News
Dagger team crushes the Green Race
2006-11-28
In a saga straight of out of the storybooks, Pat Keller has fulfilled a longtime wish to win the Green race. Ever since he finished his first race several years ago, he decided then and there that he would one day hold the coveted glass trophy. In this year’s Green race he not only accomplished his dream, but did so while sweeping every division possible in the men’s field. That’s 1st in the long-boat division, 1st in the short-boat and fastest combined overall to win the title of “Greenman.” To top it off, he set the new record in short-boat, breaking the 5-minute mark in his Dagger Nomad with a time of 4 minutes, 54 seconds. The race takes place on the class V Green River Narrows just outside of Asheville, N.C. Having grown up nearby, Pat fuels his daily need for whitewater by paddling this stretch of river in between his frequent expedition trips around the world. While home-river advantage never hurts, Pat credits those expeditions with helping in his victory. “Over the last year I did a few expeditions that kept me fit,” Pat said. “Lots of paddling and a ton of hiking with a heavy boat. In California I was hauling all the needed supplies and then some. It was good since it forced me to work harder.” Training is always an important part of the equation for victory. But Pat also knew he needed just the right boat in order to become the overall fastest paddler down the river. With many of the competitors using lengthy, older-style “race” boats, Pat set out to design and build his very own Dagger kayak. With the help of Dagger’s lead designer, Mark “Snowy” Robertson, the duo calculated the specific features necessary to create the fastest boat on the river. “Snowy and I mapped out a plan that had a boat with a good, smooth rocker profile,” Pat said. “Enough that it would get up and above the many holes and obstacles, but also be a quick resurfacer after a drop. Working alongside Snowy was a real eye-opener as to what goes into making a kayak. He was a huge reason for the success and took a lot of time to help me.” Once a prototype was molded, Pat continued his daily training schedule with his eyes set on the glass trophy. As did fellow Team Dagger Paddle Andrew Holcombe, fresh back from his succesful U.S Team trials events. Andrew recently made the team and was only back to Ashville a short time before the race And with the stage set and water levels at 100% on the first Saturday of November, it was time to get it on. His first run went almost as planned. “I was a bit nervous at first, because as I took off my paddle slipped on the rock I pushed off of and I almost flipped. I knew I had to get it together fast because this was the run that counted and the one I had been working toward. Once I mentally got past the near-flip, I was able to charge hard the whole race.” While most paddlers are satisfied with getting down the course once, Pat was only partway through his mission of winning the overall title. That meant racing both on and off the water. “Getting back to start was grueling. I had one hour to make the hike back to the top, hiking hard the whole way over boulders and through the woods. By the time I made it back to Gorilla, I stopped and puked for 30 seconds before I moved on. I was pretty beat down. It was brutal.” Once back at the top Pat was off again, this time in his shorter Nomad. “I started in the short-boat race thinking, ‘This one is for Daniel,’ and when I took my first stroke I yelled out his name. Right then a great song came on my Freestyle Audio MP3 player and I just gave ‘er. I cranked it knowing this was the last race run for a year. I was clean everywhere and as I came around the notch I yelled Daniel’s name again all the way into Gorilla and I heard the crowd erupt. It was a great feeling.” With two laps under his belt, all that was left to do was wait to see what the times would be and if all of his hard work would pay off. “Waiting around for the results was tearing me up. I was almost kind of grumpy. I thought I had blown it and would have to wait another year. But then they announced I won the short-boat, then the long-boat and the Greenman. I was beyond stoked. Plus I was fired up to have finished in the Nomad in less than 5 minutes. To my knowledge, that mark has never been broken by a short boat.” Just like that, Pat Keller’s dream became reality. Not only did he win the long-boat division in his new “Green boat,” but also set a course record for short boats on his second run. And to top off an already perfect day, the 20-year-old paddler from Asheville won the greatest honor in the Green race – the title of Greenman. “Winning the Greenman was icing on the cake. To win both divisions was another first in the history of the race. I was really beside myself by then. It felt so good to have paddled to my potential on that Saturday in the Narrows.” In addition Andrew placed very closely behind Pat with a 2nd place finish in the same two events. Making both he and Pat the top two paddlers in the whole event. All that and a U.S team pallder too. What are Pat’s plans for next year’s race? “I am going to try and back it up! I want to come back and win again and get Tao and Charlie out here for the race. I want to try and take it all over again.”