One of my favorite races in sports happened in North Carolina earlier this month, and doesn't involve NASCAR.
The Green River Narrows Race is one of the hardest - if not the hardest - downriver/creek races in whitewater paddling, and it's a bit shocking to a pedestrian paddler like me to watch some of the best in the world get humbled by some real Class-Five-With-Consequences rapids.
You can get a decent flavor for the event through it's legal waiver, which includes the line "I have been warned of the stupidity of this activity, and I freely and of my own will accept this stupidity, ignore all warnings, and participate anyway."
http://boatingbeta.com/race/green_waiver_2007.shtmlThe crux rapid in the course is a nasty bit called Gorilla, it draws the biggest crowds of the race, because of scenes like these:
2010 Green River Narrows Race - Carnage at Gorrilla (Nothing but Crashes in slowmo)If running Gorilla wasn't hard enough, just below it is an extremely rententive little hole called Speed Trap that you've pretty much got to hit dead on with a lot of speed (which isn't an option if you've gone through Gorilla upside down); the paddler at about 0:40 here finds out just how lovingly Speed Trap can embrace a paddler who doesn't get it just right:
Green River Narrows Race 2009Above Gorilla is another crucial rapid you have to ace if you want a good finishing time, Go Left or Die (often called Go Left AND Die, which seems almost as appropriate); here's what happens when you attempt to go to the right of that FU rock in the middle of the chute:
Whitewater Carnage on Go LeftThe race was won this year by Mike Dawson in a near-record time of 4:26; the record of 4:18 is held by Andrew Holcombe, who was out with an injury this year.
And if you've got 10-12 minutes to spare and want to see what mostly clean lines look like (my favorite is the rock-grind left line in Pencil Sharpener) on this incredibly tough mile of whitewater, sit back and enjoy this:
