Girl on the River

Ep 2.  Why would anyone row the Atlantic, risking sharks, jellyfish, storms and waves the size of a house? And why, in particular, would a 50-something lady with a rare form of pneumonia take on such an extreme challenge? Could it be a cunning plan to avoid a season of erg tests or is there more to it than that?
In this second episode, Girl on the River talks to her friend and crewmate, Elaine Theaker, who in 2018 rowed the Atlantic in a trio, successfully completing the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge and picking up two Guinness World Records along the way.
Elaine tells Patricia about:

• her unsporty start in life and how in middle age rowing got under her skin
• the extraordinary and all-consuming steps needed to prepare for the Atlantic challenge
• her own health challenges with cryptogenic organising pneumonia
• getting to know her Atlantic shipmates
• the challenging start to the race
• the routine on board
• seeing dolphins under a full moon
• the horrific final 24 hours
• what she learned from the challenge
• getting her name in the Guinness Book of Records

Her adventures were made into a musical - Atlantic Ladies, the Play - which you can find on YouTube in two parts:
Part 1
Part 2

If you're enjoying the podcast and would like early access to episodes plus all sorts of cool, bonus material, check out Girl on the River's patreon scheme - you'll be helping to keep the show on the road as the costs of running a podcast are mounting!

Ep 1. In the very first interview of the podcast, I'm joined by the fabulous coxswain, Zoe de Toledo - super-cox, Olympic silver medalist, World Champion, Boat Race survivor, medical student, coxing educator and mince pie connoisseur. She's someone I've wanted to meet for years, and she totally lived up to expectations.

We had a great chat about all things rowing and coxing, and in under an hour managed to pack in Zoe's thoughts on:

• Passing the time in lockdown
• How coxing helps her as a doctor
• Her career progression as a cox
• Why coxing is about more than just being small and shouty
• The infamous Boat Race 2012
• The Rio Olympics and crew cohesion
• The mystery of the perfect crew
• Mince pies and the abominable love child of Father Christmas and Percy Pig

If you're interested in learning more about coxing from Zoe, check out Chattercox - she's also on Twitter and Instagram at @chattercox1.

For Zoe's in-depth investigations into the best mince pies on the market, head to @themincepiereport on Instagram.

If you enjoyed this interview and would like to hear more, please, please subscribe on any of the podcast apps, and if you're an Apple user and fancy leaving me a nice review, that would be amazing!

Now, then. My fourth episode is going to be an Ask Me Anything show - your chance to ask me anything you like, from the deep and serious to the silly and trivial. Pop your question on social media (I'm @girlontheriver on all channels) or email me at [email protected]. You can even record your question on your phone and mail me the sound file to [email protected] and I might play it on the show.

If you fancy getting hold of episodes a day early and accessing some fab bonus content such as extra episodes,  behind-the-scenes videos and invitations to join me in Zoom workouts, check out my Patreon scheme.

You can find my blog at Girl on the River.

Huge thanks to Aaron of Broken Oars Podcast (another great rowing podcast which you should totally check out) for the beautiful music, and to Illya Derigs for the brilliant artwork. Also to Bethan and Mike of Low Key Audio for mentoring me from complete novice to published podcaster.

Introducing Girl on the River, the Podcast! This trailer tells you everything you need to know about the podcast and when and where to find it.

At Girl on the River, the Podcast, I'm going to be chatting to guests from all around the rowing and sporting world about anything and everything to do with rowing. Guests will include Olympians, Atlantic rowers, erg monsters, campaigners, nutrition and sleep experts, physios and coaches to give expert input on technique.

There will also be opportunities for you to get involved, with Q&A sessions, listener debates and a Patreon scheme that will let you access fun content like behind the scenes videos and bonus episodes.

You can find podcast episodes and my blog at Girl on the River, and the podcast will be on all the major podcast providers.

Please, please subscribe, spread the word and join the crew!