CRASH-Bs 2014 One Person's View

[Yankeerunner]

Caving in to popular demand (at least 2 people, maybe even 3, across multiple genders, told me, "Hey, I expect a write-up.") I've decided to return to CRASH-Bs reporting after several years hiatus.

Things were looking shaky on Saturday with a forecast of 6 inches of snow home in West Newbury and 8 inches for Boston, so I begged a ride in with the Geoghegans, who have a 4-wheel drive vehicle. It turned out that the roads were clear on Sunday morning, but it was nice to be chauffeured and the Environment was probably happy to have only one car's worth of gasoline burned instead of two. We got the the Arena in a timely fashion and I weighed in with 30 seconds to spare. If I'd have to strip down to make weight I might not have had time, but as it was when I stepped on the scale fully clothed, with my overcoat still on and my gym bag in my hand I was under the limit with 8.4 pounds to spare. It's good to not worry about making weight.

Out into the warmup area and who is that there? Rocket Roy and mentioned on facebook a couple of days ago that he'd had a brief chat with the elusive 'ranger' and sure enough the self-professed 'greatest-erger-in-the-history-of-the-sport' was right there! I dared not disturb the Zen-like state that he appeared to be in. Mike & Mary van Beuren were there too and said that ranger's daughter Hailey was here too to watch and cox her Dad. According to all who have met her she is an absolutely sweet young woman who is a pleasure to know.

Old friend John Cederholm was there, in medal position already in the 70-74 lwt division, warming up, and as I sat the favorite in my own division, Alain Mangin of France, sat beside me for his warmup. We had a few words then got to work. Rocket Roy passed by, looking svelte, we wished each other luck, and carried on. After a 4K warmup I got to fidget and wait, and bumped into Eric Jones and Adam Rosenthal as well. And Greg Brock, here from California for a 5th try for a hammer in the same division as me.

As 9:50am loomed closer and the previous heat cleared the competition area they let us in to set up our ergs. There were Carla & David Stein in the stands, and a few seats over from them Fish and her husband Gregory Cook, there to watch the fun before their own races. Just in front of me were Mike van Beuren, ranger, and Rocket Roy for the 'young' 60s lwt heat. To my right was Mangin, and to my left Steve Sirico of Connecticut. PaulG made the full commitment to me by sitting in as my cox after driving me to the venue. It's good to have a guy like that. "Foot stretchers where you want?" Check. "Drag factor where it needs to be?" Check. "OK, now harden up Princess and Just Do It." Check.... I think.

Sit Ready. Attention. ROW! And Bam, we're off. As usual my weak first couple of strokes get me off slowly but little by little I bring the average pace down to the 1:55 area after a couple of hundred meteres, the slowest I hope to be at. 1:54s don't feel too bad, and neither do a couple of random 1:53s, so that's where I settle in. By 500m the average is down to 1:54.2, if I remember correctly, and I'm solidly locked into 5th place, gradually pulling away from 6th but steadily losing ground to 4th. Paul keeps me in the moment, "Pile up those meters. You're right where you need to be. Technique looks good (Really? That's unusual for me)." Tried to pick it up to all 1:53s for the next 500m but that didn't work, with 1:54s still rearing their ugly heads. Still, by halfway the average was a bit lower. OK, halfway, less than 4 minutes of, um, misery or something like it, so why not try again to not go slower than 1:53, maybe even 1:52? Wishful thinking, but again, by 1500m the average pace was a couple of ticks faster. Time to get brutal.

Picked it up to 1:52 and this time it stuck. 400m to go and I wanted 1:51s no matter what it felt like. Got some, but not all. 300m left and I tried for 1:50s, but only got a couple. 200m, what are you waiting for? faster! Paul demands a 1:49 and I give it to him, the stroke rate rises but to what I can't tell because my eyes are mostly closed except to sneak an occasional peek at the instant split and the meters remaining. During blinks I think I see some 1:45s. I seem to be closing in on Sirico but it's too little, too late. Done. 7:31.0. I'm 5th, with Sirico 1.1 seconds ahead of me in 4th. I have to look at his monitor to see 3rd, ahead of him, and it's Peter Francis from Colorado 4.4 seconds ahead of me and 3.3 up on Steve. "Drat," says Steve, "I can't seem to get that guy!" "Well," I tell him, "We all seem to be slowing down together, so it's not just you." Stay healthy Steve and Peter and lets have another go at it next year. The Frenchman won with ease, chalked up an excellent 7:04.8, and relegated Greg Brock to the Bridesmaid role for the 5th time out of his 5 CRASH-B appearances. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Five silver medals is a consistency that few can match. He is one of the horses in our division. Well done Greg. Back home they could name a street for him. They could call it 2nd Street. Which would be a bit better than the 4th Avenue or 5th Avenue that my hometown could use for me.

