After six months of training, Steady State Network’s Allies with Oars’ first coastal – and first international – race is a wrap! Two Allies With Oars mixed 4x+ crews spent the better part of Aug. 25, 2024 circumnavigating an 88k course around Salt Spring Island in British Columbia, for Race Around the Rock, hosted by Salt Spring Island Rowing Club. We got a little bit of everything: flat water, rolling waves, eddies, boat wakes, seals, massive jellyfish, excitement at the start line, confidence, pain cave suffering, and elation at the finish line.

Post-race, and with beverages in hand, the team sat down together to relive some highlights (and low lights) and share what made the experience so meaningful.

Thanks to all our family and friends for volunteering to lend a hand throughout race weekend. We couldn’t have made it around this rock without you.

Thanks to our race sponsors: JL Racing, Live2Row Studios, and Racing Hands.

QUICK LOOK

00:00 - Episode Lead-In and Welcome

02:02 - Six months of training with Live2Row Studios

05:20 - Favorite part of the race

08:53 - Challenges of the race

14:45 - Imposter syndrome and getting hooked

16:36 - Race day success was only possible with a lot of help from teammates, friends, and family

20:55 - Race day firsts

22:25 - About the Allies with Oars initiative

26:25 - ”Thank yous”

28:46 - What’s up next for Allies?

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To see photos of the Allies with Oars crew, and get links to the people, clubs, and events mentioned in this episode, check out the show notes on our website.

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This episode was made possible in part by Live2Row Studios, Breakwater Realty, RowSource, and our Patrons.

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Steady State Podcast is written, produced, hosted, and edited by Rachel Freedman and Tara Morgan. Tara provides additional audio engineering and is our sponsor coordinator. Rachel manages the website, social media, and e-newsletter. Our theme music is by Jonas Hipper.

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Follow us on FB and IG at @steadystatenetwork

As part of our semi-regular club spotlight series, we cross the northern border into British Columbia, Canada to learn more about Salt Spring Island Rowing Club. Steady State Network's own Allies with Oars crews were just on the island for the Club's 88k coastal rowing regatta – Race Around the Rock.

Meet Salt Spring Island Rowing Club head coach Stacey Mitchell, RAR race director Zoe Clark, and new(ish) master's sculler Michael Strumberger. Together they embody the enthusiasm, passion, and motivation necessary to build and sustain this small town rowing club.

QUICK LOOK

00:00 - Episode Lead-In and Welcome

01:55 - The Huddle

03:37 - Rowing Week on a scale of 1-10

06:40 - The Hot Seat Q&A

11:22 - Stacy’s LTR story started with a swimming injury

14:24 - Michael’s “very casual relationship with fitness” shifted when he decided to try the gym erg

17:18 - Zoe’s rowing journey started with gnarly hands from hours on the monkey bars

20:02 - Why keep coming back to rowing?

26:59 - Salt Spring Rowing Club is small and growing!

32:22 - SSI members

34:08 - A rowing morning on St. Mary’s Lake starts with a quiet trip down a dirt road

37:20 - Race Around the Rock

49:50 - SSN's Allies with Oars: ruffling feathers to push the boundary of “mixed” lineups

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To see photos of Stacy, Zoe, and Michael, and get links to the people, clubs, and events mentioned in this episode, check out the show notes on our website.

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This episode was made possible in part by Live2Row Studios, Breakwater Realty, RowSource, and our Patrons.

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Steady State Podcast is written, produced, hosted, and edited by Rachel Freedman and Tara Morgan. Tara provides additional audio engineering and is our sponsor coordinator. Rachel manages the website, social media, and e-newsletter. Our theme music is by Jonas Hipper.

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Follow us on FB and IG at @steadystatenetwork

Inspired by his parents from an early age to work hard, Julien Bahain became a 3-time Olympian and an Olympic medalist. He’s been involved with rowing for 25 years, taking on multiple disciplines including flat water, coastal, and ocean rowing.

Over the years, his involvement in the sport has grown too, from organizing World Rowing Championships and helping establish OARCA, to founding West Coast Rowing Adventures with his wife Katie. Together their goal is to grow coastal rowing and share the beauty of British Columbia.

