Category Archives: Sports

Sports

Row diaries: Covid challenges with a week to go

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I really can’t believe it, but there’s just one week to go before I leave home for my Atlantic row.

Two and a half years ago, I started this journey with a mixture of curiosity and determination. Nothing has changed. Well, nearly nothing.

I’ve trained hard, very hard, completing eight million metres on my indoor rower, around 400km of on-water rowing, hundreds of kilometres of running, countless HIIT exercises, and a few more kilometres of cycling. And weight training – my favourite (sic).

Now, I’m in the taper phase, so I’m not doing more than an hour a day, maybe two. It’s a lot, but far less than the average of three hours I was doing every day, six days a week throughout 2020.

My body now needs a small break so I can get on our boat Rose fully fit and ready to go.

Covid has keep me very busy over the past weeks.

First, I had to cancel plans to fly to Malta as I would have had to quarantine for 10 days on my return to Switzerland.

Plans to fly to Portugal were also changed because of pandemic restrictions. We looked for options all round – Seville, Barcelona, Madrid, Porto – but none offered the certainty of getting there on time.

Now, the team will meet up in the Netherlands on Friday 19 February (four out of five of us, the other is sailing in to Portimao – how cool is that!). We will then leave on Saturday evening on a 2,500km road trip through five countries to Portugal.

That’s a lot to do before a 6,000km row, but it’s also fun and a great opportunity to get to know the others.

Our week-long prep week in Portugal will also be impossible to complete because of the restrictions. This means that after prepping the boat, we’ll probably leave immediately, weather permitting.

This means that we can leave as early as Wednesday 24 February. It also depends on the weather.

Probably the worst impact of Covid is that family can’t come down to see us off, and probably neither to welcome us on the other side. It’s unfortunate, but we’ll manage anyway.

Organizing and preparing for a row across the Atlantic is complicated in itself – doing it in the middle of a pandemic is something else.
 

Ever little bit helps

So far, we’ve managed to collect just under €3,000 for my Swiss charities (Swiss Cancer League and Terre des hommes), and around €2,500 for Hospice Malta.

I’m extremely grateful for the contributions people have made. For all three organizations, I’m still miles away from my target, so please donate or share my website address (www.crossrower.ch or de.crossrower.ch in German) with people. Every single cent goes directly to the organizations.

You don’t need to donate huge amounts – smoke less for a few days and donate €10.

Sports

Row diaries: Waking up, training, donations, and Covid

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Last weekend, I completed what was probably my last 24-hour training row before I leave on my epic journey. It’s just a month away now.

The training session itself was uneventful. Every time, these sessions get easier. Not easy, just easier than the time before. The only concern I had was that my legs, hamstrings to be exact, were in quite a bit of pain.

I think it has something to do with the HIIT (High intensity interval training) I’m doing, which is why I’ve stopped doing the latter.

Now it’s time for me to balance out my training with appropriate recovery to make sure my body is in the best possible condition for the row. I believe I’ve done what I had to do to get physically ready – more than 8 million metres of indoor rowing, another 500km of rowing on water, may kilometres of running, weights, and HIIT. For a 50-year-old, I guess it’s OK.

I have also started breathing exercises – it’s more to do with my mental health during the crossing. The exercises help reboot the brain in times of difficulty (or so they say).

Back to my 24-hour row training – one thing I realised (you have ample time to think) is that I hate waking up. Who likes it really?. Not only waking up, getting up (even more difficult).

I calculated that over the course of the crossing, I will have to wake up (and get up) around 600 times (1,200 hours = 50 days, with a shift pattern of two hours on, two off). That’s the equivalent of nearly two years of waking up (and getting up) crammed into less than two months. Crazy, eh?

With one month left to go before leaving, my huge concern now is Covid-19 and the ability to get to Portugal to begin our trip. Borders are still open – for now. If they close, we’ll be… well, screwed.

Postponing is a terrible prospect, one which I don’t even want to contemplate. I’ve worked on this project for 2.5 years and would be devasted if we have to postpone.

Ever little bit helps

It’s been a year to date since I announced my plans to the world via an article in The Times.

In this period, we’ve managed to collect just under €3,000 for my Swiss charities (Swiss Cancer League and Terre des hommes), and around €1,200 for Hospice Malta.

