Just downstream of Miami Beach, the river banks once again close in and become vertical walls at the lip of the next drop, called The Norman's. This is the first in a 3-set series that together are perhaps the most impressive and intimidating section of the main channel, spaced close together with very little flat water in between. Approaching the lip, you will notice a series of small exploding waves down at the bottom of the long tongue that is the lead-in to this rapid. As you descend the tongue, what becomes immediately apparent is that those are in actuality quite BIG exploding waves, and that you have no choice but to run straight into the maelstrom below. Each wave is offset to either side, so despite their huge size and violent nature, they are actually quite easy to diagonalize. Just like boofing pillows formed by rocks, these waves provide a hilarious ride down the "canyon" to the short stretch of flatwater below. It pays to stay in the heart of the train, as the boiling eddylines to either side can serve up some very scary, unintentional downtime to an unsuspecting squirtist. This is the deepest part of the Ottawa, and it is relatively narrow, so the turbulence near the walls is considerable. This rapid is also known by two other names - "Criss-Cross", and "Hair".

At the bottom of The Norman's, the river goes flat for maybe fifty feet, affording boaters the chance to get to either bank and clamber up over the rocks for a look at the next rapid; the awesome, sprawling Coliseum. This rapid is impressive in it's sheer magnitude - at high spring levels, the waves here rival anything on the Colorado in size, and a trip into one of it's horrendous holes (The White-Faced Monster, The Ledge, or the Un-named Giant) would be a nightmare that does not even bear contemplating. At summer lows, however, it changes it's face entirely. Though still very wide and turbulent, it can be safely and easily run down either of two one-move routes. The first is the "standard" route - one enters the rapid by moving left-to-right across a big tongue, punching the reactionary on the right side of that tongue and continuing right above an ugly-looking, breaking wave/hole called the Kahuna. Once past Kahuna, take care to avoid an unpleasant pourover and run on down to another short flat section.