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All race reports for Rob Stroud

Event: Pembroke Regatta 2012 - 3rd division
Posted as: R.J.C. Stroud
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On the way up the reach to the start-line it was clear that M4 were quicker off the start than their counterparts in Jesus M3, and thus we prepared for the race feeling confident.

After a rather rushed start by a rather nervous marshal who didn't want to allow either crew to get ready, M4 shot ahead of Jesus M3, clearly demonstrating their superior technique. Unfortunately, there wasn't an opportunity to demonstrate this further, as Jesus crashed after less than 10 strokes.

The wind prevented me and Neil from being able to make ourselves heard by the crew, and so they rowed at full pace until the kink, at which point they eased off, and gave all the crews waiting to marshal time to admire just how severely Jesus were being thrashed. Rowed to the finish at around rate 24, easy.

Overall a good race, which I believe would have been a clear victory regardless of whether Jesus had crashed.

Event: Pembroke Regatta 2012 - 3rd division
Posted as: R.J.C. Stroud
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For this round, we were against a crew who looked a lot better than our previous opponents.

Once again, though, M4 were much quicker off the start and pulled ahead by about half a length. Girton M3 had some big guys in it though, and so they made back the distance, and by the kink M4 were only ahead by about a foot or two.

For the second half of the race, Girton used their extra weight to their advantage, and put on a series of bursts which, combined with some rushing in M4 and a few duff strokes, enabled them to pull ahead by about two foot.

M4 held them with determination until the final corner, when Girton were slightly too wide, and M4 (apparently) on the outside turned in too sharply, and so there was a collision. Girton managed to start rowing again before M4, and pulled ahead; however, M4 put on one final burst and closed the gap to half a length on the finish line.

An intense race throughout, and perhaps, under different conditions, M4 could have won. A very pleasing result nonetheless!

Event: Cambridge Autumn Head 2012 - College VIIIs
Posted as: R.J.C. Stroud
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Considering the fact that we have not yet done much high-rate work, we managed to maintain our composure well throughout. I think the three phase race plan was effective, particularly with the emphasis on process, process, and more process in the painful middle section of the race. There were a couple of slight wobbles, but what was really positive to see was that each time a call was made to correct them, we managed to reset back to the solid base we have been working on in the last couple of weeks.

Thornton's tactical crashes to make sure that we didn't embarrass the other VIII by beating them were also effective (and were nothing to do with the dodgy rudder setup at all). Overall, good work boys!

(We also won pots, and the other VIII didn't, so ha)

Event: Cambridge Winter Head 2012 - Student Senior VIIIs
Posted as: R.J.C. Stroud
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We had a fairly solid start despite the fact that Downing M1 decided to start about 3 lengths behind us, making this rather more like a bumps race than winter head(!), and we managed to hold them until the first corner, at which point they closed in on us. However, following a terrible line by their cox around grassy, we held them at around a length for most of plough reach. They eventually began to overtake us around Ditton, which perhaps took longer than it should have. Once they had pulled away on the reach, we had a slight wobble in their wash, before having an effective technical re-focus and getting back on with the race. Coming under the railway bridge, we entered our final phase and began our wind to the finish. We ended up at only rate 34, but it was a pretty decent 34 with awesome cover. The p and e definitely seemed to have been moved further upstream than normal for the race!

I reckon we lost a fair bit of time here because of Downing messing around, but regardless, I think M2 should have high hopes as we begin our final preparation for Fairbairns!

Event: Cambridge 99's Regatta 2013 - 1st division
Posted as: R.J.C. Stroud
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A solid race for M1: Jesus attempted to tank it down the course, rating 38, or thereabouts, while M1 sat back at 34 and cruised away. Very pleasing to watch!

Event: Cambridge 99's Regatta 2013 - 1st division
Posted as: R.J.C. Stroud
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I don't think there was any point at which Emma posed a threat during this race- we were faster off the start, and faster throughout the race, end of.

Event: Cambridge 99's Regatta 2013 - 1st division
Posted as: R.J.C. Stroud
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Maggie put out a pretty stacked boat, with 2 or 3 people who rowed in the boat races this year. Intimidating? Nah...

The two boats were pretty level off the start, with neither gaining an advantage. From there, we slowly edged away, and had about 1 length coming under the railway bridge. Maggie made a heroic push under the bridge, trying to capitalise on their corner advantage, and closed around half a length. We held them using sheer determination (and a decent amount of brute force- the rhythm slipped a bit as a result), knowing that the finish line was in sight, and won by about 1/4 length. This was retribution for last year's race, under very similar circumstances, but when Maggie managed to squeeze past the finish line 1 foot ahead.

M1's technical superiority won the race; Maggie were more powerful man for man, but failed to transfer that into boat speed.

Yeah boys!

