Concept2 Forum

Hi! I have been rowing for 5 years, and I have always been very slow, but I love it and my lack of strength and/or skill never proved to be a problem (I have enough endurance to complete a race, and that's what counts, right?)... Well, now I'm going off to college, and I realize that crew is going to be much more competitive there - somehow despite my high erg times (ie. my 2K PR of 9:10.8), the coach still wants me to row for her Division I lightweight women's team.

So, here's my question: What kind of 5K time should I, as a lightweight female college rower be aiming to reach by this fall? I had never pulled a timed 5K until today (I've rowed distances longer than 5K, but always as part of a set-time instead of set-distance piece, since my high school team did 4K erg tests instead of 5K), so I'm starting off with a 5K time of 25:17.9 (yeah... so I brought the pressure down a few times, I'll have to work on that :-/ ). Obviously, I know that this is not a competitive time, but what is? How far off am I?

Along with my question, I also have advice for anybody interested in college rowing - talk to the coaches! Even if you think you're not very good, that's not always important. It depends on the school, but some schools (like mine) aren't looking for just the biggest and the strongest, since there are so many other factors that play into the admissions process besides sports.

You should be able to get your 5k down to at least 2k pace + 5.

This would be a 5k of under 23 minutes or faster.

All else being equal, improving your speed over 5k will help your 2k quite a bit.

gigogurl,

You are right about your advice. In an attempt to balance the women's and men's athletic budgets (Title IX), it appears women's rowing programs at Div 1 schools are "rich" and have seats to fill even scholarships for women with just good erg scores I've heard. I posted an article about that here somewhere.

Good luck with that 5k.

Not sure about a 5K time, but my daughter (who rows in college) needs to make 6K in 26 mins (2:10) to be able to practice on the water.

If they can;t make 6K in 26 mins, they get to erg until they are in shape to make the time. Until they do, no on the water practice.