My First Green Race
Dayton Pedrick getting ready for his first Green Narrows Race in 2020 at age 15.
Photo Credit: Mary Pedrick
The crowds are screaming along the banks. You can hear the roar of ”Gorilla” just around the corner. You’ve only been paddling for 3 minutes, but it seems like hours. Every sense is heightened, every muscle aches. You’re breathing heavily and you are weak but you have to make it to the finish line.
The Green Race has been a long time dream of mine. I used to hike in every year to watch the best kayakers in the world either go very fast or get absolutely destroyed. I never thought I would be in “The Greatest Show On Earth”. I had only been running the Green Narrows for less than 1 year before I considered racing. I was going to long boat and short boat, but after only one hot lap (going fast without stopping like you would in the race), I knew I couldn’t be competitive in 2 races back to back on race day. I decided to focus on the longboat category.
My dad was nice enough to lend me his old, used, scratched, cracked, Dagger Green boat. I spent hours outfitting it to me so I could feel as comfortable as possible. My first few training laps in a long boat were some of the scariest. Going through rapids twice as fast as I normally would be going is fun, but it's also terrifying. There's always a chance I could get spun around in a rapid or get pinned. It can happen to anyone at any point in time. During race season, there are a great deal of people out there, with the potential to drop in on them or, even worse, get dropped in on. I wish I had started training much earlier than I did. It was a bit of a struggle to catch up to everyone else who had been doing hot laps for months. The week right before the race was probably the best. The hype was getting strong and people were getting nervous. That week was largely a mental preparation week as I already had done everything I could do to get physically ready. I had my lines dialed to where I wanted them. I studied hours of green footage (myself and others), watching for mistakes and fast lines.
The day had finally come. It was Green Race day. I woke up, took shower and had a breakfast of champions: a QT donut, a bacon egg and cheese croissant, and a red bull. It was so cool to show up at the parking lot, seeing friends and pros all around. Right when I got my bib, I immediately put it on for a photoshoot (still felt cool, even though the photographers were my parents). The racer meeting was called. Everyone, every shape, size and color was there, lined up to listen to the legendary speech. Jason Hale sure does know how to hype everyone up. He encouraged us all to make this the best year yet. He put all of the juniors and first timers on the spot for a second. We all raised our hands high. After the meeting, it was time to chill. All of the juniors weren’t racing until almost 2:00 and the races started at 12. We sat in the parking lot for almost 3 hours getting ready. I listened to music to help me focus before my race. When it came close to time, we walked down the trail to the river. We took our time sliding into the water and getting to the starting line.
Dayton Pedrick
Photo Credit: Mary Pedrick
When the race started, I was ready. I got in line with the other racers. #106 Ben, #107 Sam, then me, #108. I said a quick prayer before I paddled into the starting spot. The countdown started, 30, 10, 5, GO!
Right when I started out, all my worries went away. I knew if I had made it this far then I could go even further. I came out of the gate a little faster than I wanted, but I was smooth. I was very pleased with my lines through the top portion. I went the exact speed I wanted. By the time I got to the rapid called “Whale Tail”, I was beginning to hear the screams of the crowd. When I came out of “Boof or Consequence”, I was much farther left then I wanted and almost went into “Go Left” to on the “Go Straight” line. I brought it back to the right just in the nick of time to hit my line through “Go Left”. I got stuck in the hole for a couple of seconds, but did not flip nor get pinned. When I came through the slot, the crowd was cheering me on and I continued down, carrying their energy with me. I had one of my best lines ever through “Zwicks”. I came flying out of the rapid and straight into “Chief”. Coming into “Gorilla” was an intense moment. I remained calm and clean with my lines but the crowd cheering me on was encouraging. The sequence felt like it went by so fast. Boof, Boof, paddle paddle paddle, drop! It felt like I was flying through the slides and gliding over the water. Then “Power Slide” hit me like a wall. I missed my line and accidently went straight through the middle and had to punch the hole. I was exhausted and out of breath, but there was one more rapid, “Rapid Transit”. I paddled as hard as I could but I was so tired. I slid down the right side and when I hit the pool at the bottom, I dug deep to find the last bit of energy that I had left in me to make it to the finish line. People were cheering me on all the way there.
Dayton Pedrick at Gorilla
Photo Credit: Mary Pedrick
I had done it, I had raced in the “Greatest Show On Earth.” All of my friends and family were at the finish line celebrating. The Green Race had been a long time dream. All of the training, all of the crashes and hard work had paid off. My time was 5:08. I know that I could have had better lines and a faster time, so now I start training for next year.