All race reports for Megan Crane
Event: Lent Bumps 2019 - Tuesday
Posted as: M.E. Crane
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W2 put in a super strong effort today (almost all of the crew's first ever Bumps race!). They held off Jesus W3 in a VERY tense sandwich situation (Jesus had overlap for a good few seconds before being bumped by Downing W2). Ellie (the amazing cox) said she was considering conceding, but then she saw the determination and grit of the wonderful crew and was like HELL NO. She called a power 10 (although the crew didn't hear this as the cox box died...) and FaT escaped!
Unfortunately a very fast Queens W2 managed to catch FaT just after Ditton. The crew is determined to put up more of a fight tomorrow (hopefully aided by a cox box)! Much love girls, I'm very proud xxx
Event: Lent Bumps 2019 - Wednesday
Posted as: M.E. Crane
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A nice and easy day for W2. Due to Jesus W3 having a broken cox box, all the crew had to do was do a (wonderful I must say) start and then pull in behind Jesus for the Bump! YES GIRLS :D Bring on Friday!
Event: Lent Bumps 2019 - Wednesday
Posted as: M.E. Crane
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Seriously impressive stuff from M1 today! Silent focus after Bomber's pep talk was the theme on the start line, and it certainly paid off. An intimidating start left Catz M1 lengths behind. But Clare had a good start as well, leaving FaT on station after around 30 seconds. Slowly but surely the men began to gain on Clare, gaining a whistle after about a minute. Slightly confused to hear Bomber shout 'go on Peterhouse - lose them!' I looked forward to see Clare catching up with Peterhouse! FaT would have to speed up to catch Clare before Clare got Peterhouse. And they sure did. The whistles just kept on coming, and FaT bumped Clare just after First Post corner!! Bomber actually jumped with joy, hitting his bike handlebars in excitement! An amazing and committed row boys - well done! Now smash Pembroke.
Event: Lent Bumps 2019 - Wednesday
Posted as: M.E. Crane
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What a wonderful day for W1 who bumped Medwards before First Post corner! I'm so happy and very proud :)
Nerves were running high when marshalling, with Bianca doing random squats to calm herself down (?!) and Megan forgetting how to count down from 20. But they need not have worried. A flying start saw W1 gain a whistle almost immediately. A slight lapse in pressure followed and the girls maintained a boat length for thirty seconds or so. But then they really turned up the gas and ploughed into Medwards, gaining two, then three whistles (Bomber doesn't do sustained whistles for some reason). Poor old Medwards didn't stand a chance.
With smiles all round, and blue and yellow stripey headbands decorated with greenery, FaT W1 rowed home, not only the most massive crew on the river, but the most stylish too. They're going to smash Clare tomorrow!
Event: Lent Bumps 2019 - Thursday
Posted as: M.E. Crane
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I arrived to find M2 huddled together like penguins trying to stay warm in the driving rain and icy winds of Storm Freya. Not the most pleasant day for racing it must be said. Misha even had to give me his glasses because even with them he couldn't see.
Despite the conditions M2 rowed very well. They held station on Eddies for around two minutes, with Kerem taking some wonderful corners. As Darwin approached, M2 maintained their form and still looked slick. Unfortunately legs seemed to be tired and Darwin bumped us on the Plough. An unfortunate result despite an impressive row. Same again tomorrow boys - but with more legs!
Event: Lent Bumps 2019 - Thursday
Posted as: M.E. Crane
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It is telling that even Bomber was impressed with W1's burst and practice start today. They were on FIRE. This was going to be a tougher row than yesterday, especially given the conditions, but the girls were focused and determined.
Another strong start worked in their favour as we got a whistle on Clare within 20 seconds. This soon increased to two, then three whistles as W1 came round First Post corner. Unfortunately Alan decided to take the more scenic route around this corner; all of us on the bank held our breath (although Bomber instead was cursing under his breath) as W1 just got round with bowside slightly lightening off for a stroke and strokeside giving it some.
