70 Years of Downriver Races: Telling the Story in Numbers

By Lynn Miller

Editor's note: The Annual Potomac Downriver Race has a storied history. Lynn Miller nobly took it upon herself to tell that story in data, derived from poring over issues of the Cruiser in which race results were reported. (Results since 2016 are on the CCA race page as well—from the Home Page left pane, Racing > Potomac Downriver Race.) Lynn notes that the statistics reported here do not reflect the races held between 1956 and 1961 and 1964, 1987, 1989, 1994, and 2004 because she was either unable to locate Cruisers at all or results in the ones located were not legible. Lynn offers her apologies, accordingly for any errors or omissions in the totals, tables, and graphs. Still, the trends she surfaced are valid and interesting. (Cruiser coverage of the race and reporting of results usually is in the May or May-June issue but can be found as late as September. The CCA newsletter archive online has a large proportion of the relevant issues—Home Page > Members Only > Documents.)

The 70^th Annual Potomac Downriver Race is now in the books. In those 70 years, participants have come and gone, race leadership has changed, boat types have changed, and the amount of time it takes to run the race has varied significantly.

Like the river, participation in the race has ebbed and flowed. There have been as many as 211 racers participating in a single race (1979), and as few as 16 (2003). One of the dips—in 1972/1973—is due to the reporting only of racers who placed (first, second, third), and also the 1972 race was postponed for a week (no reason given) and then held in drizzle. In 1973, there were 107 participants (and the race got its first mention in the Washington Post), but again only the top three finishers in each class were documented. Other dips may be due to this same difference in reporting. The smallest race, 2003, was postponed for two weeks and then held at a 4'6" river level. Participation has stayed fairly steady since 1988 but at a noticeably lower level than most of the years before.

The high water years (figuratively, that is, not literally) were 1968 through 1982, with the club's involvement with Olympic slalom teams possibly contributing to the enthusiasm. (I would love to hear more about this period!)

Participation by women as a percent of total racers has increased over the years but remains well below the number of men. Many children have participated, but their numbers also have been low. When children do participate, it is often as part of a tandem open canoe team.

Boat types have migrated over time from canoes to kayaks. Before 1993, canoes, specifically open canoes, were king. Subsequently, kayaks have taken over. Canoes can be open or decked and have one or two paddlers. While there are two-person kayaks, kayaks in the race are almost exclusively paddled by one person. In our CCA Race vernacular, kayaks are generally characterized as short or long and sometimes medium.

Race finish times can vary significantly based on race characteristics (such as starting line at Sandy Beach or at Anglers, and whether the course is pre-set), river levels, boat types, and participating racers. The race run in 2013 had the fastest average race time recorded, about 40½ minutes. This race also produced the fastest recorded race time at 34:34; the racer was Adam Van Grack, who then donned a safety bib and joined the safety crew! This was not a normal race. The river level was 7'4". There is no word on where the race started, but it has to be assumed it started at Anglers. There were 21 paddlers and lots of categories. Almost everyone racing came in first or second in their class!

Women have won the CCA Race three times: Cathy Hearn in 1995 (0:59:30), and Sandrine Deglin in 2021 (0:56:24) and again in 2023 (0:49:41). River conditions do matter, but all three of these finishes are impressive.

The majority of racers over the years have raced only once! 71 percent of men have raced only once. On the other hand, the most frequent male racer—Carter Hearn—raced 34 times. Meanwhile, 80 percent of women have raced only once, and the most frequent female racer—Barb Brown—raced 23 times. Carter won his class 19 times, came in second 7 times, and came in third 6 times. In 34 races, Carter missed the podium only twice. Barb Brown won her class 9 times (including this year), came in second once, and came in third twice.

The race doesn't happen without an impressive crew of volunteers. In fact, at times there are more volunteers than racers. We owe all of the volunteers a huge debt of gratitude. 

Moreover, leadership is key to getting the race run. Chairing the race takes guts, determination, grit, and an amazing amount of PATIENCE! Known race chairs are in the table below. Howard Moreland holds the crown as the person to have chaired the most races, but several others have taken on this responsibility many years in a row. 

While most of the challenges associated with chairing the Downriver Race are water under the bridge (sorry again), one unique challenge is notable. Jen Sass kept alive the CCA streak for the longest consecutively run downriver race in the country, spearheading the running of the race in both 2020 and 2021, the years most heavily hit by the Covid shutdown. In doing so, the CCA race surpassed the Westfield River Wildwater Race and gave CCA the longevity crown (see "Clubs Vie for Whitewater Race Bragging Rights," Cruiser, May-June 2024).

Here are all the known race winners, and below that, race chairs. As noted above, results for some years could not be located. Class definitions varied considerably, depending in each race on boat types, age, and gender.