Following your heroes and trying to emulate them is tricky business and you never think you will fail. Three of our Masters’ rowers saw how one leading Hexham rower did at BRIC 2024 and started to plan. Results from our age groups were checked and we thought it was worth a go, after all there will only be a few in my group, we will smash it surely.
Entries were made optimistically early in the year and idealistic plans set to erg all spring and summer. Even an erg was borrowed to ensure full training opportunities were maximised.
Come October, panic set in and the dust was wiped from our ergs and random training activities were attempted that didn’t actually involve doing a whole 2k, well not at once, its much easier to break it into bite size chunks with opportunities for tea breaks between each 250.
6 weeks to go and the cream of Hexham RC less talented members group launched themselves with over optimistic enthusiasm before discovering that the cold damp boat shed adds to the challenge.
The club kindly organised training sessions and we were shocked to discover the coach actually wanted us to row 2k. How unreasonable of her! Still it was a bench mark and we were bound to go faster right?
All too quickly its time to go, emails arrived from British Rowing confirming the schedule and we checked out the opposition. Woah…. Where did all those other people come from? Numbers had trebled from last year.
We arrive at site, it looks big , there are 55 ergs and the first thing to check is that we are not too near the front were everyone can laugh at us.
Jonathan is off first in the second wave, he sets up his foot positions whilst trying not to look sick and ignoring the cheers from his fans. He’s off and settles well into a a steady rhythm which is well maintained to the last 250 when it all goes a bit wobbly and the calm dignified demeanour slips and strange expressions of pain and anger appear never seen before in our most laid back club member. He finishes well in 8:16.
I’m off a couple of waves later with my carefully constructed race plan lying in tatters by about 750m, form goes and I’m hanging on. My splits start jumping around and the person next to me overtakes. I get to the last 500m and postpone my big push till 300m. Suddenly it’s over and my time is more or less exactly the same as I always row, 7:51, no magic has happened surprise surprise. I can’t move and take ages to get my breath.
Then comes Angus, celebrating his birthday in style. He starts strongly and we are excited to see him lying 5th in the early stages. This is the biggest group with 96 entrants and competition is formidable. Like all of us he is completely obsessed with watching his erg screen and controlling his splits. His discipline is good, splits are consistent and in the final minute his heart rate peaks and he finishes strongly albeit looking a little distressed in a fantastic time and PB of 7:02.4.
It’s over and time to spend more money than you should on some T shirts. Back home we talk up our performances and a beer or two causes mention of our regret not competing in the sprint races because naturally we would have been legendary in those.
Thank you to everyone for their messages of good luck, they were much appreciated and thanks to Barney for that special spinning playlist afterwards.
Thank you to Ant for this super race report, full results can be found here