QUICK LOOK

00:11 - Pre-Show Banter 01:08 - Welcome 01:55 - Episode Lead-In 05:08 - The Huddle 06:38 - Rowing Week on a scale of 1-10 09:10 - The Hot Seat Q&A 13:19 - Julien’s rowing origin story 15:52 - “Work hard, do it well, and do your best” was instilled from a young age by his parents 18:48 - Coastal rowing in Julien’s life from LTR to organizing World Rowing Championships 21:20 - Establishing OARCA 22:52 - Coastal as an alternative access to rowing for people around the world 27:47 - The perfect stroke is found in a perfect moment 30:42 - Honing his Olympic rowing color commentary for the CBC 35:38 - Founding West Coast Rowing Adventures 37:24 - Race Around the Rock 40:38 - Thoughts on the proliferation of ocean rowing races 44:18 - A lifetime of rowing leads to an ever-growing community “family”

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To see photos of Julien, and get links to the people, clubs, and events mentioned in this episode, check out the show notes on our website.

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This episode was made possible in part by Live2Row Studios, Breakwater Realty, RowSource, and our Patrons.

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Steady State Podcast is written, produced, hosted, and edited by Rachel Freedman and Tara Morgan. Tara provides additional audio engineering and is our sponsor coordinator. Rachel manages the website, social media, and e-newsletter. Our theme music is by Jonas Hipper.

In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, when it was clear that the 2020 rowing season was in jeopardy, we started brainstorming. We were just two masters rowers and coaches who wanted to celebrate the expansive array of rowers, coaches, and coxswains and savor real-life experience from launch to cox seat at every level.

We launched Steady State Network in September 2020 with one goal: reframe the popular, yet limited narrative about rowing culture by creating a more inclusive and better represented rowing community.

On September 22, 2020 with very little audio production experience, but plenty of big ideas and lots of opinions, we dropped episode 1 of Steady State Podcast and wondered: will anyone notice? Will anyone listen?

Join us to look back – and ahead – as we celebrate our 100th episode!

00:00 - Episode Intro 01:13 - Re-writing the original show intro, the simplicity of the early scripts, how COVID reshaped our lives, and learning to be brave 07:15 - From Day 1, Steady State Podcast was a COVID project with a long-term mission to challenge the popular yet limited narrative about rowing

Training and Racing 10:35 - Williamsburg Boat Club coach Tom Rooks on finding your “why,” and on nerves, anxiety, expectations and visualizing “rear view moments” 14:20 - New Zealand Olympian Eric Murray tells a story about an out of control water bottle during a World Cup race

Coaching 16:29 - Live2Row Studios Founders and Coaches Stephen Pryor and Justin Knust on checking yourself 19:33 - Technique spotlight with New Zealand Olympian Eric Murray: finding suspension on the erg

Coxing 23:33 - Whitney Powell of the Candid Cox explains taking ownership of the boat 26:24 - Olympian and founder of the 9th Seat Mary Whipple says “less is more” and give space between asks 29:26 - Masters coxswain Mitch King hinges his coxing on being collaborative

The Big Issues 32:29 - Coach Libby Boghossian’s seasonal SafeSport discussions create a culture for her young athletes where everyone is enlisted in the effort to keep their rowing community safe. 37:48 - Olympian, author, and UVA strength coach Lindsay Dare Shoop worries about the pressure of collegiate name/image/likeness (NIL) deals 41:39 - Non-binary rower David Scherzer on the limiting male/female gender structure 46:04 - Former Tulsa University Women’s Head Coach Kevin Harris on USRowing’s gender identity policy and the importance of inclusion

The Perfect Stroke 49:30 - Setting up the perfect stroke 50:35 - New Orleans Rowing Club accepts the chaos of coastal rowing 53:09 - Joe DeLeo of Science of Rowing and the Leo Training Podcast considers whether the perfect stroke is possible 54:12 - Olympians Mary Whipple and Gevvie Stone on the eternal quest 55:31 - UW Coach Marqus Brown describes a “quiet” prefect stroke 56:48 - Lake Washington Rowing Club boatswain Susan Kinne describes the meditative experience of rowing in the morning 53:55 - Outro

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To see photos of our guests, and get links to the people, clubs, and events mentioned in this episode, check out the show notes on our website.

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This episode was made possible in part by Live2Row Studios, Breakwater Realty, RowSource, and our Patrons.

