Olympic Champion cox Harry Brightmore shares top tips – for crews of all levels – to help you make the most of the head race season.
My very first event was Northwich Head, back in the mid 2000s, as an eager young coxswain. It was the first time I’d seen the many different clubs of the North West all packed together and marshalling up for their efforts, the spectrum of coloured splash jackets sprawled behind the start line. I was immediately hooked on the feeling of community, but probably also the thrill and nerves of the race ahead!
Get warm, stay warm
If I could go back to that moment and give myself some words of advice, I’d probably immediately tell myself to wear more kit. That isn’t just aimed at coxswains, but rowers too. If I had £1 for every rower I’ve spotted at head races shivering away with their hands between their thighs, waiting for their turn to spin, my bank balance would be looking pretty healthy.
You’ve just completed a warm up for a reason – it’s to get warm, and stay warm! Your body will work far better when its warmed and ready. During my head racing days at Oxford Brookes University, we would get behind the start line, get our racing all in ones fully on (with bow seat’s number visible!) and then cover everything back up with warm layers if we still had time or there was a delay. It allows you to quickly rip off a splash jacket and be ready in race kit without the extra need to scramble arms around into an all in one!
Plan your warm up
A big way to make the warmup logistically smooth, is to know exactly all the marshalling rules. There’s no benefit to doing an extra burst in a place that will cost you a ten second time penalty! Make a plan beforehand of how you will start your paddle to the marshalling area, roughly how long you will need to leave for bursts and drinks stops, and how much time you would like to have to breathe before you race.
Be bold with your warm up bursts too! The human body is pretty incredible, and in pushing on for one or two longer race pace bursts (around 20 minutes before the start) your lungs will start to open up fully. If you commit to these, you can be confident that you’re primed for that start line.
Know where you want to steer
The moment is upon us. We’re ready, in kit, and the crews in front of us are starting to spin towards the start. Most head races run downstream, so you marshal facing upstream. Make sure you understand where the stream is going to take your bows as you venture out into its path.
Steering coxless crews in head races
James Rudkin, seven seat of the 2024 Olympic gold medal eight, shared with me some of his sneaky tips that he used when breaking the Fours Head coxless four record in in 2022.
“I steered from the two seat.” James said, “and made sure the stern pair just focused on setting the rhythm, no matter what. Even if there’s some steering going on, nobody gets flustered, and everyone sticks to their job. I would prioritise keeping us on smooth lines. You hardly need to use your foot. No big movements, ever.”
James knew to look over his shoulder whenever a key marker was coming up, whether that was a navigation buoy or a bridge. “As a sweeper, I’d look over my inside shoulder. I was already rotating that way, so it wouldn’t negatively impact my stroke or the general rhythm much. The view behind us would give me an insight to roughly where we were on the river, and so I could steer very patiently and only check around for main landmarks.”
A stroke coach is also very useful for whoever has the rudder. “I had a GPS stroke coach mounted to my rigger,” James said. “I knew roughly what speed we should be averaging, and I could gauge if my boat was coming out of the stream.”
Have a high-level race plan
With any head race, pacing is key. It is of the utmost importance that your crew has agreed on the best way to empty their physiology across the track in the most efficient way possible.
I always liked to break races up into thirds, based off a rough expected finish time. I’ll then have three key focuses – one for each section – to get us moving our fastest.
Quite often, the first third is pivotal in establishing the most efficient rhythm at your given race rate. Subsequent focuses will be geared into maintaining that relentless rhythm.
The second third of the race should start to incorporate a little bit more technique around how we find power. The rowers will be tiring, so ensure legs are pushing down fully and that you are suspending properly. Ensure that bladework is facilitating these processes with good catches and clean finishes.
In the final third, you need a bit more of an emotive call to arms. At this point, the mental bandwidth is reducing due to fatigue, so you need to be clear and focused with your aims. As a rower, be brave with your movements! The body will be desperate to shorten up, so use other muscles, and slow down the blade pattern. When you feel that knocking at the door, that’s your opportunity to be as bold as possible towards the finish line. I’d often shout at my crew, “choose to go!”, when we really needed mind over matter.
Final thoughts
If you give some of these tips and tricks a go, I do hope that you get the most out of your next head race. Enjoy the nerves, stick to your plan, and race cleverly!
Photo: AllMarkOne