For the first time since March 1st, 2020, the CRASH-Bs took place "in person" in Boston. The venerable erg race, which was the last major event to take place before COVID-19 shut down rowing and everything else in 2020, opted to stay virtual in '21 and '22, and has emerged from the hiatus leaner and more streamlined than in previous years, in a new venue (more about that later), with a few new events, but with a few core things, such as the coveted Hammer awards, fully intact.

"People are really excited to be back," said CRASH-B commodore Natasha Strom. "I think everyone--the volunteers, the athletes--have been really enthusiastic. It's really nice to see people that we've seen for years and years prior to the pandemic coming back. The energy's very high."

"When we were virtual, we worked with the technology that was becoming available from with Time Team, who has been a great partner, and we made it work," said Strom. "A lot of that technology that they developed over that time, we can still use. And we've learned a lot."

This year, CRASH-Bs were held in the "Track at New Balance," a bright, airy and wide-open new indoor track on the campus of the New Balance Corporation in Brighton. The venue drew raves from race organizers and athletes, and more than one person remarked that it was the best venue they'd seen for the event.

JUNIORS

As has been the case over the past few years, virtual or not, Junior athletes made up the largest proportion of the racers in attendance. And with CRASH-B adopting international age categories (U15, U17 and U19), and adding a few new, shorter events such as relays and 500m sprints, there was something for everyone.

Six rowers made up the field for the Men's and Women's 12-14 year old events, the 4-minute "race for distance." Gordon's Alexander Ekborg won the boys event, while Brielle Ayuso of the Orange County Rowing Assn. took the girls.

The rowers from San Miguel Academy

The rowers from the San Miguel Academy showed up in numbers, taking a clutch of hammers in the Mixed U15 Team, Men's U17 team, as well as Ishmael Chihuahua winning the individual Men's U15 2K.

"San Miguel supports me a lot, they always motivate me they always have high hopes for me," said Aylen Mendez, who rowed on the winning U15 Mixed team. "We always work hard. Every single day I try my best and San Miguel's Fr. Mark [coach Fr. Mark Connell, eds.] is a really good coach to me. If it weren't for San Miguel then I would probably not be doing this right now."

San Miguel Academy out of Newburgh, NY, was a recipient of support from Arshay Cooper's 'A Most Beautiful Thing' Inclusion fund in 2022, which allowed the school to grow the opportunities for their rowing program. It is also supported by the HOCR x Gold Cup Grant Fund.

St. Catharine's Mariia Prodan rowed for for than herself

Mariia Prodan, a Ukrainian athlete representing St. Catharines (CAN) won the women's U15, coached by her dad; as has been the case with the Ukrainian athletic diaspora over the past year, the emotion of competing for more than oneself was evident.

Donovan Moses of V-Sculls took the Men's U17 event, with Deerfield's Teagan Farley winning the Women's U17.

Miami Rowing Club's Thomas Segrera took the hammer in the Men's U19 event, in the largest field of the regatta, while Olivia Olsen of Litchfield notched a bit of an upset in the Women's U19, just beating out Brooke Seebeck of Oak Neck; Seebeck had claimed the US Indoor National title just under a month ago in Atlantic City.

Litchfield's Olivia Olsen

MASTERS - Including 100+ WR Holder Dottie Steward

"Small groups of regulars" is how you might describe the Masters events at CRASH-B, where repeat winners, whose trips to Boston to race 2K seem to be habitual, raced and collected their hardware.

Possibly no event drew more applause (in addition to reminders about why we do this), than Dottie Stewart's row to set the first-ever age 100+ indoor world record. Stewart, who started rowing at 95 and has been a regular at CRASH-Bs since then, looked almost spiritual on the erg.

"I didn't 'pick rowing up,' I just used it as an exercise," Stewart told row2k at her first CRASH-Bs in 2017. "I've been exercising all my life. Being physically active is part of who I am."

Dottie Stewart (101) drew a crowd

SHORT STUFF

The team relays and 500 meter sprints seem to have been embraced by the competitors here, with a few folks entering multiple events.

"Over the last couple years, we've realized that there are all new audiences out there that are not on the water rowers, the CrossFitters, and everyone else who's doing those kind of workouts," said CRASH-B's Strom.

"We've added the 500 meter, and we do do a lot of outreach to CrossFit and some other clubs, and we'd love to see it grow."

