Great Ouse Marathon 2025

Sue getting in some early practice in Bled over the summer

A personal blog by Sue.

Sunday 7th September was the day of the great Ouse marathon- a 22km race from Downham market to Ely. Although the sun was shining the predictions of a strong head wind alternating with a strong cross wind had come to fruition.

It took all my bravery to set off into a strong head wind in a single, but fortunately I had managed to catch and overtake the other two boats in my division by the 2km mark so I was able to relax a bit and enjoy the row.

The first 10km of the course has a few bends, but not much to see as the countryside is very flat. The second 10km is straighter with the last 5km being the stretch of water the 2020 boat race was held on. By the time I reached here I had been sitting ahead of a men’s quad that I was using to push off. As we came into the final 5km I was determined I was not going to let them catch me and was on target for a 1 hour 59 minute finish. As I passed the 1km to go marker I heard them call for a push for the finish, triggering me to take my rating up and I was loving a competitive racing finish until disaster struck! As I approached the 500m to go mark, a double in front of me had steering issues and I had to suddenly stop. Due to the strength of the cross wind, as soon as my pressure came off, the boat was blown into the reeds. Myself and the double were well and truly wedged. I knew I had some time before the second place competitor would catch me, but I could not get free. In the end I had to phone for the safety launch to came and rescue me.

The course...who dosen't love a 5km finishing straight!

Looking at the final times, I was in the lead by 10 minutes up until I encountered the reeds, but unfortunately the 30 minutes it took to be rescued and complete the final 500m pushed me down into second place (out of three).

My tactical pause

Despite that, it was a fun day out in challenging conditions. But what made it such a great experience was the camaraderie of the other rowers. Unfortunately my planned support crew was unable to make it, so I went on my own. Ross RC helped me out by taking my boat on their trailer, but also when I was there they were all so helpful at the start and the finish, and so friendly and supportive. Thank you so much Ross.

Special mentions must also go to Bonita without whom I wouldn’t have been able to get the boat to Ross, and for lending me her small shoes for the boat so that I had a better chance of balancing it in the wind. And to Tim for his coaching, particularly with advice about how to row a single in strong wind.

I thoroughly recommend this friendly event to anyone who enjoys rowing a longer distance.