Here are some interviews and quick clips I got from race day. Don’t worry it’s not 45 people going off Gorilla over and over. Enjoy.

Green Race 2010 from ross herr on Vimeo.

More scenes from the Green. Interviews with Woody, Tommy Hillike, and Cory Volt. Some green house timelapses and more shots from race day. Enjoy.

www.kayakingRoss.com

So everyone knows the score, the dust has settled, hangovers are starting to improve, and it’s time to move on from the greatest show in sports. This years 2010 green race was another awesome event. The entire week of paddling is my favorite of the year for sure. Everyone is pumped, learning new lines, anxious about race day, and excited to party. This year the title is leaving with Mike Dawson to New Zealand but he has already promised to return next year to defend himself. I couldn’t believe how many people were in the gorge. From “Go Left,” down you could barely hear the water beneath your boat over the roar of the spectators. The only negative words I heard all day was there just wasn’t enough carnage. People are really stepping up their game. In the top 40 racers there were ties all over the results page. Also, this year had more long boats than seasons past showing that the kayak industry understands the need for long fast race boats. The Stinger is labeled as this years fastest boat with two of the top three podium spots. I wish i hadn’t paddled the stinger so I could have an excuse for my embarrassing post of a time. It just means next year i’ll have to stay healthy during the week of training and put it together when it really matters.

If you were there this year, and are anything like me, you will definitely be there again next year. The Green Race is a special event that I can’t think of a reason to miss out on. Over a hundred athletes, thousands of spectators, no prize money, just pure competition. Here are some of the photos from race day. I’ll keep going through and adding more. If you want a picture just message me here on my site and I can reply with some higher resolution pics. I have thousands of pictures for the week that i’ll be putting together soon so come back.

These boys were up early to make sure the after party went off with awesome food.

Hale’s speech got everyone fired up, despite the cold

Jules ready to kill

Those aren’t brown claws, the hand paddlers of the Green

Looking up at the crowd after my run

Meg hiked in a bag of wine,

Exactly what i needed at the finish.

My favorite picture of the day.

There were a few backwards lines to be had

but Gorilla was fairly kind this day.

It seems more people had issues with Go Left this year than Gorilla. Here is Corey Volt enjoying himself after a swim at go left. My ribs are going to be sore for a while from my run-in with it earlier in the week.

It was cold

The people are what make this event so awesome



White pants in the gorge?

Isaac on his way to winning short boat class

Adrianne killin it for the women

Passing

Ben Fraker, C1 killer, didn’t let breaking his T-grip off his paddle hold him back. He finished the race and ran Sunshine with what was left of his paddle. The C1 division really gave-er this year with some good carnage too.

Chris Young cam flying off the left of Sunshine. After i took this pic he told me that he hadn’t picked up his kayak since 2008 until friday before the race. My new hero. He said next year he’d have a long boat for sure.

Butter put in some serious time trying to help get this boat out.

Greg Gerrard, might not have been on his line but wanted to make sure the crowd was having a good time

well thats it for now. it’s all still such a blur from waking up sunday, driving 16 hours to be back at school today and planning already for next year.

It’s the last day before the main event. There is plenty of trash talking and high hopes just waiting to be crushed. Tales of carnage, pins, bruised ribs, and fast lines are heard from every kayaker in every direction. The amount of stoke that is created for this race is insane. Yesterday as Isaac, Ben Fraker, and I were going up for another lap we all commented about how fired up we were. Its going to be a long day today as we all decided to rest up for tomorrows event. Here are some more photos of what can be seen hanging out down here in the cove. Good luck to all the racers tomorrow should be an awesome day.

Greg Gerrard looking fast in his stinger and hand paddles.

Woody has been working super hard to make sure this Green race party is the best yet.

Be aware, a love sac can launch all kinds of small children and unsuspecting electronics. Fraker and Isaac testing it out.

Team Shane’s house knows how to pack up for shuttle.

Check back for a race day and party post next.

Things have been awesome inside the gorge, many tales of both good and bad lines. Since Sunday I have been in my Stinger and it is unbelievable how good this boat feels. There are moments were you connect lines faster than I knew you could. I’m feeling confident about my lines but it’s just a matter of putting it together for race day.

Meanwhile at the Party HQ we’ve been taking care of the important preparations. Last night Grace, Woody, and I changed all the exterior lights to Green and strung an additional line of lights over the party zone. It’s starting to look sweet around here. I’ll try and bring my camera into the gorge tomorrow for some more shots.

Here are some photos from Green HQ…