The Marlow Regatta 2004

Amazingly enough to all those involved, I survived the heat and repechage in a coxless four within three hours of each other on Saturday at the Marlow Regatta. Given my less than committed to non-existent training regimen these days, it should be considered an astounding achievement that I was not air lifted by helicopter from the finish line having suffered a massive coronary. Greg Scherkoske and I were teamed up with a couple of fine lads from Worcester Rowing Club who were also doubling up in a pair (resulting in a minimum of four races!). We finished third in our heat, thus getting a birth into the repechage, and once there got totally doored. So we finished 9th overall, of perhaps 16 crews, and faced off against the top coxless fours in the country. To relate an idea of the level of the competition, a University of London Boat Club four featuring retired multi-medal winning oarsman Tim "Rock Star" Foster failed to make the final straight away, and then came second in the repechage, and finished fifth in the final! We rowed a 6:35 in the heat, and a 6:29 in the repechage. The winning time in the final, rowed by Oxford Brookes University, was 6:05. They were smokin' and posted a 6:00 in the heat.

The morning began eventfully enough by running the gauntlet out to Windsor and Eton Central station on the tube and train, only to find I had to catch a cab to the course! Twelve quid later, I must have caught the oldest, slowest, but most gentlemanly cabby out there. He hilariously drove me on a "quick route through the back country" that he assured me offered the fastest time to the race course. The route also afforded him the chance to recount to a captive audience some portion of his 44 year history in Eton! Including the night it was bombed "by Gerry." Eton is really pretty, little shops, the river running through, and a lovely market area, though I didn't really have a lot of time to look around. I am definately going to head back out there at some stage to see the castle. I really only glanced at it while running around finding the cab.