Christian Knight was the only loser at the inaugural Top Tye Race today. Darren Albright finished the one-mile course of Class V- rapids and ledges in an unofficial time of 7:59. Knight finished in 8:15.
"The competition was excellent," said Albright. "Christian is probably the best kayaker in the country, if not the world. So it was really humbling to be able to race him. And so was the course. This is a world-class race course. Which is why today was so awesome."
Albright, an Everett firefighter, had been awake since 2 a.m., rescuing citizens.
"I was tired," he said. "But I wasn't gonna miss this."
Turnout met expectations.
"We expected two people to race," Knight said. "And that's what we got."
Competitors did two race laps. The first one, Albright gave Knight a 10-second head-start at the top of 12-foot Box Drop and passed him just below the crux rapid, known as Paranoia. On the second race lap, Knight gave Albright a head-start. But he never caught him.
"It was hard," Knight said. "It's not long enough for endurance to really matter and it's not quite short enough for a sprint. You start feeling the lactic acid building up right about when you enter Paranoia, which is unnerving."
The competitors had expected a low water level, based on the level of the Skykomish River, 20 miles downstream.
"But the Tye had plenty of water in it," Knight said. "It certainly wasn't high. But it wasn't scrapey either. In fact, I'd say it was the perfect racing level. High enough to have fast lines. And low enough that we didn't have to worry too much about Paranoia."
Next year, race organizers are hoping for a better turnout.
"We gave people four days notice," Knight said. "And we posted it on this forum. Twice. So I'm not really sure what it's going to take to get them out here."
Maybe two weeks notice.
After the run, Knight ventured up to Monkey Cage, a 17-foot slide upstream of Box Drop and put-in for a third lap on the Tye.
"It's the last time I'll run it until the rains come," Knight said. "And heck, I was already there."
Albright, meanwhile, continued over the mountains to the Wenatchee, where he paddled with friends and family in a raft.

well done Christian and Darren.  props for the show.  next time organize the race event on a weekend other than Cooperfest, but then I realize levels dictate event times more than your own schedules, so good on ya's !

Had no idea there was a Cooper Fest. We could have don e a race there.

Me neither. I hope there's more Coopfests in the future.

Great write up Christian

Dude, you might not have been able to walk, but it wasnt from the kayaking.

Agreed on the Cooper race. That river is designed for racing. Zero portages and rapids that would reward good lines with super fast times.

Pretty sure the Dooooooof got the most laps, which is impressive given his child size kayak. 

Damn you, Amandus! You looked pretty comfy in the fishin hole I found you at on Sunday. Cant believe you got 85 after that.
I have to admit I was feelin pretty sore yesterday. Dufay was a man possessed.

This thread has been officially hijacked. Sorry Christian, that write-up was very entertaining.

a god damn modern day rumpelstiltskin