Behind the Oar
John Greeves on what it takes to be a great rower
THE Boat Race is one of the best-known rowing races worldwide, usually fought in the waters of the Thames each spring between Putney and Mortlake. It’s actually a set of four races (men’s and women’s, main and reserves) between the Cambridge University Boat Club (light blue) and the Oxford University Boat Club (dark blue), watched by 250,000 spectators lining the banks – as well as, for the main race, a worldwide audience of millions.
The race began in 1829 after a challenge between two school friends, Charles Merivale of Cambridge and Charles Wordsworth of Oxford. Today, the four-mile, 374-yard course may only take 20 minutes, but each stroke rowed represents hours of training.
Larkin Sayre, former president of Cambridge Women’s Boat Club and victorious in the 2018 reserve race and 2019 main race, explains.
“Rowing is a tough sport and the Boat Race is one of the toughest training programmes out there. Not only do you have to stay ahead of the academic demands placed on you by the university, but you also have to balance the demands of rowing and realising the restraints it places on your social life.”
Larkin is studying for a PhD in Materials Science and has now retired from active rowing, but recalls the routine. The pre-season for men and women starts in September, a month before the other students return, and from then on, there’s training every day. Larkin would rise at 5.20 am before travelling by train and bus to
the Ely boathouse where she’d row perhaps 12 to 14 km, before heading to the Cavendish Laboratory for her academic work. At 5.30 pm, her second training session, this time on rowing machines, would begin. On Saturday and Sunday there were double water sessions of long, steady rows or racing time trials. All the elite rowers put in similar hours.
There’s no respite over Christmas, either. The squads go on training camps abroad and it’s here that final places for the men’s and women’s boats are inked in. When the final crews have been decided, they race against other top crews over parts of the course to prepare for the big event.
Callum Sullivan is from Greenwich, London, and discovered his interest in rowing by watching the sport at the 2012 Olympics. He started rowing at 14 and had success as a junior when he raced with his brother and two friends at Henley. In 2019 he had a cracking year with a victory for Cambridge in the Boat Race aged just 19 and winning gold at the World Rowing Under 23 Championships. Callum graduated with a BA in Music in 2020 and is now doing an MPhil in History of Art and Architecture. He’s the current Men’s President of the Cambridge University Boat Club.
“There’s no such thing as a Cambridge technique,” he says. “We learn from each other and basically work out a way to improve and prepare.” It’s intense, and the challenge for Callum is motivating himself when tired in the evening. He accepts expectations are high at Cambridge with a huge responsibility in terms of the history of the club.
Despite the seven months in training, the unexpected can happen. In 1912, both crews sank. Cambridge also sank in 1859 and 1978, while Oxford sank in 1925, and 1951. Then there’s the dead heat of 1877, and in 2012 the antics of Trent Oldfield. The Australian swam into the course, stopping the race for 30 minutes. He was arrested and later sentenced to six months in prison.
With victory in the 2019 Boat Race, Callum felt a massive weight lift from his shoulders. It was only later he felt able to enjoy the success. He’s hoping for three Cambridge victories in a row. Oxford may have other ideas.
Discover more at theboatrace.org