Loughborough Boat Club

Members of Loughborough Boat Club kept rowing right through the night – all to help raise awareness of the Club and of rowing as a sport as the Club approaches the start of its 125^th anniversary year. The 24 hour marathon – with Club members taking turns on the Concept II rowing machine (or ‘ergo’ as it is known to rowers) – took place at Sutton Bonington showground with the marathon coming to its end during the show itself. Visitors were invited to guess how far the rowers would cover in total over the time – as recorded on the machine’s computerised display.

Visitors were also invited to test themselves on the ergo to see how fast they could cover 100 metres – this has become an annual event and again proved to be very popular. As Club Captain, Keith Hudson explained “We have been coming to Sutton Bonington Show for many years now and always get a lot of interest. Some people just like to find out more about the boats as they have seen us on the river, and others are interested in having a go at the sport but weren’t sure how to start. We nearly always get some new recruits for the sport.” Peter Hayes was the winner in the Men’s 100m and Jo Evans in the Women’s; Lucy Phillips won the age 14 and under Girls and Kyle Carlisle the Boys. Hudson added, “We give each of the winners free membership of the Club for a year so they have nothing to lose in coming and having a go. As an example of how useful this event is, Matthew Day, who won the boy’s category last year, has had a very promising first year in rowing and we have great hopes for him for the future.”

And the distance travelled – 320,170 metres - or nearly 200 miles!

Photo: Last year's 100 metres Boys winner Matthew Day taking part in the 24 hour marathon with Club Captain Keith Hudson looking on

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