Loughborough Boat Club

Loughborough Boat Club’s Marie Guingouain proved herself to be an excellent all rounder when she finished off a successful regatta season by setting a new course record in the UK ’s longest rowing race. The Boston Rowing Marathon takes competitors along a gruelling 31 mile course from the centre of Lincoln through the fens to Boston . The event was first staged as an open event in 1950 and is renowned as one of the toughest events in the rowing year.  At one point competitors even have to take their boats out of the water and carry them around a lock.

Guingouain completed the event in an impressive 4 hours 8 minutes 49 seconds taking the prize for the Women’s Senior 1 Single Sculls and setting a new course record for the category. Guingouain was nearly 4 minutes in front of her nearest rival Lane of Derwent and even beat the fastest Men’s Senior 1 Sculler.

Guingouain described it as ‘long and painful as everybody had told me it would be. The first 3 hours were OK but the last hour was very hard and the last 2 kilometres were many times worse than anything else I have competed in’ . She went on to say ‘I'm very happy I've done it! I got a few blisters but I didn't come back with blood on my hands as many others did!’

Fellow club member Marcus Joy , who provided the back-up support to Guingouain on the day, commented "Marie looked as good in the boat over the last 500m as she did over the first 500m, demonstrating that rare combination of determination and ability which defines a winner."

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