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Steady State Podcast is written, produced, hosted, and edited by Rachel Freedman and Tara Morgan. Tara provides additional audio engineering and is our sponsor coordinator. Rachel manages the website, social media, and e-newsletter. Our theme music is by Jonas Hipper.

In 1984, Kris Thorsness brought home gold in the U.S. women’s 8+ from the Olympic Games Los Angeles. Home was Alaska, where she was welcomed with a parade and the distinction of being the first Alaskan to win an Olympic medal.

Today she says she’s “just a masters rower,” but 40 years after that gold medal Olympic performance, she’s also a USRowing Referee and is an Arbitrator for the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the U.S. and Paralympic Committee.

Before she heads off to Paris for the 2024 Olympics in her role as an Arbitrator, we talk with Kris about refereeing, which is often glossed over by rowers but is key to ensuring regattas are safe and effectively run, with a focus on sportsmanship.

QUICK LOOK

00:00 - Welcome and Episode lead-In 01:34 - The Huddle 03:00 - Rowing Week 04:55 - The Hot Seat Q&A 06:30 - Favorite part of refereeing: the chase boat 08:57 - Favorite place to referee 09:40 - Challenges of referees and a lack of funding isn’t helping with bringing new refs down the pipeline 16:59 - Rowing Origin: walking on at the University of Wisconsin (Go Badgers!) 20:04 - Grit, coming back from behind, and being eager to go into the pain cave 23:36 - Accepting the pain and getting gold at the 1984 Olympic Games L.A. 26:04 - Advice for rowers aspiring towards the Olympics 30:44 - A pair of tan pants and a blue Oxford shirt got Kris started as a referee 31:55 - The process of becoming a USRowing referee 35:35 - What you need to understand about race officials 36:11 - Sassing the referees 38:30 - As an arbitrator for the Court of Arbitration for Sport, what types of cases *might* Kris handle at the Olympic Games Paris? 41:54 - Are there any doping concerns in Olympic rowing? 43:10 - As an IOC delegate, Kris has an all access pass to the events … if she has time to go 44:28 - Making the pitch to new potential referees 46:37 - SSN Events & Announcements

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To see photos of Kris Thorsness, and get links to the people, clubs, and events mentioned in this episode, check out the show notes on our website.

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This episode was made possible in part by Live2Row Studios, Breakwater Realty, RowSource, and our Patrons.

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Steady State Podcast is written, produced, hosted, and edited by Rachel Freedman and Tara Morgan. Tara provides additional audio engineering and is our sponsor coordinator. Rachel manages the website, social media, and e-newsletter. Our theme music is by Jonas Hipper.

Born and raised on Vashon Island, Washington, Jacob Plihal wasn’t super excited to start rowing (ugh, spandex!), but in 2012 a knee injury prompted him to give up his basketball dreams. With prodding from his physical therapist, and then motivated by friend, classmate and Jr. National Team rower Mia Croonquist, he climbed the ladder to Northeastern University team captain, then the U23 National team, and most recently was named to the 2024 U.S. Olympic team in the men’s single. At 6’10”, Jacob has a clear view of the world’s biggest rowing and athletic achievement: Paris 2024.

We really appreciated his honesty about working for over a decade through both success and disappointment. About turning down opportunities because funding wasn’t available. And about having to work around limited mobility in his knee. He credits sticking to the grind and figuring out what works (and what doesn’t) to being stubborn.

For all these reasons, we’re rooting for Vashon Island’s hometown kid this summer at the Olympic Games Paris.

QUICK LOOK

00:00 - Episode Lead-In 01:22 - The Huddle 02:13 - On a scale of 1-10, Jacob’s rowing week was a 7 02:37 - The Hot Seat Q&A 03:53 - Growing up with freedom to explore on Vashon Island, WA 05:21 - Rowing origin story: A serious knee injury as a teen changed Jacob’s athletic path 08:42 - Rehabbing an injury while you’re still growing, and working around limited range of motion today 10:23 - Being a member of the Green Racing Project at Craftsbury Outdoor Center 12:28 - Playing it safe before the big show 14:10 - The idea of making a national team was planted very early 16:55 - What the heck is the Regatta of Death? 21:06 - What’s on your mind on the starting blocks in Lucerne? 23:30 - Rowing Fillipi’s biggest single and testing out various Concept2 blades 24:15 - Hometown response to qualifying for the Olympics 26:00 - Making the most of being an Olympian in the community 27:47 - Olympic race date/time and getting a new Fillipi in Paris 29:27 - Jacob explains the perfect stroke and a Kris Korzeniowski drill to help you get there 31:50 - Tara and Rachel’s move into sculling in 2024 for Race Around the Rock 34:57 - Rowing with Isaiah Harrison (6’9”) vs Don Williams (6’2”) 36:00 - SSN Events & Announcements

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To see photos of Jacob Plihal, and get links to the people, clubs, and events mentioned in this episode, check out the show notes on our website.