In front of us Rocket Roy had come from behind to take the hammer from Mike van Beuren 6:55.8 to 6:57.3. At first it appeared that ranger was done before the others. But then he started up again, then stopped again, then started up again...... His lovely daughter Hailey was coxing him, but I can't believe that she told him to do that. It turned out that he also didn't make weight, and his 8:39.9 had to be listed with the Heavyweight 60-64s. Hmm.

We were cleared out so the the next heat could take over, and I met up again with Alain Mangin to congratulate him. Luckily, as with pretty much all Europeans, his English was better than my French and we were able to have a brief, stumbling, conversation. He seems like a nice guy. Note to self: 'If you get to go back in time and do it all over again, STUDY in school! Languages especially. It's cool to speak to someone else in their language.'

After a quick shower it was time to enjoy the rest of the racing and do some socializing. Greg and I sat in the section with the Geoghegans, the van Beurens, the Curetons, and Rocket Roy. We watched and critiqued (as if WE were the textbook examples of how to do it!) and chatted in general about people, places and things. It's always good to catch up with a fellow runner like Greg. Although we ran in the same race together only once, it was the 1972 Olympic Trials Marathon where Greg placed 5th while I.... well...I.....um....dropped out. As runners Greg is up on me 1-0. As ergers he's up on me 5-0, so it looks like he OWNS me. (Sigh) Reality is a bitch.

At 12:30 we all meandered to the Awards room for the distribution of the morning hammers and medals. Lots of familiar faces carrying their usual booty. Luanne Mills (hammer)and her husband John, Bob Spousta (hammer), Jim Castellan (hammer), the Dreissigacker brothers (inventors of the Evil Rowing Gadget), Frank Knight (beat my time by 0.2 second, damn him!), Jim Keating, Carla Stein (silver), Fish (Arlene Wade, silver) and Greg Cook, Paul Siebach, Shirley Godkin (silver), Mari Friend (hammer), Dean Smith (hammer), Stephen Rounds (hammer), Steve Shaffran (hammer), and Steve Roedde (hammer) among others. Also old regulars like CRASH-B board member Howard Schmuck and C2's Jon Williams. It's good to catch up at least once a year in person. As hunger and cabin fever set in a few of us decided to leave the arena and chow down at Chipotle. Unfortunately the line was nearly out the door, as was it at Panera Bread next door, so while the other waited Rocket Roy and I decided to just go to PaulG's car to see about trying to smuggle my Bourbon Balls past Security. We each ate one there at the car, and as I tried to figure out something Roy told me to just put the whole tupperware container under my shirt, because then I'd look more like an ordinary person instead of the Anorexic that I appear to be. So I tried it, and he was right, and it worked. We bought a couple of cups of coffee and settled in to watch more racing, and enjoy a Bourbon Ball high.

Birgit Juel-Hansen was looking for her Danish teammates when Rocket introduced us and she sat to eat her pizza. She eschewed the Bourbon Balls and eventually left when a red DANMARK jacket appeared in the crowd. Greg, Paul and Chris Geoghegan got back from the restaurant and joined us, and gladly had a taste of my Balls. As we watched, perhaps the most exiting race of the day was the Women's Junior, when American Dana Moffat took a lead over two German girls just to her right. Somewhere past halfway German Lena Maria Sueffert edged ahead, coxed by the giant German coach who has become one of the most recognizable people at CRASH-Bs. She didn't look as smooth as either Moffat or her teammate Juliane Rebecca Faralisch, but she had more power. It stayed close though, with only a few meters separating the three. Coming down the final few hundred meters Moffat rallied and gradually pulled even. They toggled back and forth a few times, the crowd going wild, then Moffat had the lead for sure. With roughly 15 meters to go Sueffert passed out on her erg and but for the quickness of her big cox would have hit the floor as Moffat crossed the finish, leaped off the erg and punched the air in a victory salute. Sueffert's momentum carried her across the line, but not until after Faralisch had nipped her as well. Times read 6:49.0, 6:50.3, and 6:51.2 for the unconscious Sueffert. We gave them all a serious 'thumbs up.'

