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Green Race Information Page


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Green Race logo

The Green Race Information Page

CLICK HERE FOR ALL RESULTS
(fantastic database from Chris Bell and boatingbeta.com)

The Next Race Will Be On
Saturday, Nov. 1st, 2008 @ 12 noon

No doubt the single most famous, most respected, and most competitive creek race on the planet, the annual Green Race remains a fabulous and homespun little affair held each Fall on the steepest section of western North Carolina's Green River Narrows.  Local boaters train here for much of the year due to the reliable flows, and though people come from far and wide to compete, it's local boaters who win.  Hundreds of friends and family members either hike or paddle in to watch and cheer on every racer, scattering themselves along the river's boulders and bedrock near the photogenic signature rapid called Gorilla -- a.k.a. "The Monkey" -- heart and soul of the entire run.


Looming larger than life in any paddler's mind, the Green Race is -- save for a few individuals -- largely not about winning.  It's more about having clean lines and a safe run, making a personal best time, beating (or losing to) a friend by a few seconds, and simply participating in such a unique event and the fine community that surrounds it all.  And yet to date, in twelve years, with perhaps a couple thousand people having navigated and portaged themselves down the Green in total, only 282 people have entered the race.

Some of the well-known dangers found on the Narrows are mentioned in this waiver that all racers must agree to and sign prior to entering.  For example .... "lacerations" .... "impalement" .... "extensive dental damage" .... and my personal favorite: "I have been warned of the stupidity of this activity".  So yeah, sure, Class V, but not just skills does it take; rather, a sense of courage more than the rest of us have -- have we the skills or not.

The Green Race began in 1996 and has been scheduled to start at 12 noon on the first Saturday in November ever since.  Racers start from the river right side of the long pool below Bride of Frankenstein and finish about five minutes and one half of a miracle mile later on the river left side of the pool below Rapid Transit.  Racers take off in one minute intervals, starting with long boats (the "open" division -- anything goes), then short boats under 9', with the known racers seeded to keep passing to a minimum.

Initially born from a conversation between friends during a Gauley shuttle drive twelve years ago, Leland Davis then organized the first Green Race, and kept them running through 2002.  Jason Hale, also in from the beginning, took over in 2003 and has been the main organizer since then.  He's helped by a host of volunteers, Christy Dobson and Dixie-Marie Pickett among them.

Please note that this is not an official page for the Green Race.  There is no "official page".  Jason Hale puts some information out there close to November each year, and pulls the million details together to make it happen.  Additionally, Chris Bell has collected all the prior years' results into one clickable and sortable database (linked above), and is now handling online registration on his boatingbeta site.  This page right here is just a collection of information pulled together into one place, designed to answer the random Green Race trivia question and help you kill time until you're out paddling again.

Hiking Directions

Race Reports from Blogs and Websites

Newspaper and Magazine Articles

Photo Albums

Video Clips

Full-length Films


Image of The Green Race Movie DVD.
  • The Green Race Movie (2007) Chris Gallaway's fine film about the history and challenge of the Green Race, as well his own efforts to train and compete in 2006.

LVM Back Issues Featuring the Green Race


Image of Lunch Video Magazine DVD cover.

Issued quarterly, Lunch Video Magazine is your Asheville-based source for the good shit worldwide.  Often filmed close to home, too, with plenty of Green Race footage through the years.  Relevant Back Issues:  3, 7, 11, 14, 18, 21.

