“Flow” is a state of mind – achieved when athletes feel completely engaged in their performance, lose their perception of time, concentrate on the moment (without distraction or dilution), and, perform at extremely high levels.

Essentially, these are the moments in sport that we as athletes, coaches, and…

Different strokes

Kayakers, have you tried SUP (Stand UP Paddle Boarding) yet? I have, and I love it. In the three years I’ve been experimenting with this new and rapidly evolving form of paddling I’ve gotten stronger, learned to see the river in new ways, and found a community of new friends. Sometimes progression occurs when we broaden our horizons instead of only challenging ourselves within a narrow range of experiences.

Here are some good…

Yesterday during an address to the Nation in which he honored our Veterans, President Obama told the story of Taylor Morris, a member of an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team who was seriously injured and almost died while serving in Afghanistan.Taylor, who kayaks with Team River Runner as part of his journey back to an active life, had been to the White House before and decided to decline this last…

Team River Runner is an amazing organization that Dagger and Wave Sport both support, and that I've been proud to be a part of for almost 8…

For many whitewater kayakers on the East Coast, Fall is racing season. The Gauley, Russell Fork and especially the Green Race bring kayakers out in droves to experience the thrill of paddling fast down quality whitewater.

For the past 7 years I've been involved with Team River Runner, a great organization that helps Veterans find healing through participation in paddle sports. Every fall for the past 7 years TRR has held a…

Hi everyone! Another fabulous Green Race has come and gone. I'm back home in DC taking care of all the responsibilities I let slide during the weeks leading up to race. Here's a write up about the race on my new blog site. Enjoy!

http://jasonbeakes.blogspot.com/2010/11/2010-green-race.html

Most of you who visit this site are people who enjoy sports and lead active lives. Take a moment to think about what it would be like to face an injury that makes it difficult or impossible to enjoy your favorite sport or even do things that most of us take for granted like walking or lifting up your children. Team River Runner offers kayaking to men and women of the armed forces who have…

Army Veteran and Team River Runner participant Sang Nguyen on Great Falls of the Potomac

All photos by Mike Kircher…

2010 Great Falls Race Hector Picart photos

Sam Kane Brown Clawing after avoiding disaster!…

Hey everyone, Check out this post about a really cool event fellow Team Dagger Athlete Brad Ludden and I participated in last week:

http://blog.kokatat.com/index.php/catching-up-with-jason-beakes-report-from-dc-summit-series-3356/

Enjoy!

Jason Beakes

I've been waiting to get my hands on an Axiom for a while now because I had a feeling it was going to be the ultimate boat for my home river, the Potomac. Last Friday I borrowed on from Chuck Morris, our regional Confluence rep and proceeded to have one of my best paddling sessions in months!

In my opinion a key test of a boat design is the ability…

Team River Runner is a non profit organization the provides recreational therapy to Injured Veterans through paddle sports. I have had the pleasure of watching the organization evolve from a small group of DC boaters teaching rolling in a Hospital physical therapy pool to a nation wide organization with over 20 chapters and a record of introducing over a thousand Veterans to the health, healing, and fun that kayaking offers. While TRR's growth is exciting, what has been…