Ending the day was a good Big Boys heat that saw 10 guys go under 6 minutes, with the clear cream of the crop being Andrew Stewart-Jones rowing 5:47.7 for a solid 3.4 second win. We said our goodbyes for another year and began drifting out. The on-the-water rowers were all thinking 'good riddance' and looking forward to getting into boats for the Spring and Summer and Fall. The rest of have got to figure out what else to do until the short season of our strange sport comes around again. But come around it will, and I hope to see as many old friends as possible when it does. Erg on.

Renegade Rick Bayko,
Cub Reporter

[PaulG]

Great write-up Rick. I had a lot of fun coxing you and Adam Rosenthal compared to erging. But then I saw the results for my division and realized I coulda been a contendah! (for third place, Roedde is untouchable). BTW I did not call you "princess". If anyone has the opportunity I encourage them to make the trip to Boston, if nothing else for the atmosphere and camaraderie. And maybe some bourbon balls.

PaulG

[Bob S.]

Great post, Rick! Makes me regret that I didn't make the struggle to get there. By the way, I think that Luanne's time got her another WR as well as the hammer. If she got the certificates for all her WRs, she could paper a large wall with them.

Bob S.

[Cyclingman1]

I would say that Yankeerunner’s reporting of Crash-B makes it all seem quite interesting.

I have often wondered whether the environment lends itself to best efforts? Is there too much traveling, logistics, etc to perform at a peak?

I have not seen mention of the male 50-54 HWt race. Three individuals were separated by 0.5 secs: Chris Ives, 54, 6:17.1, Ken Gates, 54, 6:17.5, and Johannes Marx, 51, 6:17.6. That must have been one heck of a race. Also, note that the first two will be in 55-59 Hwt next yr to offer some very tough competition to Tom Darling.

One interesting thing to look at every year is are there any top performers who will be very competitive in an older age group in the next year. And there are some.

Tom Cattell, 59, 6:40.0 will be in 60-64 Hwt next yr.
Steve Roedde, 59, 6:43.0 will be in 60-64 Lwt next yr.
Robert Spousta, 64, 6:39.5 will be in 65-69 Hwt next yr.
Ted Noyes, 69, 7:04.2 will be in 70-74 Hwt next yr.

The writeup does make Crash-B seem very enticing. I may have to break down and leave the sunny south for a weekend in Feb and face a couple of 6:40ish rowers in 65-69 HWt.

[Bob S.]

I have often wondered whether the environment lends itself to best efforts? Is there too much traveling, logistics, etc to perform at a peak?

On my first few trips, I always did worse than I did at the qualifying satellites and the same was true for other Long Beach qualifiers that I talked to. Of course, coming from the west, with a 3 hour difference, there is also the jet lag factor. However, in a couple of more recent trips, notably in 2010, I did better at Boston than at LB. In 2010, I have the feeling that travel stress was a factor in my finding myself light enough to switch to lwt and go for a 2nd WR. That also gave me additional incentive. I also had a great stroke of luck in meeting up with the coach of the Mexican team, who volunteered to cox me and did a very professional job of keeping me focused on my intended pace and starting my sprint.

Bob S.

[Yankeerunner]

First off, apologies for the errors in the original post (typos, etc.). I'm a bit like Bartleby the Scrivener I'm afraid, and if I make more mistakes in this post it's because I didn't learn from my past mistakes and didn't proofread this either.

PaulG, if it wasn't you that called me 'princess' it must have been the voice inside my head. Except for my parents, the nuns at Catholic school, and the drill sergeants at Basic Training other people have always been easier on me than I am on myself. I've often wondered if I'd go faster if that big German coach were to cox me.....as long as he didn't make me pass out before being close enough to drift over the finish line.

Bob, you're absolutely right about Luanne Mills. Such a sweet woman who is such a ferocious competitor. When I first met her about 12 years ago her husband and son, who had both been college rowers, told of how they talked her into trying it (for a little fun and fitness, I think), not realizing the beast that they were unleashing.

Jim, the set up is such that the three simultaneous racing areas are difficult to move about from one to the other, so one has to choose one and settle for hearing about the others or seeing their results later. I did hear the 50-54 Hwt race in progress but unfortunately didn't get to watch it. Too bad, because it looks like it might have been the best of the day. I hope that both you and Bob make it next year. It's always great to meet people in person that you have known only on the internet.

[Quatroux]

Excellent piece of work. Thanks for sharing it with us.

