September 25, 2006
-- Canvas, WV
The 2006 Animal Upper Gauley Race was awesome!!
According to Donnie Hudspeth, race organizer extraordinaire, this was the first time that we had dry weather for the
race since 1998. We also had a good turnout, with 44 craft participating. We had everything from wildwater to riverboards.
Apparently a few paddlers missed being rained on, so they decided to swim. The best swim, in my humble opinion,
was by Travis Cobb (who was striding and flipped at Sweets Falls). According to the race rules, if a competitor swims at
the finish line, the time for that run is based on when the swimmer crossed the finish line. Travis showed us how to swim
aggressively! I must admit that I was stationed at the finish line so the only swims that I saw were there.
Andrew McEwan came in first, with a time of 45:33. Robin Betz came was the first woman across the finish line with a time
of 55:57.
Click on the following links to view the complete results:
More info an photos from the race will be posted on
iplayoutside.com. Additional information about the race can be found at
www.gauleyrace.com.
