Walton Small Boats Head, 2008

Hi!

Just a quick post, as have received some news from Clio's racing at the weekend. She was at the Walton Small Boats Head...and won both of her events!!

Clio was 1st in the WS4 single (by just 1 second!!) and also 1st in the WJ16, with the fastest time of all the junior races.

This is really fantastic and I hope to have more details to post here soon...

(PS - just imagine if she hadn't been coming to circuits and had lost by 1 second!)

GB Junior Trials, Boston, 22nd November, 2008

Chris Jillings reports from Boston...

"A strong, bitterly cold North-westerly swept across the fens on Saturday morning as the country's best Junior men and Junior women assembled for the first Long Distance trials of the season. To the outside eye it looked just like another sculling head - an orderly queue taking their turn to boat and paddle up to the start, but the nervous tension in the athletes was very evident.

This was Clio's first foray into the GB selection process and she performed extremely well on the day. In the morning the Junior men had paddled the 5K to the start, marshalled in groups and then used the huge tail wind to help them home, 5K back down the course to Boston Rowing Club. By the time the women boated white horses were topping the waves in the finishing straight - Ahh, Deben conditions we thought, but the organisers bottled it and shortened their run to 3100 metres, to finish just before the final downwind leg!

Clio sculled powerfully and kept long in the tail wind, just holding her rating below the official restriction cap of 28 - tough these selection trials! With just about every top Junior in the country present, she finished 7th in her class of 18, and we look forward to going back for the next round in February - hopefully! Well done."

Yes, very well done, Clio!!

Norfolk Sculls, Sat 15th November 2008

On Saturday Clio, Chris, Em, Jamie, John, Malcolm, Neil, Tim and I all went off to Norwich to race in the Norfolk Sculls head. At 4600m, the main course is one of the longest in our area, and there are plenty of tricky corners and willow trees for scullers to steer round along the way. There is also a shorter course for juniors and novices.

I had the pleasure of spectating on the bank for the first division, so saw Em, Clio, Tim, Chris and Malcolm speeding past in their singles...as ever there was stiff competition between the latter three! Then, in the afternoon the Cawthorns teamed up in a 2x and it was also my turn to take to the water in a double with Malcolm, while Clio teamed up with some girls from Norwich in a quad. John also joined in the 1x battle with Tim and Chris, while Em gave the shorter course her best shot again.

The Norwich club put on the usual great selection of food after the event, but even lots of cake didn't soften the blow of loosing out in the S3 mix doubles by a mere 3 seconds!!

Full results can be found on the NRC homepage: http://www.norwichrowingclub.co.uk/

Well done to everyone...and let's see if we can build on these results at the Carrow Cup in a few weeks' time.

Circuits

Hi!

Just a reminder that Wednesday evening circuits have now started up again - yay!!

They consist of a short warm-up, followed by a series of old-school circuits including exercises such as press-ups, sit-ups, bench hops and so on. Whatever your fitness level, it's a great way to keep up training during the winter.

Circuits times: 18.45hrs until approx. 20:15hrs
Venue: the old-fashioned gymnasium at Farlingaye High School, Ransom Road, Woodbridge
Costs: £4 per session or £20 for ten weeks
What to bring: clean trainers, water, and a towel (for if you get sweaty, as you should if you're putting enough effort in!)

See you there!

DRC AGM 2008

This year's AGM will take place on:

Tuesday November 4th, in the back room of the Bull Hotel, Woodbridge at 8pm.

See you there to elect the new committee, hear reports on accounts and other activities from the past year...and to discuss any other club business you like. This is your chance to have your say - don't miss out!

Nominations for committee positions should go to Nicola Notcutt.

Pairs Head, October 2008

On Saturday 11th October, Clio and Chris took part in the Pairs Head and enjoyed lovely conditions out on the Thames (for once!). Full details and results can be found on the official website:

http://www.pairshead.co.uk/PHframeset.html

Well done to them both and we look forward to seeing more results soon as we get into the head race season proper...

DRC at Boston Marathon, 2008, Part II

Firstly, many apologies to Tim and Simon - I forgot to mention that they also took part in the race this year. As part of a composite VIII, they smashed the course record they set last year by about 10 minutes!!

And here is an account of the race from Malcolm:

"It was only 2 weeks before, and after some behind the scenes coaching from Captain Anna, that Ian and I decided to enter the Boston Marathon – something I had always wanted to do but had never quite taken the plunge. Our training consisted of two short Wednesday night outings. The first was a rather un-synchronised affair but the second was better. Being only slightly competitive I had worked out that we should be able to achieve 5 minutes splits as a target.

