Holy tie-fest. Marking an event with the most ties in its 16-year history, this year’s 16th annual Green Race on North Carolina’s Green River was once again as carnage- and competition-filled as ever, with Isaac Levinson winning the crown and coveted “Glass” trophy for the first time ever. And for the women, Adriene Levknecht three-peats with a new women’s course record of 4:57…
First organized by Leland Davis in the fall of 1996 with a modest field of 16 racers, the Green River Narrows Race has since grown into one of the ultimate creek races in the world as competitors risk it all for bragging rights and a coveted piece of stained glass donated each year by Todd Grafe.
This year’s race drew over a 100 racers to the Class V Green the first Saturday of November and 10 times as many spectators.
“I made the decision early in the morning that I wasn’t going to mess up this year,” Levinson said in his post-race interview with organizer John Grace. “I did a pace that I knew would get me to the finish line with some energy left. I had one bobble above Powerhouse where I lost two to three seconds in an eddy, but you’re never going to be 100 percent perfect. It’s great to have finally won.”
Ties were also the name of the game in a race where conflicting currents wreak havoc on times. Following Levinson’s win of 4:22, just four seconds off the course record, Chris Gragtmans and Jason Beakes tied for fourth at 4:41; Pat Keller and Louis Geltman tied for fifth at 4:44; and Dane Jackson, Daniel Stewart, Toby MacDermott and Severin Haberling tied for sixth at 4:45.
There was plenty of carnage also. “It’s a dangerous race,” Levinson said in his post-race interview with organizer John Grace. “It was one of the biggest years of carnage I’ve seen.”
Case in point: open-boater EricDeguil rolling at the Notch, and finishing in 14:34.
Other highlights included a blistering 5:08 C-1 run by Brad McMillan; several people (like Pat Keller) hiking back up to run the race in different boats not twice, but three times; and hold-in-to-your-helmet handpaddle runs by the likes of Bill Sprinkle.
Results: Top 5 Long K1
1 IsaacLevinson LiquidlogicStinger 0:04:22
2 AndrewHolcombe Dagger Green Boat 0:04:26
3 EricDeguil Liquidlogic Stinger 0:04:34
4 ChrisGragtmans Dagger Green Boat 0:04:41
4 JasonBeakes Dagger Green Boat 0:04:41
5 PatKeller Dagger Green Boat 0:04:44
5 LouisGeltman Liquidlogic Stinger 0:04:44
5 DaneJackson Dagger Green Boat 0:04:45
5 DanielStewart LiquidlogicStinger 0:04:45
5 TobyMacDermott LiquidlogicStinger 0:04:45
5SeverinHäberling LiquidlogicStinger 0:04:45
Women Long K1
1 AdrieneLevknecht LiquidlogicStinger 0:04:57
Men Short K1
1 PatKeller DaggerNomad 04:58
2 AndrewHolcombe DaggerNomad 05:00
Complete Results: CLICK HERE
