September 27, 2011 News British Rowing NewsBritish Rowing EventsRowing CommunityGB Rowing TeamCompetitions and ClubsIndoor RowingPartners#YourStoriesArchive St. Ives scullers complete Alternative Boston Rowing Marathon Rowing Community On Sunday 18 September, four St. Ives Rowing Club scullers had been planning to complete the Boston Rowing Marathon – an epic fifty kilometre row. Unfortunately, only a couple of days before, the event was cancelled due to excessive weed in the river. Most individuals would have taken this as fate intervening and telling them it was a silly idea in the first place. Not these guys…ADVERT Peter Woodford had been planning to complete the marathon to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis. He had already raised over £700 in sponsorship money and wasn’t going to let a bit of river weed stop him from completing his challenge, so he relocated to his home stretch of river at St. Ives to complete the row. With Dave Ash adjudicating and timing, he planned to scull from St. Ives Rowing Club to Hemingford Lock, then to Jones’ Boatyard and back to the club ten times to complete the distance. He soon found that Oliver Robinson, Sean Bulstrode and Gary Gilbey had decided to join in with this marathon event ‘just for fun’. With a crowd of supporters at the club, including Peter’s two young daughters sporting homemade banners, the four scullers paddled up and down the stretch of river for roughly five hours to complete the distance. Sean Bulstrode only took up rowing just over a year ago so it was a big challenge for him. He acquired a reputation over the summer for taking a few dips in the river, so it seemed fitting that with only about 100m left to go, he managed to have a collision with a barge that tipped him in. Valiantly getting back in his boat, he still paddled the last few metres to complete the course. On finishing they were all awarded hand drawn ‘St. Ives Rowing Marathon’ paper plates made by junior sculler Francis Enticknap as she watched them plod up and down. They were all pleased with their alternative event and have even been overheard talking about making it an annual event. A great achievement for them, and for the club. If you would like to support Peter Woodford’s fundraising for Cystic Fibrosis, please contact him through St. Ives Rowing Club, 25 The Broadway, St. Ives, Cambridgeshire. By Rebecca Williams, St. Ives Rowing Club ADVERT