The Longboarding Club from The Ohio State University put on a rad event last weekend; a 15 mile push race through several different areas of central Ohio. Participants went through the woods on a bike trail right along the river, through urban areas of Columbus, and through part of a neighborhood. They were able to raise $1300 for charity and give everybody a chance to get acquainted with the central Ohio scene.

This was the first year for Gnarnia, and it was a huge success! We would like to keep the Gnarnia 2013 Coverage streak going by attending next year as well. Despite a skater vs. Car collision, my skater vs. bike collision and a few wrong turns, everybody had a great time and enjoyed the day with their fellow shredders. The race was won by Nathan Moore in first place, and Drew Hafner in second. Nathan won the race with a time of around 55 minutes: an excellent time for 15 miles!

The after session was just as stoking as the race. Highest hippy jump, best trick, best slide, and best line contests all went down. The winner of highest hippy jump was Drew Hafner, his huge hippie jumps got the crowd stoked, even after he won he tried to go higher and higher just to get the crowd pumped. Drew turned out to be the big winner of the day taking second in the race, first in hippy jump, and second in best line, taking home three decks and some trucks and Wheels. I took the prize for best trick, in “sudden death” against Clark Patrick. Clark Patrick took first for best line throwing seamless 360 rotations to slide-shuvs flawlessly and beautifully. Austin Michel took first for best slide.

Drew Hafner with the deck he won for best hippy jump.

The best part of the event was how well it brought us all together. The central Ohio scene is growing rapidly and we needed an awesome event to get the scene connected; Gnarnia 2013 did just that. Members of OSU’s “The Longboarding Club” have said that next year’s event will be even bigger and better. I personally would like to thank the Organizers of Gnarnia for making the awesome event a reality and showing everyone a good time.

Written By: Rob Green