere and a great social event."

Reach Andrew Lang at andrew.lang@bellinghamherald.com or call 360-756-2862.