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This episode was made possible in part by Live2Row Studios, Breakwater Realty, RowSource, and our Patrons.

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Steady State Podcast is written, produced, hosted, and edited by Rachel Freedman and Tara Morgan. Tara provides additional audio engineering and is our sponsor coordinator. Rachel manages the website, social media, and e-newsletter. Our theme music is by Jonas Hipper.

 We challenge our listeners to "Ask us Anything." When a very specific question came in about back pain, we didn't feel like we 100% had the authority to answer it. So show co-host Rachel Freedman called up her chiropractor – and former DC Strokes Rowing Club member – Dr. Joe Henderson to get his insights.

Together we delve into causes of rowers' back pain, injury prevention, managing expectations, stretching, and considering other pain points like forearms and hip flexors.

QUICK LOOK

00:00 - Episode lead-in

00:54 - Co-hosts Tara Morgan and Rachel Freedman talk about their own back pain and experiences with chiropractors

07:35 - Dr. Joe Henderson on managing expectations when working to prevent injury

08:51 - Listener question: "I experience back pain when sweeping but not sculling..."

12:59 - Rachel’s journey to chiro care

15:29 - Mitigating pain through stretching and mobility

20:50 - Take time off and see a doctor

22:40 - Steady State Network events and initiatives

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To see photos of Dr. Joe Henderson, and get links to the people, clubs, and events mentioned in this episode, check out the show notes on our website.

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This episode was made possible in part by Live2Row Studios, Breakwater Realty, RowSource, and our Patrons.

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Steady State Podcast is written, produced, hosted, and edited by Rachel Freedman and Tara Morgan. Tara provides additional audio engineering and is our sponsor coordinator. Rachel manages the website, social media, and e-newsletter. Our theme music is by Jonas Hipper.

There are many impersonators, but Concept2 RowErgs are the original – and for many the gold standard – indoor rowing machine. It all started in the early 1970s with brothers Dick and Pete Dreissigacker, a bike wheel, and engineering experiments in a barn in Vermont.

Dick and Pete know their machines, and rowing, inside and out so we called up Dick to talk about how foot stretcher set up can help both new and seasoned rowers.

And because we were really geeking out on erg set up 101, we enlisted Will Ruth, the Green Racing Project Strength Coach and Sculling Camp Coordinator at Craftsbury.

Dick and Will help us consider heel height, seat pads, horizontal drive, and finding comfort on the erg.

QUICK LOOK

00:00 - Episode lead-in 01:05 - Dick Dreissigacker on erg foot stretcher set up considerations and compromises 06:07 - Seat pads 06:59 - Clip in shoes, raising your heels, and that pair of erging shoes you just can’t give up on 09:45 - Heels up or heels down at the catch? 14:36 - Part 2: Will Ruth on setting up the erg for comfort 18:27 - Setting up heel heights for rowers with leg length discrepancies, or significant differences in left/right shoe sizes 19:38 - How adjusting the foot stretcher height effects the stroke 21:18 - Modifying the horizontal seat to heel relationship by using a seat pad - on the erg vs in a boat 22:47 - Rigging solution choices for club boats 25:48 - Foam heel inserts for rowers with small feet 26:37 - Horizontal forces can be good as long as they don’t compromise something else 28:05 - SSN events and initiatives

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To see photos of Dick and Will, and get links to the people and resources mentioned in this episode, check out the show notes on our website.

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This episode was made possible in part by Live2Row Studios, Breakwater Realty, RowSource, and our Patrons.

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Steady State Podcast is written, produced, hosted, and edited by Rachel Freedman and Tara Morgan. Tara provides additional audio engineering and is our sponsor coordinator. Rachel manages the website, social media, and e-newsletter. Our theme music is by Jonas Hipper.