The 9th Annual Ocoee Downriver Race

The Ocoee River Race is a 5 mile race from the #2 Dam down to the end of the powerhouse rapid. It is held in mid-October by the Tennessee Valley Canoe Club as a fundraiser for the Chattanooga chapter of Team River Runner, a national non-profit that supports wounded veterans.

Here is a fun video summary of the event: https://vimeo.com/238676387

Hunter and I entered the short boat class (under 9 ft) and the challenge was on to see who would have the fastest time! Hunter borrowed a friends Nirvana while I paddled my trusty Zen. Turns out the extra 6 inches in length on his boat helped make him extra speedy!

There were 130 paddlers and 190 start times this year (some people paddle in two classes). With starts happening one minute apart there was a fair bit of waiting to get on the river. The organizers did a great job of keeping things structured and moving. They called numbers in blocks of five and sent you down the ramp, where you got yourself organized and into the water to await your turn.

The start eddy fits two boats and you have about a minute to get into your boat and organized before it’s time to go!

The Ocoee River is a mixture of fun rapids, wave trains and really really shallow sections. It is also FULL of rafts, which made this a really interesting race. Most of the raft guides were great and would hold their boat back for a brief second to let you pass through and a few, not so much… they are there to make money and provide their guests with a good experience and they didn’t really care that you were trying to make your way through the maze of rubber.

Overall we had a super fun time and would definitely do it again. The organizers and racers are all really friendly and very supportive. There was a lot of sharing of “race line” info and other tips as you stood above the start ramp.

Hunter finished 6th in the junior short boat category with a time of 36:38 and I finished 4th in the Women’s short boat category with a time of 37:27. Chasing the kid down the river seems to help keep me motivated and him moving!