I’m extremely grateful for the contributions people have made. For all three organizations, I’m at around 15% of my target, so please donate or share my website address (www.crossrower.ch or de.crossrower.ch in German) with people. Every single cent goes directly to the organizations.

You don’t need to donate huge amounts – skip your coffee and croissant for one day and donate €10. You know what I mean.

Sports

Row diaries: The team – Patrice Maciel (Team EU rower)

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In March 2021, I will row across the Atlantic Ocean with four others, a grueling 6,000km challenge that will push mind and body to the limit. Patrice Maciel is one of the team members of Team EU

This will not be the first rowing experience for Patrice. He has already completed a solo Atlantic crossing in 2014.

Known locally as the Guyanese Rower (he is a native of the French Guyana), Patrice is 48 years old and married with children. He has been involved in sports for all his life, a passion which is also his profession. He became a sports and football teacher and works in the public sector in Kourou, where the French space center is located.

Throughout his career, he participated in a number of prestigious competitions:

– CON.CA.CAF (Caribbean and Central African Confederation) with the Geldar football club of Kourou

– Guyana Football Champion 2001

– French Surfing Championship (Skimboard category) 2nd in 1991

– European Skimboard Champion (Coach of Olivier CHABERT) Champion 2005

– Rames Guyana Crossing the Atlantic Ocean row from Senegal to Cayenne (capital of French Guyana) solo in 2014 (82 days)

Personal tragedy

Patrice is particularly sensitive to the issue of disability in children. His sister Patricia suffered from mental and physical disabilities, succumbing to her condition.

My parents and I have gone through extremely difficult times, Patrice says.

With his sister spending her time in and out of hospital, Patrice is now rowing to collect funds to help children in need and their families.

It’s also a bit of an escape from daily life, experiencing life on the ocean during the crossing.

School education for young people is another area in which he would like to get involved. In overseas regions, particularly in French Guiana, young people are full of resources and talents.

“I wish to support them through my modest contribution that anything is possible and that you should never give up your dreams,” he says.

He believes in studying and being physically active to be successful, plus having a dream and ambitions in life. For this, he is also supporting the Overseas Youth Association.

Patrice will also use the platform to raise awareness on environmental protection by highlighting the state of the ocean and what he observes during the crossing.

I want to make people aware of the need to preserve our planet, he says.

Motivation

This challenge is an opportunity for Patrice to live a human experience and participate in one of the toughest sporting activities in the world. His considerable experience will be of great help.

The challenge includes living isolated from the world with his co-rowers, confined in a very small space without and privacy for many weeks. Rowing day and night, he is also determined to break the world record from Europe to South America.

“It’s an experience of life, human relationships and surpassing oneself. I appreciate the chance to participate in this project, which is in line with my values: camaraderie, respect, work, solidarity, mutual aid, self-sacrifice, and passion for sport.”

The final destination of Team EU is Kourou, around 60km north of the capital Cayenne. It’s also Patrice’s home town. And apparently, preparations for a welcome home party are already in motion.

Sports

Row diaries: The team – Ralph Tuijn (Team EU Skipper)

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In March 2021, I will row across the Atlantic Ocean with four others, a grueling 6,000km challenge that will push mind and body to the limit. Ralph Tuijn is leading the rowing trip and Team EU. He has an extensive history of adventure sports.

The 49-year old started undertaking longer biking rides around his home country Netherlands and the surrounding countries in the early 90s.

His first rowing experience came in 1994 when he participated in a 12-man team crossing of the North Sea, a feat achieved in 42 hours. That year was also when he climbed his first mountains, two of the highest peaks in Norway and Mont Blanc in France.

Between 1996 and 1997, he cycled 24,000km through Europe and Asia part from doing a winter bike trip in the Himalayas at temperatures of -40 degrees Celsius. He followed up a year later with another 15,600km trip from the Netherlands to Russia.

Ralph (left) with Steve (right)

In 2001, Ralph completed a solo winter crossing of the Lena river (the longest completely frozen river in the world) using a specially designed bicycle and polar slide, which were demolished by the extremely bad ice conditions.