[Yankeerunner]

Thanks Andy. I'm glad you liked it. I was feeling a bit like maybe I'd disappointed those who asked me to write it since at least two of the three or so who said they were looking forward to it have not commented.

Here's a couple of photos that fit in with the story:

Weighing in fully clothed, jacketed, holding a gym bag, and still making it with 8.4 pounds to spare. (Paul Geoghegan photo)


Mike van Beuren in front, and YankeeRunner in back, CRYING? There's no CRYing in CRASH-Bs! Also, to the left, coxswain Hailey Cureton, and to the right of YankeeRunner coxswain Paul Geoghegan, NOT crying. (Chris Geoghegan photo)

[dennish]

Bakes, Yikes, well done. I can't believe you're still at it. Good on ya. To bad you couldn't give some of your under pounds to those that could have used it. (ahem) Nice to see some familiar names, also still at it. Erging for me these days is minute on, minute off X 2 and a 500m piece to warm up for the strength, mobility and flexibility training the cycling coach gives me. Plus in one outrageous moment he (coach) got me to start taking ballet to push the other senses to compensate for the loss of vision (balance, kinesthetic awareness). For those purposes it seems to be working, for dancing, I'm a hopeless bungler. And, good on you and congrats on still being certifiable. take care, be safe. live well, live strong. dennis

[Yankeerunner]

Dennis, great to hear from you. We keep doing whatever it takes, eh? Ballet? I haven't been there....at least not yet. When I moved one town over 2 1/2 years ago I began commuting by bicycle whenever possible and promptly had two near-death experiences crashing at 20 mph. Rookie mistakes both times. So it's unlikely that I will ever take it up as a competitive sport, even if I do keep track of my fastest times on the various routes I take and occasionally try to break them.

Cerifiable? Me? Yeah, why not? As Waylon Jennings sang, "I've always been crazy, but it's kept me from going insane."

Kia kaha. Hope our paths cross again in person as well as on the internet.

[christopherregisryan]

I have not seen mention of the male 50-54 HWt race. Three individuals were separated by 0.5 secs: Chris Ives, 54, 6:17.1, Ken Gates, 54, 6:17.5, and Johannes Marx, 51, 6:17.6. That must have been one heck of a race. Also, note that the first two will be in 55-59 Hwt next yr to offer some very tough competition to Tom Darling.

I was still pulling away long after the medalists finished so I do not have much to offer about how exciting the finish must have been. There are some great pictures on in the Row 2k galleries starting here http://www.row2k.com/crashb/photo.cfm?a ... wP3ZXmCgpE

Best regards. - Chris

[Cyclist2]

Great report and great row, everyone! (I'm a little late catching up). One of these years I'll make it back there to meet all you fellow 60+ guys that I "compete" with on line. The local erg scene is non existent (well, Gregory Cook on Bainbridge but I haven't met him either), so those challenges are my only motivation. Thanks for that!

Mark Underwood

[Bob S.]

Great report and great row, everyone! (I'm a little late catching up). One of these years I'll make it back there to meet all you fellow 60+ guys that I "compete" with on line. The local erg scene is non existent (well, Gregory Cook on Bainbridge but I haven't met him either), so those challenges are my only motivation. Thanks for that!

Mark Underwood

Have you been to the Ergomania? Not as big as the C-Bs, but they seem to have had close to 500 entries this season, so it is one of the bigger satellite ergattas. Of course, I have heard that it is not easy to make a car trip from Bremerton to Seattle, but it has got to be easier than going to Boston (and certainly cheaper).

Bob S.

[Cyclist2]

Have you been to the Ergomania? Not as big as the C-Bs, but they seem to have had close to 500 entries this season, so it is one of the bigger satellite ergattas. Of course, I have heard that it is not easy to make a car trip from Bremerton to Seattle, but it has got to be easier than going to Boston (and certainly cheaper).

I've been to Ergomania several times, and I always check the results (Luann Mills is amazing!). I took second place a couple times years ago. But I just haven't been motivated enough recently to put in the intense workouts to get more than a pedestrian effort. I've tried to find erging "buddies" at the local Crossfit gyms to push me to no avail but... I joined a brand new rowing club that just started here so maybe next year. And maybe Boston, too!

[Yankeerunner]

Hi Mark,

I've been seeing you in the challenges for quite a few years now, and it would be good if you made it over here sometime to join the live fun.

I've been lucky to have the biggest race of the sport take place less than an hour from where I live. If it were on the other coast I probably would not have made many of them myself.