Thursday, May 14, 2009

Why we should all be taking Dirk's magic tablets...

Perhaps you suspected that a few of your fellow rowers have some crazy tendencies. Early risers, early drinkers etc etc... But did you know we had record-breaking erg marathoners in our midst? And, apparently, it's all thanks to Dirk's magic tablets:



On Sunday, May 10th, Paul Gribelyuk, Adrian Nino De Rivera and Jim Beattie each completed an erg marathon. They each rowed the 42,195 meters in one sitting without any breaks. The recreation room of the boathouse was filled with the whir of their three ergometers for nearly three hours on that sunny spring morning. On the television was Patrick Swayze’s 1989 hit movie Road House and on the stereo’s speakers were motivational tunes, ranging from Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” to Rammstein’s “Du Hast”. When asked why they had bothered to undertake such an arduous task, Adrian, replying for the group, said, “Because we’re better than you, son.” Each of the three rowers set a new personal best for the distance. Paul finished at a split of 2:01.1 (2hrs 50mins 23.4secs), Adrian, who was completing his first (and only?) marathon brutalized the poor erg for 2hrs 47mins 47.7secs, a split of 1:59.3. Completing his second marathon in six months, Jim surged ahead at the beginning, only to slowly die a very painful death with 7,000 meters left to row. He sputtered across the finish line after 2hrs 45mins 44.7secs, a split of 1:57.8. This was just better than Eric Hagberg’s most recent mark of 1:58.0 (Eric holds the world record for lightweight men in the 100,000 meter distance).

To what do the three attribute their success? Hands down, the answer is “Dirk’s miracle tablets.” After the three had convalesced sufficiently to be able to form coherent sentences, Jim said, “Those little tablets work miracles. With 25,000 meters to go I started popping a half tablet every 5,000 meters. By the time I was 32,000 meters into it, I was popping them every 2,500 meters or so – just like candy [editors note: they essentially are candy].” (Important note for USADA: The “miracle” tablets were actually dextrose energy tablets, a common supplement for long-distance athletes.) Will the three be repeating this remarkable feat any time soon (perhaps so anyone who missed it this time can catch it live next time)? Well, according to Paul, “Yeah… probably not.” Adrian’s only comment was a string of expletives, followed by “son” and hysterical laughter. With a devilish gleam in his eye Jim said, “Sure, but not until there’s a pretty good reason to do so.”



The three (brainless?) rowers would like to thank Erin Colgan for her help in completing the marathon.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Classic Video: Possibly the best rowing race ever shown on national TV



Feel free to argue with me if you have a different opinion - and suggest other videos we can watch!

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Nereid picture of the week:



(Slightly out of season, but still beautiful. Many thanks to this site)

Friday, May 1, 2009

Nereid picture of the week:




Taken on one of the last days of good rowing last year...