Boston Rowing Marathon on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The Boston Rowing Marathon is a
The event started as a one off in 1946, a pub bet, and was big news for the town. A single coxed four of seniors rowed from central Boston to the Brayford Pool in central Lincoln (against the river flow) and took around six hours. A distance, measured at the time, of 34 miles.
On 26th October 1947, a teenaged coxed four from the Boston Rowing Club, took on the challenge of beating the 1946 time. Aubrey Fox, Deg Borman, Bill Gale and Bill Lockwood (AKA Dennis) completed the course in 4 hrs 11 mins and were each awarded an inscribed tankard by the mayor of Boston, TM Moffatt. In 1948 a solo rower covered the course (time unknown).
In 1949, Crowland Rowing Club became involved and the course was reversed to finish at Boston. It was easier to row with the flow and preferable to finish at the boathouse with the pub next door. In 1950 the event was opened to all competitors and has remained so to this day. The event is now organised by Boston Rowing Club.
The long distance of the event makes it unique in British rowing and thus attracts a lot of entries; some competing for a time, others only wanting to complete the distance. The event is also unusual in accepting entries from all crews and categories.
The current record for the 30.6 mile course is 2 h 59 min 45 s, set in 1991 by a
The start is a set of landing stages at Lincoln Rowing Centre, Stamp End Lock, Waterside South, Lincoln. The centre was founded in 2006 in response to marathon being the only rowing hosted in Lincoln.Lincoln Rowing Centre - History
The race follows the straightened Witham downstream to the finish line at Boston Rowing Club boathouse, 660 m north of the first bridges in Boston (overlapping road and rail bridges). One lock is present in the course.
Website
{{Rowing (sport) Rowing competitions in the United Kingdom Sport in Lincoln, England Recurring sporting events established in 1946 Sport in Boston, Lincolnshire
The Boston Rowing Marathon is a rowing
Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...
head race taking place on the third Sunday of September annually in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...
, England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
, over the exceptionally long distance of 49.2 km (30.6 miles). The course is along the River Witham
The River Witham is a river almost entirely in the county of Lincolnshire in the east of England. It rises south of Grantham close to South Witham at , passes through the centre of Grantham (where it may be closely followed using the Riversi ...
from Lincoln to Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
.
Overview
The event started as a one off in 1946, a pub bet, and was big news for the town. A single coxed four of seniors rowed from central Boston to the Brayford Pool in central Lincoln (against the river flow) and took around six hours. A distance, measured at the time, of 34 miles.
On 26th October 1947, a teenaged coxed four from the Boston Rowing Club, took on the challenge of beating the 1946 time. Aubrey Fox, Deg Borman, Bill Gale and Bill Lockwood (AKA Dennis) completed the course in 4 hrs 11 mins and were each awarded an inscribed tankard by the mayor of Boston, TM Moffatt. In 1948 a solo rower covered the course (time unknown).
In 1949, Crowland Rowing Club became involved and the course was reversed to finish at Boston. It was easier to row with the flow and preferable to finish at the boathouse with the pub next door. In 1950 the event was opened to all competitors and has remained so to this day. The event is now organised by Boston Rowing Club.
The long distance of the event makes it unique in British rowing and thus attracts a lot of entries; some competing for a time, others only wanting to complete the distance. The event is also unusual in accepting entries from all crews and categories.
The current record for the 30.6 mile course is 2 h 59 min 45 s, set in 1991 by a University of London Boat Club
University of London Boat Club (ULBC; boat code ULO) is the rowing club for the University of London and its member institutions, many of which also have their own boat clubs. The club has its boathouse on the Thames in Chiswick, London, UK. I ...
men's eight. The race was cancelled in 2000, due to that year's fuel crisis, in 2011 due to an unusually prolific growth of water weed, and again in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021 the event was again cancelled due to Covid-19, but a solo club rower completed the course on the scheduled day.
Course
The start is a set of landing stages at Lincoln Rowing Centre, Stamp End Lock, Waterside South, Lincoln. The centre was founded in 2006 in response to marathon being the only rowing hosted in Lincoln.The race follows the straightened Witham downstream to the finish line at Boston Rowing Club boathouse, 660 m north of the first bridges in Boston (overlapping road and rail bridges). One lock is present in the course.
See also
*The Great River Race on theRiver Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
, founded in 1988, is a 22-mile rowing race, but is only open to traditional boats.
*The Ringvaart Regatta
The OC&C Ringvaart Regatta is a rowing race over the very long distance of . The D.S.R.V. Laga (a student rowing club in Delft) has organised the head race annually since 1976.
History
In 1976 the Laga club members celebrated their centennial. ...
, founded in 1976, is a 100 km rowing race on the Ringvaart
The Ringvaart (known in full as Ringvaart of the Haarlemmermeer Polder) is a canal in the province of North Holland, the Netherlands. The Ringvaart (Dutch meaning "ring canal") is a true circular canal surrounding the Haarlemmermeer polder an ...
in the Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
.
References
External links
Website
{{Rowing (sport) Rowing competitions in the United Kingdom Sport in Lincoln, England Recurring sporting events established in 1946 Sport in Boston, Lincolnshire