PARA & ADAPTIVE

Rowing in Color's Katherine Valdez, winner of the PR1 2k

CRASH-B continues to be a resource for the Para-rowing community as well, with the regatta running events for athletes with physical or intellectual disabilities, or impaired vision.

"I think CRASH B is a great opportunity to connect the Para community in the greater Boston area and beyond," said Tom Siddall, USRowing's Para High Performance Coach & Boston Training Center Coordinator (as well as the newly-hired Harvard Men's heavyweight assistant coach). "We have athletes of all different levels racing here at CRASH-B, which is super cool to see. Some will continue on to Worlds while for others this was their first 2k. Ellen Minzner, Andrea Thies, (both of USRowing) and CRI and their coaches have done a ton of work to make all this happen!"

OPEN, LIGHTWEIGHT, U23

The leanness of the '23 CRASH-Bs was evident in the Open, U23 and Lightweight events, with just a handful of competitors in each of these events.

Winning the Men's Open was Riverside's Willem Drescher, who raced to a 6:08.5, the fastest men's time in the building on the day, and just ahead of his RBC clubmate Nathan Whitaker. When row2k caught up with Drescher and his brand-new hammer, he admitted that he'd not known what to expect going into the race.

"I did a 6k test yesterday, so I didn't have any expectations," he said. "I'd been seeing Nate [Whitaker] at the boathouse, so it was nice to see him on the screen right in front of me!"

In contrast to some of the Masters competitors, it was Drescher's first time at the event. "It's awesome. I moved to Boston a year ago and it's super nice to get some CRASH-B experience!"

Drescher, who stands well clear of 6'8", ergs with an extended-length C2 erg rail, which he brought to CRASH-Bs with him and snapped into his assigned machine before his piece. So much for "it's just erg racing, I don't need to bring anything!"

Men's Open winner Willem Drescher

Elizabeth Gilmore, a recent but very successful convert to rowing won three events at CRASH-B, capping it with her win in the Women's Open, where she went 6:53.3, almost a full four seconds faster than she rowed at the USRowing Indoor Champs last month.

With CRASH-B serving, traditionally at least, as the last of the winter erg races, the 39 year-old Gilmore reflected on her winter of erging fast.

"I think one of my favorite things is just been really meeting the rowing community. There's just a lot of great people here, and I'm making a lot of friends and getting to know people and working really hard.

"Honestly, I've had a mental block for a long time about doing 2Ks, because it is really hard," said Gilmore. "Hitting that seven minute mark, that was a big mental barrier for me, and one thing I've been doing is more of them with different pacing plans, just so it's not quite so big in my mind. And that's really helped.

So what's next for Gilmore?

"Concept2 has a 5k for International Women's Day on Wednesday [March 8th], and if people do a 5k, they'll donate $5 to charity. So I'm going to do that. I'm trying out for a masters "on the water" rowing team at the end of the month, and then we'll see how that goes!"

Gilmore enroute to the third of her three wins at CRASH-B

Did Gilmore have any advice for new erg warriors such as herself looking to make the leap? "It's a lot of fun, and wherever you are, just working from where you are now and just trying to get incrementally better, month over month. A lot of progress just takes time and you just have to trust in your training and do the hard work."

As the CRASH-Bs wound down, Natasha Strom reflected on the regatta and the challenges and opportunities looming ahead.

"The drive of people coming to Boston, and Boston being such a rowing Mecca, I think, will always bring people here," she said. "Our numbers are diluted, because there are all these different races, which is great, because it brings more people to the sport. Our goal over the next couple years is to stay relevant. We'll keep doing what we're doing, and we do it better. And we just keep getting the word out: come to Boston, and we will provide a great race with solid timing, a really good experience, and a place that everybody can race."

Notes from the Course

• We're sorry, only one hammer per CRASH-B: three-event winner Elizabeth Gilmore was chagrined to learn that you only get one hammer at CRASH-B, no matter how many events you win.
• row2k spotted Men's Lightweight 85-89 winner Donald Tanhauser headed to collect his hammer wearing two different shoes. "My legs are slightly different lengths," said Tanhauser, "so this helps even me out." Sometimes you have to rig yourself, not just the boat.

Elizabeth Gilmore: three golds, but only one hammer!