HOCR 2013: For the Love of the Charles

If all of American rowing has a Homecoming weekend, it's Head of the Charles here in Boston, Mass., and it's glorious. Every year I wonder if it's just something I'm nostalgic about, but day one is done, and no, it's just as wonderful as I thought it would be.

It's impossible to duck into a coffee shop or even walk 20 feet without running into a former teammate or rowing friend. The whole weekend passes in a blur of new stories and familiar faces, although over the years the evolution has shifted from new significant others or fun summer coaching gigs to babies, jobs, houses, rings, surgeries, family, and everything else. Our worlds have gotten so much bigger, but the rowing world, even as the schedule at the Charles is full to bursting, remains so wonderfully interconnected.

Every year I've been in training, no matter how in or out of shape I am, the trip down the race course remains equally lung- and leg-burningly painful, although it never seems as excruciating after, recollecting a magnificently-made turn or boat passed with teammates. In spite of myself, I'm already looking forward to racing again the following year.

And the great thing about the Charles: it is the epitome of the rowing family. We're packed into our extended (rowing) family's living rooms, sleeping on futons and floors. It's unthinkable to have a meal this weekend that isn't shared with a long-missed friend. Rowers span over seven decades, generations upon generations, and it's impossible to tell who's the most excited to be here. We're a family brought together by love--the love of this crazy sport and everything that comes with it.

I'm racing tomorrow in the Championship Four at 2:39pm--I'll be bow #4, sitting in stroke, and could not be more excited to tear up the course with an awesome crew, coxswain, and everything I've got. If you're not on the banks of the river, watch live racing here. Good luck to everyone racing and GO USA!!!

Chungju WRCs: On to the Final!

WHEW!

200m to go...finished just over a second behind Poland (L), and just over half a second ahead of New Zealand (top). Finding bend and love, L to R: me, Susan, Kara, and Megan. PS...Sue and I are pulling even harder with Team Byron wristbands! And PPS...Radcliffe: yes, that's the Mary McCagg we're racing in! So awesome! Photo Credit: Igor Meijer.

We had many improvements in our repechage ("second-chance race") yesterday and did what we needed to do--net a top-2 finish to advance to the medal-level A final Saturday. It was not an easy, graceful, or pretty race, but we were able to establish a strong and effective rhythm for a good chunk of the race, as well as find another gear at the end to respond to a kitchen-sink sprint from New Zealand.

We now have a couple of days to recover, but more importantly, to keep progressing as we have over the last few weeks since being named as a crew--to keep getting a little bit better every day. There were many things we could see, watching video, that we will be trying to improve on technically for our final. But the most important thing--the will to win and the belief that we, as a crew, CAN win--are there, and we are much stronger going to the line knowing that.

Your USA W4x...excited to get out there Saturday and give 'em hell! Photo credit: Kara Kohler

Today was awesome as we had our first USA medal--our LTAMix2x, Paul Hurley and Natalie McCarthy, took bronze. LTAMix2x stands for Legs/Trunk/Arms Mixed Double, meaning that these athletes have at least partial use of all limbs and may have other para-abilities, such as blindness, etc. We also had two close 4th-place finishes, in the LTAMix4+ and TAMix2x. It is awesome to have every possible boat class that's training towards the 2016 Paralympics represented on our team here as well as every Olympic and non-Olympic boat class. Paul and Natalie: thanks for inspiring everyone heading into finals here in Chungju! #OneTeam #OneGoal

Natalie and Paul, USA's first medalists, bronze in LTAMix2x! Photo Credit: Allison Frederick.

Pulling hard for Team USA and Team Byron--every stroke, every day. Thanks for your support and Go USA!

-Esther

Annyeonghaseyo (안녕하세요) from Chungju, South Korea!

Housemate Emily Huelskamp (W4-) and I ready for our big trip...our first glimpse of South Korea from the air...and our first taste of Korean pop culture, a welcome from a K-Pop boy band!

(That's "Hello!") Team USA arrived in Chungju Thursday and are now fully in the swing of things here in South Korea. After a long (just shy of 14 hours!) but stress-free flight, as well as customs and a two-hour bus ride, we were thankful to simply arrive in one piece. However, our arrival was made very special by the welcoming committee, who brought out their best hospitality, even at 9:00pm!

Team USA with our awesome hotel staff as we arrive!

Posing for a photo with our cheerful regatta volunteers. They told us that instead of "Cheese!", we are supposed to say "Kimchi!"

Many of the regatta staff we interact with daily are volunteers--mostly college students (including college rowers) who are donating their time and English skills to helping us figure things out that might have been lost in translation. Since a few things are a little different--that's really awesome, and we owe you big time!

Regatta mascots...the "fire escape" outside our hotel room, aka a chest strap/pulley to rappel down the building...and a gentle reminder not to lean against the elevator door.