Various bike and other adventures followed until in 2006 when he rowed across the Atlantic Ocean together with brother Mike from the Canary Island, La Gomera to Curacao, a total of 5500 km in 88 days.

A year later, he went solo and rowed across the Pacific from Callao (Peru) via Atafu and Fiji to Rabaul (Papua New Guinea), a staggering 19,500 km in 281 days. This is the longest solo rowing trip in history.

More biking followed, including the Fairwater Bike Challenge with a world record for fastest human powered crossing of Africa (Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa), 11,000km.

In 2012, Ralph rowed across the Indian Ocean from Carnarvon, Australia to the Cocos Islands (5,300km) in 73 days. He accumulated ore than 13,000 of rowing in various expeditions over the net years.

In 2015, he skippered an Atlantic row crossing of a five-person team from Portugal to Trinidad (6,500km) in 52 days and 10 hours. The team claimed two world records for fastest crossing from Europe to South America and the first woman on board to complete this crossing.

Ralph participated in a summer running expedition through the heart of Australia in 2016, completing 1,500km from Darwin to Alise Springs in 24 days.

In 2017, Ralph led an Atlantic crossing as skipper of a four-person team from Portugal to French Guyana (6,000km) in 48 days, 4 hours and 53 minutes with two world records for fastest crossing from Europe to South America and the youngest rower on board to complete this crossing.

Another Atlantic row was done in 2018 from Portugal to Trinidad (6,000km in 65 days, five world records), and the same route was taken in 2019 (6,000km in 50 days, five world records). In the same year, he rowed solo from Lanzarote, Canary Islands to Antiqua (4,700km in 55 days).

In 2020, he skippered a five-person team from Portugal to Trinidad (6,000km) in 51 days (five world records, including first blind rower to cross from Europe to S America).

In total, he has rowed more than 60,000km across oceans and cycled more than 100,000km around the world.

Sports

Row diaries: The team – Dolores Desclaveliere (Team EU rower)

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In March 2021, I will row across the Atlantic Ocean with four others, a grueling 6,000km challenge that will push mind and body to the limit. Dolores Desclaveliere is one of the team members of Team EU

Dolores is a row instructor and is passionate about sports and the outdoors, and she challenges herself to go that little bit further.

“I appreciate the notion of surpassing oneself and competition, whether it applies to rowing or to the mountains,” she said. “I devote time to my two passions: rowing and mountain sports, including mountaineering, downhill and cross-country skiing, great climbing and canyoning routes.”

Th March 2021 crossing will be her second attempt to row across the Atlantic – the first in 2016 ended in a tragic accident, but she is eager to renew the adventure and take on an incredible challenge, both physically and mentally.

She aims to share her experiences with the younger generation: a partnership has been set up with students from three different middle schools (Paris region and Chamonix) and with a high school (social mediation project).

Apart from the Atlantic row challenge in March, she aims to conquer the Cholatse ascent (6,400 m Nepal) and will take on another Atlantic rowing challenge in November this year with a continent to continent trip in a mixed-double boat.

Dolores is an independent IT infrastructure consultant. She supports her clients in their IT transition and transformation projects.

Sports

Row diary: Countdown begins

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The countdown to my Atlantic Challenge has now begun in earnest, with less than seven weeks to go before departure.

Preparations in the final weeks are well under way with a considerable amount of administrative work, putting together equipment and necessities, and loads of training left to be done.

I will leave for Portimao in Portugal and meet up with the rest of the team around February 22. We will there hold training sessions, safety drills, and conduct all the necessary tests to ensure that crew and boat are ready for the expected two months at sea.

We will be crossing in Rose, a Rannoch 45 ocean going row boat that is considered among the best in its class.

It will be back to basics for the duration of the trip, with the 9m x 1.7m boat playing home to five adults.

Getting to the start line will take quite a bit of work. Apart from organizing travel and accommodation, I need to get a long list of things done. The personal things I need is long and there is not a great deal of allowance for bags.

The list includes clothing, including bad weather gear, creams, vitamins, water flasks and spoons, shoes, towels, medicines, caps, suntan lotion, washing gel, dry bags, sleeping bags, and much more.

I also need to get audio books, music, and kindle books ordered, and make sure I have an MP3 player for the last days (Spotify stops working if offline for more than 30 days).  The list is endless.

