The Green Race Experience

Photo Chris Bell www.boatingbeta.com

Matt Wallace about to Boof into the Stadium

5,4,3,2,1....Go!!! Your muscles, your gasping for breath, and then you round the bend. You seem them hundreds of people, you hear the roar of the crowd, and suddenly you are reenergized. This is a feeling most athletes experience. The energy and excitement surrounded with a big game, the way the crowd pumps you up and can enhance your performance. As a kayaker this is a feeling one typically wouldn't expect to experience, considering we spend our time in small groups descending down steep rivers and creeks in inaccessible and isolated canyons and gorges. Then there is "The Green Race"! Kayakers from around the world spend their entire year in anticipation for the first Saturday in November. On this Saturday, the Green River transforms from a lonely isolated gorge to an outdoor stadium jam packed with fans coming to see "The Greatest Show on Earth." Over a thousand people hike and paddle into the Narrows of The Green, to watch some of the best/craziest kayakers in the world race some of the steepest and most intense rapids found. Racers spend weeks training in an empty gorge only to be gifted with a crowd buzzing with energy on race day.

http://lookoutdoornews.com/content/sam-silvey-photography

Matt Wallace in Go Left

Photo Nate Rozell. Matt Wallace Going into Zwicks

Photo Nate Rozell Matt Wallace in Zwicks

As a racer your nerves are on edge for weeks before the race. Training laps whether solo or with a group are lonely. It's the constant running of race laps in one's mind. The questions, "Will I have clean lines?, "Will I crash?" , "Will I finish?". You hear the tales of carnage from some of the best paddlers, and you are scared. Then there is the Gorilla, the proverbial monkey on every racers' back. Gorilla is the largest rapid on the Green River and is the heart of the race course. This rapid conjures up fear and excitement in every racer and spectator. Half the battle or racing the green is just surviving until race day. Then the weeks of training, all come down to one shot. You get one lap, to post the fastest time you can.

Photo Nate Rozell Matt Wallace Heading Down Stream

Photo Kat Levitt

Race day surprisingly brings a breath of relief. You know you have made it and in a couple hours you will have posted your time and this" foolhardy" speed paddling of Class V can be over for another year. There is a sense of focus and excitement in the parking lot, as all the racers collect their bibs, discover their start times, and wait for Jason Hale "to fire them up" with one of his motivational pre-race speeches. After the speech it is a lonely walk down the trail to the river. This must be the way the Gladiators felt as they slowly drudged from the bowls of the Coliseum to take center stage.

Photo Kat Levitt Matt Wallace Flying Squirel Boof

Photo Kat Levitt Matt Wallace Heading into the Notch

Photo Chris Bell www.boatingbeta.com

Matt Wallace " Spankin' the Monkey"

www.greenriverextrem.com

Matt Wallace Gorilla

5,4,3,2,1! You are off. You are all alone, it's just you and the river. You paddle as hard as you can, you focus on your lines. Then you hear them, the roar of the river is drowned out by the crowd. Then you see them, hundreds of people lining both sides of the river. You become excited and reenergized, You must re- focus and put the blinders on, it's time to "Spank the Monkey." After careening off Gorilla you put the hammer down, you paddle as hard as you can through the final section of the course. You can no longer breath, you feel like vomiting, you want to quit, but the crowd urges you on. As you slam into the rock marking the end of the course, you feel a since of pride. You finished! You have just completed the toughest extreme race on the planet. You regain your breath, then with rubbery legs you hike into the crowd to greet all your friends and cheer on the rest of the racers.

Photo by Joe Williams

Photo by Joe Williams

Nate Rozell "Spankin the Monkey" WTF??? Why didn't he race??

Photo Matt Wallace

Special thanks to everyone that makes The Green Race possible: chris bell/ www.boatingbeta.com, LVM, The Green River Community, and all the racers.

Thanks to everyone who came out to support all the racers.

Thanks to all my friends that came out to support me, all the boaters I trained with, and Mark for welding my boat last minute before the race. www.walden'sridgewhitewater.com

MW

Another CO Video.

Here is another sick Video Adam made from our CO trip.

Colorado 2009 Part 1: The South Platte from Adam Goshorn on Vimeo.

The End.

Here is a nice video from the last of our Colorado trip. Yeah that's me swimming at the end.

CO 09 Part 3: Clear Creek and Big South from Adam Goshorn on Vimeo.

Colorado Video: The Crystal

Here is an Awesome video Adam Goshorn put together from our summer trip. My Good friend Jordan Sherman, also on the trip, wrote and performed the song. Enjoy!!!!

Crystal Headwaters 2009 from Adam Goshorn on Vimeo.

WaterFalls

It rained alot here in the Southeast. The rivers filled up and we decided to go run some waterfalls. Everybody enjoys some waterfall pictures. So here you go.

Matt Wallace on Frogtown Falls

Matt Wallace Center Line LRC Falls @ 30 inches

This next group of Photos were taken byDiane Holderfield. Many thanks to her for the great shots and allowing us to use them.

LRC Falls


Matt Wallace Top Drop LRC Falls Left Line



Andy Jordan LRC Falls




Jeff West Lrc Falls

Jeff West LRC Falls

Jordan Sherman LRC Falls Top Drop

Jordan Sherman LRC Falls 2nd Drop

Ben Davis LRC Falls.

Thanks Again Diane for the Great Shots.

On a side note here is a new project I am working on feel free to check it out: http://mdubbphotography.blogspot.com/

MW

Just a reminder "The Greatest Show on Earth" is November 7th, 2009 at high noon.

Be there!!!

Karnali

Finally the rains have returned. The pent up creek boater inside the Dam Release Summer Play boater was finally unleashed. With 10 inches of rain falling in the Chattanooga area it was time once again to go creeking. I spent this week paddling a new boat, the Large Karnali. Here is a short review:

My Specs: 6' 2", 185#'s, with size 11 shoes.

Previous Creek Boats Paddles: LL Gus, Jefe Grande, and Bliss Stick Huka

Testing Grounds: Little River Canyon, AL; Little Possum Creek, TN; and Bear Creek, GA

Karnali Specs: 8' 5" & 80 gallons

Karnali's Connect 30 outfitting: First off the out fitting is extremely simple to work with. I had the boat completely outfitted for me in less than 15 min. I really like the ability to adjust the height of the back band. I personally like my back band higher on my back and the Pyranha outfitting allows you to set it exactly where you want it on your back, with the use of attached bungee cords. The Outfitting also allows you to easily access the room in the stern of your boat.

Performance

Speed: The Karnali is fast. It only takes a couple strokes to get this thing to full speed. Once at full speed the Karnali tracks like a champ.

Maneuverability: A lot of boats with a lot of speed sometimes lack maneuverability; this is not the case for the Karnali. It turns on a dime, easily zipping in and around boulders with great speed.

Boofing: The Karnali has noticeably less rocker than many other creek boats. This may lead you to believe it is harder to boof than other boats. Let me tell you this is not the case. The Karnali boofs with ease.

Rolling: I know this is a big deal for a lot of people out there. So how easy is the Karnali to Roll? It is the EASIEST ROLLING BOAT I have ever paddled.

Overall: After several days of paddling the Karnali, I have found my new "go to" boat. It handles big drops, technical boulder gardens, and pushy water with ease. I immediately felt comfortable in the boat, there was no awkward "new boat" jitters. It fits all paddling styles, whether you like to aggressively drive your boat or like to just relax and cruise. The Karnali will inspire confidence in your paddling ability. It is the boat for everyone! Whether you are a Class V Creeker or a beginner just starting out or looking to step up your game, the Karnali will provide you the performance to achieve your best on the river.