It's hot and humid here, but after a summer in NJ (and before that, for me, in DC), Team USA is doing just fine. Turns out the best training trip to acclimate was training at home!

With Susan and Kara on the Chungju Dam, 322 ft. up!  Photo: Kara Kohler.

The hotel where we're staying--a bank training center campus near a large hydroelectric dam--is awesome, with everything from a giant indoor gym to rooms with balconies overlooking the mountains to a dining hall with great food. On our first morning, we took a run around the neighborhood, including to the dam, which has speakers playing Elvis...in Korean. We also have been enjoying finding some of the more exotic wildlife around the campus and at the course.

Cool bugs spotted at the hotel and course. All larger than they appear! Photo (Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle): Ross James.

The main regatta building at the Chungju course. Really beautiful venue!

Our Para-Rowing team will be arriving tomorrow, which will make our squad complete and ready to take on the world. I think this my first World Championships where Team USA actually has the largest team here, and it's an incredible one to be a part of. Click the photo below to check out more photos and videos from the trip in my Facebook album. Thanks for supporting our journey and Go USA!

Team USA representing #TeamByron as we headed out from Princeton. Go USA!!!

Racing Underway at the Sydney World Cup!

So today kicked off World Cup racing for Team USA here in Sydney, and we are so excited to finally get out there and go after a week of acclimating and training!

Sunrise at the regatta earlier this week.

This morning, we were the very first race of the World Cup in our 4x heat. I couldn't have asked for a more amazing boat to be a part of, with Elle Logan in stroke, Susan Francia sitting in front of me, and Megan Kalmoe rounding things out in the bow. As far as atmosphere, there's quite a bit of it at the moment, as there is a controlled burn brushfire somewhat nearby and we've had some spectacular sunrises and sunsets (as well as a little haze) at the course.

View of the brushfire from our hotel.

As with any regatta, we had a few wait-around moments--officials figuring out where the bow numbers were, a last-minute photo ID check--but got in a solid warm-up and headed up to the start excited to see what we could put together for our first piece together as a crew. Lots of good things and lots to work on, but we met our goal of crossing the line first and heading straight to the final on Sunday. Like many of our competitors here, all of us in the 4x are racing other events, so the idea of having one fewer race added to that pile made the one direct-qualifying spot (if possible) an even more definite goal!

Off the start in the 4x.  Photo: Detlev Seyb/MyRowingPhoto.com.

We headed straight for the dock, weighed our boat, set it in slings, and went into intense recovery mode. The World Cup schedule has been greatly compressed because of the Australian National Championship Regatta and the smaller number of competitors, so whereas racing would normally run from maybe 8am-1pm and then 4-6pm for repechages, all morning races were condensed into 8-10am. That meant that Megan and I had a luxuriously long break compared to Elle and Susan--our second race wasn't til 9:30, whereas the two singles were racing at 9:12 and 9:18! We had enough time to grab a snack, go to the bathroom, and stretch, and then it was time to head back out again.

Megan and I launched and did a quick tune-up warm-up, since we were still quite "warm" from our race. This was my first international race in a small boat, and I have really been looking forward to the experience and opportunity to learn that will come from this regatta. Having a double partner who has as much international experience in that boat as anyone on our team--and who is helping me learn a ton every practice--has made this an amazing experience so far. Our race results were not what we had hoped, but it also was a great first race because it gave us so many things to improve in the repechage tomorrow.

Susan off the start in the single.   Photo: Igor Meijer/FISA. 

This afternoon, we're all resting up. Elle and Susan had great races in the 1x, with Susan taking a strong third in her heat, and Elle putting together an incredible piece and winning her heat to go straight to Sunday's final! I am so impressed with both of these women--both of their first international races in the 1x, and Elle's FISA sculling debut, and they are doing incredible things. So pumped for USA sculling!

Caroline and Meghan in the pair.  Photo: Detlev Seyb/MyRowingPhoto.com.

In sweep racing, Caroline and Meghan won their heat in the pair to advance directly to the final Sunday, and the men's eight finished second in their race for lanes. We're all dialed in here at the hotel, watching the women's eight's heat, as well as the men's Australia National Championships final in the straight fours.

The live race tracker for all races can be found here: http://www.worldrowing.com/live-results?type=live, and Sunday's live streaming for finals can be watched here (check to see specifics for your country, which may include pre-registering): http://www.worldrowing.com/video.

Finally, I want to give a big shout-out to our only other fellow Americans here in Sydney, the junior women's eight from Saratoga, coached by the awesome Eric Catalano. These girls are blazing fast on the water and crushed their final today by more than a length of open water (and they have some pretty sweet gear!) Way to drop the hammer, ladies!!!

Teams USA earlier this week!

Thanks so much for supporting us back home, and Go USA!