This reduced W1's gain to just one whistle. But we were soon back, getting slight overlap with Clare at the beginning of the plough! At this point Clare did an impressive push to get away and we did not respond, losing overlap and falling back to two whistles. I think I had a slight heart attack, not going to lie. But I should never have doubted the girls. They had a big power 10 and bumped Clare just before Ditton! Awesome, awesome stuff!! (I apologise for my incessant screaming in the background of the video). Tomorrow will be a tough day chasing Downing but I am VERY optimistic.
Event: Lent Bumps 2019 - Thursday
Posted as: M.E. Crane
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Despite a bit of trouble when marshalling on station (distance between the boat and bank meant that many items of clothing ended up in the water...) M1 were as focused as, if not more than, yesterday.
An unfortunate crab just after the start sequence saw Clare gain a whistle on us and Peterhouse move three lengths ahead. However, M1 were not phased by this unexpected situation and stuck to the plan. They soon gained a whistle on Peterhouse and the bump seemed inevitable. A slightly sticky situation in the Peterhouse boat (overhead crab at 2 and bow coming off his seat), combined with Maelle-Marie's awesome corner around First Post saw the bump come much earlier than expected. This chaos caused a re-row of the division behind us, but the men didn't care. Awesome bump guys! Same again behind Christ's tomorrow please!
Event: Lent Bumps 2019 - Friday
Posted as: M.E. Crane
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Determined to execute their race plan, W1 had a neat and powerful start from position 5. They held Downing W1 at station and moved away from Clare almost immediately. A slightly panicked row from the gut to the plough saw Downing move away and Clare begin to catch up... By Ditton corner, Clare had got overlap on us (I don't think I've screamed so much in my life). But FaT dug deep, drew on months of training and pushed away from Clare, into the headwind. It was very, very impressive to watch (even the marshal agreed!).
After this awesome escape, W1 settled into a more solid rhythm down the Reach in the hope of catching Downing. Unfortunately the bump never came as Downing had got too far ahead. Under Bomber's instruction at the P&E to slightly wind it down and save strength for tomorrow (Clare by this point were miles away - they had given everything up at Ditton), Alan proceeded to call a couple of "up two-s" (cue cursing from Bomber).
Overall, a very impressive rowthrough. Stay tuned for what I hope will be a report about a bump tomorrow!
Event: May Bumps 2019 - Wednesday
Posted as: M.E. Crane
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W1 may have been bumped today but we are still proud of how we rowed. Pembroke (with their four triallists) were simply faster than us and Churchill caught Girton too quickly... After a fast (but we know we can be faster) start we moved on Churchill and away from Pembroke. A faulty cox box meant there was much shouting from within the boat and from the bank, encouraging us to dig deep to hold off Pembroke for as long as possible. We didn’t break and kept pushing together, making Pembroke work for their (deserved) Bump just before the plough.
Tomorrow will be a big day for us and we hope to do ourselves and Bomber proud :)
Event: May Bumps 2019 - Thursday
Posted as: M.E. Crane
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An awesome row by W1 today saw us hold off Fitzwilliam for the whole course. This row over (chasing back Pembroke was always going to be a long shot...) was essential for us to get in a good position for the rest of our Bumps campaign. We rowed the best we have done all term, as a single unit pushing together and trusting each other to keep digging. Some wonderful steering and strong pushes saw us hold Fitz at station (we fundamentally disagree with the whistle their coach gave them!) and move away down the reach. Tomorrow: Girton. Let’s go!!!
Event: May Bumps 2019 - Friday
Posted as: M.E. Crane
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Our first (and well deserved) bump! Today we ploughed into Girton W1 before first post corner, getting our first whistle before we had even finished the start sequence. From this point the whistles came quickly as our rate and power remained high. Poor old Girton didn’t stand a chance! Tomorrow will be a harder day as we chase Clare W1 but we are now confident that we have a strong start as well as the ability to row the whole course well.
And to make things even better, today was the first day we didn’t row in the rain! Lauren even applies suncream!!!
