Yesterday, I paddled the Colorado River Race in the Glenwood Canyon – 10 miles on the Colorado River from Dotsero to Hanging Lake Area. The race is organized by Jerry Nyre from Canoe Colorado. At the same time it was also Regional Open Canoe Downriver Championships and Wildwater Race setup by Nate Lord.

I missed a couple of previous races. Last year at that time I was paddling in postponed Missouri River 340 race. This year the MR340 was canceled due to flooding. So, I took my Sea Wind canoe to the Colorado River instead.

The weather was beautiful and water level pretty high at 2400 cfs. The race was dominated by stand-up paddlers (SUP). There were about dozen of them. Certainly SUP is getting popular in Colorado. There were also two tandem canoes, two solo canoes (including my Sea Wind), a wild water racing kayak (Jeremy Rodgers), Huki surfski and one recreational kayak. I could miss somebody.

I took some pictures with Pentax Optio W30 at the start and a few at the finish. It was the staggered start. SUPs went first.

I finished the race in 1:21h more than 1 minute behind Nate. It was a great workout for me. I managed to keep a pretty even heart rate (142-146) over the entire race. See the race results below pictures.

Do I need to switch to SUP if I want to do some paddle racing in Colorado?

There are two flatwater kayak and canoe races in Colorado during the summer.

Lake Dillion Challenge (Sunday, July 31, 2011) and Colorado River Race
(Sunday, August 21, 2011)

10 miles
class I
divisions for canoes & sea kayaks

The Dotsero to Hanging Lake Race will be on Sunday August 22nd.
Registration will begin at 6:30 at the put-in, shuttle leaving 7:00, races start 8:00

Entry fee is $10 per person CASH!

The Dotsero launch is on the SE corner of the old hwy 6/ Green Bridge over the Colorado River at Dotsero. Take I-70 west to exit 133 and follow the frontage road.

Hanging Lake is a rest area inside Glenwood Canyon. It’s currently closed, but will re-open around August 1st.

Prizes for each division are all entry fees + $100, split 50-30-20 for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place

There is also a prize drawing with over $500 worth of paddling goodies, with all race participants names drawn out of the hat for that drawing. Prizes often include good paddles, PFD’s, guidebooks, drybags, throwbags, and assorted odds and ends. Even if you don’t win a cash prize, you’ll probably win something in the drawing (lots of prizes, first name pulled chooses first and we keep pulling names until we run out of prizes or names).

Annual race on the Colorado River from Dotsero to Hanging Lake Rest Area in Glenwood Canyon
10 miles, class I
$10 per person entry fee
Date: August 23, 2009 (Sunday)

The annual 10 mile race from Dotsero to Hanging Lake rest area on the Colorado River organized by Jerry Nyre (Canoe Colorado) took place on August 24, 2008. I didn’t race this year due to wrist tendonitis (more related to my computer work than paddling).