We arrived at the start early and I bumped into Simon Newton and Tim Earnshaw who were racing in an eight. They were setting off 15miniutes after us and Tim mumbled something about one of the crew wanting to beat the record they set last year. They all seemed in good spirits.

Our start time was not until 11:30 so we had plenty of time beforehand to faff. We prepared the boat and loaded it up with GPS clock, schedule of split times, a map, cereal bars, Jaffa cakes, water and a banana! Finally we boated and got to the start line. At last we were off!

I think our nerves showed when we managed to get tangled in the reeds twice in the first kilometre. Finally we settled down and the pace picked up. We quickly started passing boats. I didn’t dare tell Ian how quickly we where going. Our next 7 Km were all under 4:30 splits! By that time we were getting close to Bardney Lock (13.5km) where you have to get out the boat and lift it over the lock. We overtook a mixed four and a couple of single sculls to arrive with a clear landing stage. No time to loose. We jump out, hitched the blades to the boat and lifted it across the bank. Again no delay in boating and we’re off. We agreed to stop shortly after at about 18 km for our first drink.

Thing were going well. We were holding a steady pace and the kms passed. I kept checking the split times against the schedule. It was nearly too quick to believe. I just said to Ian we were on target. I didn’t say what target! We passed the half way mark (25.5 km) in 1h 56m which was just under a 4 hour pace! I felt good, but perhaps not surprisingly the pace was beginning to slip a bit. There wasn’t quite so much push in the old legs now.

We took a long stop at 30 km for a cereal bar and water. When we set of the boat felt heavy. We kept pushing but the speed would not pick up and the pace was slow. Can a cereal bar really do that? Ian was finding it difficult to hold a steady course. The boat kept pulling right. We were all over the place – it was like we had spent a long evening in the Cherry Tree! There must be something caught on the skeg. After about 3 km and a slight altercation with a single scull we realised we had to stop. We found a pontoon and attempted to land. It was too high and we were going to end up in the drink. Things were getting a bit tense! We gave in and decided to back up and hoped that would clear it. We set of again and the boat immediately sprung back into life. If only we had tried that earlier!

The pace quickened again and soon we were managing under 5m splits again. It was here that Simon and Tim finally caught us up – at about 36 km with a loud shout of “Come on Deben”. It was good to hear as my legs were now beginning to hurt. To say the eight was going quickly was an understatement.

We passed the 38 km timing mark at 3h 5m. We were still on a good pace with only about an hour left.

I began to find things a bit more challenging now and got a cramp in my left leg. We stop briefly for a drink and pushed on. But at 39 km Armageddon broke out. It felt like I had cramp in every muscle in my body: legs, arms, shoulders, and hands. We came to an abrupt halt. It felt like the race was going end there and then. Out came the emergency banana and a drink. It felt like we had stopped for hours, but it was only a few of minutes. I wanted to push on and we eased off gently. The pace was slow but for me it was now a matter of finishing. Ian was doing all the work – I was just trying to move the blades in time. All that kept going through my mind was “I’m glade I’m not in a single!” I must have been a bit wobbly because Ian kept asking me if I was alright? Apparently I had gone quiet and my head was wobbling side to side! After another couple of brief stops Langrick Bridge arrived (43.5 km). I was staring to row again and the pace picked up a bit. Was it the emergency banana? Then the 45 km marker passed. I asked for a final stop, drank the last of my water and we set off. “Only the run back from Waldringfield left,” Ian tells me! We pushed on. At 48 km you could hear the public address system in the distance. It is amazing how the pace picks up at the end. We did the last km in 4:50. Where did that come from? Suddenly we passed the 50 km sign and then the finish line. I stopped the watch and it showed 4h 13m. I was totally exhausted. We landed and I could barely pick the boat up. Luckily Ian’s son was there or I would have dropped it. With a very slow walk I got to the car and lay on the floor. Would I ever do that again? Ian was amazingly sprightly, running around de-rigging the boat! After half an hour of stuffing cereal bars and water in me I managed to get up and sit in the car. And within an hour we were talking about doing it again. I’m mad!

The next day I felt surprisingly good, considering the pain during the race. I felt even better at lunchtime when the results were posted and found out we had won the Novice 2x by over 10 minutes and that Tim and Simon had smashed there previous record with a time of 3h 24m in the eight. What a result!"