The 2007 Winners
Division Paddler Time
Open Andrew Holcombe 4:27
Women Robin Betz 5:23
Short Boat Pat Keller 4:40
Hand Paddles Keith Sprinkle 5:27
C1 Dave Hepp 5:03
OC1 Eli Helbert 9:03
Ironman Pat Keller 9:08
Race Records
Division Paddler Time Year
Open Andrew Holcombe 4:27 2007
Women Robin Betz 5:23 2007
Short Boat Pat Keller 4:40 2007
Hand Paddles Brandon Roy 5:23 2002
C1 Dave Hepp 5:03 2007
OC1 Eli Helbert 8:29 2005
Ironman Pat Keller 9:08 2007
Open Class Winners by Year
Year Winner Time Boat
1996 Clay Wright 4:57 Pyrahna Mtn. 300
1997 Jason Hale 5:13 Prion Tornado
1998 Jason Hale 5:04 Prion Tornado
1999 Tommy Hilleke 5:03 Prion Tornado
2000 Al Gregory 4:59 Pyranha Master
2001 Tommy Hilleke 4:42 Prion Tornado
2002 Tommy Hilleke 4:49 Prion Tornado
2003 Tommy HIlleke 4:42 Prion Tornado
2004 Tommy Hilleke 4:35 Prion Tornado
2005 Tommy Hilleke 4:34 Prion Tornado
2006 Pat Keller 4:36 Dagger Green
2007 Andrew Holcombe 4:27 Dagger Green
Participation by Year
Year Total Women Ironmen
1996 16
1997 21 4
1998 25 1
1999 39 1
2000 37
2001 64 3
2002 65 5
2003 57 4 1
2004 8
2005 75 3 5
2006 116 6 9
2007 105 6 18
Fisheye image of boats and competitors before Green Race.

Green Race Fun Facts

  • Most races so far:  Tommy Hilleke, 11, Jason Hale, 10
  • First Ironman:  Glen LePlante (Long and Short boats), 11:40, 2003
  • First Superman:  Paul Stamilio (Long, Short, Handpaddles), 16:48, 2007
  • Total number of runs:  662 in 12 years
  • Number of women who have raced:  17
  • Number of men who have raced:  265
  • Release Levels:  100% .... ( '04 @ 250%, '07 @ drought special, 2x 60% )

More Green Stuff

  • First Full Descent:  Tom Visnius & John Kennedy, November 1988
  • Fastest Top-to-Bottom time:  27:45....at Jerry's Baddle, March 2007
    ....(Tie: Toby McDermott & Chris Gragtmans)
  • Most laps in a day:  10 (West, Shanin, Bowman), July 2006, AW Journal
  • Early (1990) AW Journal "Two-Gallon River" (Callaway, Koll)
  • Two headcam clips of full run, Chris Gragtmans, 2006

Messing About in Green Boats

A host of old school long boats have been used over the years in attempts to win or place well in the Green Race. Since 2006 three separate limited edition boats have been designed with the Green Race specifically in mind.


Prion Tornado -- Workhorse of winning boats for years, having won 8 out of 12 races to date.  Made from 1995-2000(?) and now out of production, coveted, and hard to find --- with the aluminum mold lying in disrepair outside some damp 'n gloomy factory in Germany --- the Tornado may become a relic.


Dagger Green Boat -- Introduced in 2006 and a Pat Keller/Snowy Robertson design, the Green Boat has now won the last two races and will become available commercially by March 2008.


Wavesport Momemtum -- A Robert Peerson design in 2006...(more soon)


Liquid Logic Remix 100 -- Local designer Shane Benedict's offering, out just in time for the 2007 race.  Here is his description of the process he used to build it, some pictures of the first runs, and one other nice photo.



Other Video


Image of Playin' in the Back Yard DVD cover.
  • Playin' In The Backyard (2000) Leland Davis' full-length video devoted to the entire Narrows, including a rapid-by-rapid breakdown and a separate section about the Green Race.  Most of the footage shot in 1997/98.






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Author:   River: Green Narrows, NC
Subject:  Rapid:
Date:  Level:
Size: 406.00B  Format: jpeg
AW Photo ID: 18557   AW Reach ID:
Level Legend: Running Below Minimum Recommended Flow Above Maximum Recommended Flow Unknown
Descriptions of reaches with River Name in bold have been verified by a regional StreamTeam member.

State River Name/Section Class Level Rel. Level Updated
NC Green— 2. Green Narrows

 IV-V+

Green Race Information Page

Author Of Photo
John Pilson
Asheville, NC
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