As I’m collecting money for three charities, I have extensive work to do to make sure I can regularly update followers with the aim of boosting fundraising. Until now, I’ve collected around 10% of my CHF30,000 target.

At the beginning of February, I will be going back to Malta to do press interviews and participate in a nationwide all-channels telethon that is also collecting funds for one of my charities. One week after returning to Switzerland, I leave for the row.

Then there is the training. Covid-19 restrictions have hampered on-water training, so a great deal of work was done on the rowing machine at home. Over the past two years, I have done around 8 million meters. Apart from that, there have been another few hundred – I estimate around 300km – on water.

I dislike weight training, but have maintained a regular weekly session lifting weights. I probably should have done more, but hindsight is 20/20 vision. I’m running far less than I would have liked to do with rowing taking up the majority of my training time.

Now, I’m also planning to do a month of High Intensity Interval training (HIIT) to strengthen my core, and my plan is to do some more time on the water.

Training on Lake Lucerne with the Swiss Raw team

I was also lucky over the past months in that I was able to train with the Swiss Raw boys – training on a Rannoch 45 is by far the best thing that I could have done.

The training also included time in the cabin. While outside was fine all the time, I instantly felt slightly sick inside the cabin – I guess my first days on the ocean will not be fun.

Meeting my team will be very important – I believe the chemistry between us will be fundamental to crossing the ocean in the fastest time possible. We are still hoping to break the world record of 48 days 4 hours for the Trade 2 route.

In total, we will take around 800,000 strokes from Portimao to Kourou in the French Guiana. We will work on a two hours rowing, two hours off, day and night for the trip. In this time, we will consume around 6,000 calories a day and still end up losing around 10kg.

Despite the two years of intensive training, I am still beginning to feel anxious about the trip.

Failure is not an option – I can’t decide to abandon the project half way through. And I have no intention of doing so.

This is why I have been preparing myself mentally for this challenge in the best way possible. I am working on changing my mindset from one where arriving at the destination is the goal to one where the journey itself is an integral part of my target. It’s not ‘finish as quickly as possible’ but rather ‘work hard to get there quickly while enjoying the trip’. I have also started breathing exercises aimed at increasing my focus and concentration in difficult times.

I have also asked my three daughters and wife to write letters to me which I can turn to in times of crisis – I’m planning on returning home with the envelopes closed.

Go to www.crossrower.ch / de.crossrower.ch to find out more and donate to Steve’s charities

Sports, Uncategorized

Row diary: Food, glorious food

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An army is said to march on its stomach, apparently. And so do rowers (well, we row, incidentally in March) – to the tune of 6,000 calories daily.

Two questions are frequently asked – what are you going to eat, and where will you be storing the food?

We’ll be taking everything we need with us on the trip across the Atlantic, including food. Rose, our Rannoch 45 ocean going row boat, has ample storage space to be able to take everything. The food is dehydrated so it takes up less space and is also lighter.

Probably my favorite…

We will have around four packet per rower per day, each of which contains around 1,000 calories. This is supplemented by snacks to make up around 6,000 calories per day.

We’ll be having a choice of different food, including Spaghetti Bolognese, couscous with Cajun spices and vegetables, Asian noodles with chicken, fish and potato in parsley sauce, and mixed vegetables, and vegetable tikka with rice.

There will also be sweet freeze-dried food options, including chocolate chip biscuit pudding, custard with apple, custard with mixed berries, granola with raspberries, hot cereal with mango, and porridge with sultanas.

What we’ll be doing is adding hot or cold water and giving it time to rehydrate before eating.

What’s interesting is that while consuming the equivalent of 12 Big Macs a day, I’ll probably end up losing around 10kg. Makes it all worth it.

If you want to support Steve’s causes, go to www.crossrower.ch (or de.crossrower.ch in German). The site also includes detailed information on the trip.

Sports

My year in running

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It was one hell of a year, at least in terms of running.

Last year saw me running 1,159.3km which I completed in 108 runs – an average of one run every three days. The average run was 9.6km that feels about right. I also ran the equivalent of 10km up and back down again.

