My new rowing friends! The draw for the Worlds is out.
The draw is out for the World Rowing Masters Championships and I'm not gonna lie, I can feel the butterflies in my stomach. It's all suddenly got a bit scarily real. But alongside the jitters I'm genuinely excited to see all the crews that I'm up against. Yes, for...
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Operation 82 – it’s not over ’till it’s over
Two months ago, racing at the Worlds seemed, if not exactly realistic, then at least doable. I was heading towards my final cancer treatment with every prospect of bouncing back afterwards. We had long months of training stretching ahead of us. The sun was shining. It...
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The maiden voyage of Girl on the River
Ever since I took delivery of my gorgeous new boat I've been itching to race in her. Unfortunately I had to pull out of Llandaff as I had a nasty cold, so Bewdley Regatta was the venue for the maiden voyage of Girl on the River (as a racing boat, at any rate). I was...
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Girl on the River’s ultimate wild swimming kit list
In the last few months I've been taking every opportunity I can to plunge myself into cold bodies of water. I've swum in the River Usk, two spots on the River Wye and even in a sailing lake in the Cotswolds and I'm planning a few British sea swims later in the week....
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My beautiful new boat and what I’m calling her
It's a bit of an indulgence, I know. I don't actually NEED a single of my own. I'm lucky enough to be in a club that has a few nice single sculls that are not massively outside my weight category. I'm a featherweight 53kg and we have a couple of lovely singles that...
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Banya No.1 – muscle recovery, Russian-style
Anyone who's been following Girl on the River for a while will know I am a passionate convert to saunas and their beneficial effects, ever since I raced in Finland a couple of years ago and a lakeside sauna session transformed me from a wobbly, aching,...
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We’re going to the Worlds!
So the entries are in, and as things stand I'm going to be racing in a 2x at the Worlds Masters Championships in Hungary in September. Which is completely ridiculous. Even I can see that. So far we've managed to come second out of three in a band 2 race, at a local...
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Dryrobe – your new best friend for race day
There are people out there who, when it comes to race day, just fling an all-in-one in the car and consider themselves ready to go. I am not one of those people. I like to be super-prepared with a lengthy list of essential items to throw in my kit bag. I also need to...
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