Event: Lent Bumps 2014 - Wednesday
Posted as: R.J.C. Stroud
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Jesus were fast. They beat us by 50 seconds in Fairbairn's, and are being coached by the former CUL head coach and GB talent development coach. They also had a lot more experience than us as a crew. Excuses over- we weren't prepared to go down without a fight, so we went off fighting. . . and got bumped in the first corner. However, though we were bumped very quickly, I am not completely disappointed. This is because we were 3/4 of a length off Queens' when we were hit. Queens' beat us by 30 seconds in Fairbairn's, and we closed in on them in just a couple of hundred metres. We have got a lot faster this term.

I expect a tough fight against the red scum tomorrow, but I am thoroughly looking forward to it.

Queens', take note- we are coming for you.

Event: Lent Bumps 2014 - Thursday
Posted as: R.J.C. Stroud
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Alas, the red scum got the better of us. We went off hard expecting a battle, but they were a lot faster than we were. Our start went reasonably well, but it was pretty terrifying to have them hold us through the power ten, our secret weapon in the start, and then finish us off coming around first post corner.

It would have been nice for them to hold it up slightly more promptly than they did, though- I had make use of my ninja-like reflexes to avoid being run through with their bow ball...

Event: Cambridge 99's Regatta 2014 - 2nd division
Posted as: R.J.C. Stroud
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Churchill M1 didn't even turn up to race they were that sure we would beat them

Event: Cambridge 99's Regatta 2014 - 2nd division
Posted as: R.J.C. Stroud
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Magdalene are stroked by the Goldie stroke, and their 5 man was the mighty Helge (blue boat), so it was always going to be a long shot. We held them off the start for the first 30 strokes or so, which was really satisfying, but once we strode down onto pace they started to walk away from us. Not sure exactly what the margin was, but it was a fun (read: painful) race!

Event: May Bumps 2014 - Wednesday
Posted as: R.J.C. Stroud
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We took a little while to settle into our race rhythm, but then hit it hard- Queen's appeared right up behind us and began to sit scarily close to our stern in the gut, causing us to call a sprint. Jesus came right up behind them, and forced them to bail out of the race on Grassy and park neatly out of the way. Nice.

It then turned out that we were gaining on Christ's- our original aim for the day. We got to three whistles somewhere near the Plough, and things looked set for a bump, but we were unable to seal the deal, getting tantalisingly close at 5 ft off their stern, but not closer. We held this close distance around Ditton and tried another push out of the corner, but never quite managed.

At that point the whole crew blew up pretty decisively, and Christ's managed to hold out and slowly but surely pull away from us. We decided to pursue them to the bitter end up to top finish, but were back on station by the end. Feelings on the finish line? All I could taste was blood in my mouth, and I couldn't talk, which I guess is a sign we were trying hard!

Overall, I think we gave it a bloody good go, but just lacked the energy to make that final move and end it. Tomorrow- we'll go for it again, but this time with some serious pressure from behind- Jesus. Go hard or go home.

One more thing- we've ended the tradition of spooning M2 Mays. Yeah boys!

#webeatM1insparring

Event: May Bumps 2014 - Thursday
Posted as: R.J.C. Stroud
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Heroic. Inspirational determination in holding off Queens' from bumping you- final finish distance was 2cm from being bumped- I genuinely had no idea whether it had happened or not. Wow. Lads.

Thanks go to Cambridge City Council for faffing around with Stourbridge Common and causing the finish to be at Peters' Posts and not Top Finish!

Event: May Bumps 2014 - Thursday
Posted as: Rob
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We had to hit this hard and try for Christ's early- we knew Jesus M2 were fast. Unfortunately, our 'race to first post corner' plan was ended at first post corner by Jesus catching us.

Not our best race, but I don't think there's much else we could have done to affect the result!

Still not spooning...

Event: Lent Bumps 2015 - Wednesday
Posted as: Rob
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For most of the crew, this was their first bumps race. To make matters worse, we're on station 7, literally metres away from the cannon. Understandably, today's racing start was not the best the crew has ever executed. Once the boat got moving, there were some neater strokes, or at least until we hit 6 crews worth of wash- another first for many!

It took most of the first km for the crew to settle into a proper rhythm, by which point they'd already had to fend off Clare Hall M1's first push. Our tight lines contrasted with their wide ones, and we escaped on both Grassy and Ditton. On the Long Reach, Clare Hall sat a canvas off our stern for the entire length. The boys must be commended for their control at this point: no shit-we're-going-to-be-bumped panic crept into the boat, and we held them calmly until the Railway Bridge, at which point Clare Hall started to break.

From there, encouraged by the screams of our W2 under the bridge, the boys dug deep and pulled away, crossing the finish line pretty much back on station.

A very gutsy row today, but a challenging day tomorrow with the same crews in front and behind. Hopefully, with a cleaner first km we can try and hold them off a little further away from our stern...

#bestabsontheriver