Put all together, I ran for a total of five days and one hour – doesn’t seem that much, actually. In all this time, I burnt 119,000 calories.

My goal for 2018 was to run 1,000km, which I reached and surpassed by 10% – the goal for 2019 is 1,200km. It’s actually been a slow start to the year as I needed new running shoes (I now bought a pair, Asics Kayano 25s). The inclement weather has also made me stay indoors and only complete one run so far. I need to pick up.

As for the past three years, I completed one marathon in 2018. I also did two triathlons, which means I did a bit more running that is recorded as tri or brick training.

This year, I have a marathon planned for 24 February – it’s also the anniversary of my brother’s passing so we are using I to celebrate his life.

I have been preparing for an ultramarathon, but my latest runs left me with painful aches that made me doubt my ability to run 100km. As soon as the snow subsides, I’ll be going out for a sort of final test. If I can do 35km without too much pain, then I’ll go for it.

If not, I will continue training with the aim of completing the ultramarathon in 2020. I the meantime, I’m planning on a new sport – rowing.

Sports

Is the 100km dream over?

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It’s been a couple of years that I’ve wanted to run 100km, but my last two long runs have put serious doubts in my mind.

I finished the runs without any major issue and I probably could have kept on going for a bit more – not much more though. At 30km and 35km, it’s way short of my final goal.

This made me think that to achieve my goal, I’d probably need to lose at least 10kg, and with the race scheduled for June, I’m not quite sure I’ll manage.

This is not the cry of a winger but more of a pragmatic realisation and a person who knows his limits. Simple.

There are two mitigating factors – the first is shoes. I’ve done more than 1,000km in 2018 most of which in the same pair of shoes. I have two active pairs of shoes, my Asics Kayano 24 and a neutral pair of Adidas used to compensate for the Asics. The Adidas can be used for distances of max 15km, so I haven’t used them all too often. However, they are older and have also done their time.

This has left me with two more of less spent shoes and a desperate need for a new pair of stabilising runners to help me get through long distances.

The second issue is twofold – over-training and boot camp. The first is also a result of the second, but is not exclusive to it. I am putting in a great deal of training and my legs don’t have enough time to recover and be charged to run longer distances.

I am not going to apply just yet. I don’t know if I will do so this year. Right now, I don’t know.

What I do know is that I am now interested in another endurance race. But first things first – will I ever get to do the 100km? If so, will the 4,800km follow? Now that’s a very big (and very expensive) question mark.

Sports

Of course she can twerk – she’s female and pretty

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Just in case we needed any other example of sexism, the first ever recipient of the Women’s Ballon D’or was asked if she can twerk seconds after receiving her trophy.

It is so disrespectful, childish, and immature that it beggars belief.

For more than half a century, only men were awarded with this prestigious title form France Football, but this year they finally dragged themselves creaming and shouting into the 21st Century and decided that women also deserved to be recognized. Kudos France Football.

Norwegian striker Ada Hegerberg, 23, is the first ever winner. She beat competition from some of women’s greatest to claim the award, given to her for her prolific form with French club Lyon.

Ironically, just seconds before she was asked to twerk, Hegerberg thanks France Football, adding that this “is a huge step for women’s football”.

The fact that she worked extremely hard to get to where she is, making many sacrifices, that she has a great talent, and that she made it to the very top of her profession didn’t appear to matter for the presenter of the awards, French DJ Martin Solveig.

I can imagine his thought process. “She is a woman, she is blonde, she is Norwegian, then it is obvious she must twerk. I know, I will ask her that – what a great idea.”

After the incident, he posted a tweet apologizing for “the one I may have offended”. The one? May? Seriously?

Let me clarify this for you, mate. You offended Hegerberg directly, and she showed her dignity and professionalism by walking away. But you also offended millions of other women around the world, and those men who respect women and treat them like people.

The bigger problem is that is symptomatic of a society where women are treated as inferiors and/or sex objects. It’s no surprise the #metoo movement has gain so much traction. The idea of male dominance is so engrained in society that similar incidents must not be swept under the carpet of silence, but shouted about at the top of our voices.

May be it’s time to fight fire with fire, so in this spirit, I have a question for Solveig: “Do you twerk?” What a dumbass.

Read more on the incident here.