On the First Sunday in September the Isle of Ely Rowing Club hosts the Annual Great Ouse Marathon. The marathon starts at West Norfolk rowing club, 50 metres upstream from the iconic Denver Sluice that regulates the passage of the Great Ouse to the North Sea. After a rolling start the river Great Ouse winds 22km through the Fens toward Ely.

The Chesterton crews entered this year were Felicity Parker in a single scull and Steve Humphrey and myself, Lorraine Turvill in a Mas E Mixed Double Scull.

It was with some trepidation that we headed to WNRC on a fine morning. Steve and I have been rowing together as a Mixed Double for a little over a year and we’d come a long way since our first race together, a 550m sprint at the Cambridge Autumn Regatta almost a year ago to the day. We’d completed just a couple of long rows in preparation for the race, to try and ingrain that light and fluffy rhythm which is usually suggested for a race of this length, but mainly we’d tried to protect our hands in preparation for the long row.

With a last banana stuffed into my mouth we were off. We established a strong pace and a good rhythm but it was very promptly interrupted as we headed for the bank and got stuck in the reeds. Not a good start.

While it’s tempting to sprint ahead we kept in mind that it’s a marathon, endurance being the key. We stuck to our planned rhythm, focussing on consistent strokes and steady breathing, our heartbeats in sync.

Steve was in bow and expertly navigated the boat around the bends. We began to pass a few boats and a couple of faster crews slowly gained on us. We passed under Ten Mile Bank bridge and The Ship pub marking halfway. Our timings were good, helped by a gentle ENE breeze passing half way at 50 minutes, much faster than one hour we’d hoped for. We’d stocked the boat with bananas and gels and talked about stopping to refuel but we both felt strong and decided to press on not feeling the time taken stopping would be worth the added boost of fuel.

As we passed under Littleport Bridge we had the famous 5k straight to go to the finish. At this point there are distance markers every 1km. We began to count them down. At this stage muscles are starting to ache and blisters are starting to make their presence felt and we had to dig deep, pushing through the pain. We’re not just racing against others, we’re racing against ourselves, our limits and our doubts. Together we rallied through the fatigue, pushing our bodies to the max. With the finish line in sight, we poured every ounce of strength into our final push. As we crossed the line, realisation hit us, we did it!

We drifted to a stop and as the adrenaline seeps out of us, every blister and muscle is hurting as we row back to the boat club. With the boat out of the water and finally refueling with sausage rolls and cake we look at the results. Our final time was 1 hour 43 minutes. Ten minutes faster than our nearest rival. We’d won! Unlike the usual pots as prizes Isle of Ely gives the winners trees! We picked up a Malus Sylvestris (Flowering Crab Apple) and a Betula Pubescens (Downy Birch) which we’ll plant in the garden to remind us for years to come of our first win together.