Senior Peter Tirella wrote this personal piece based on his experience completing a 24 hour row.  Captains on the Berkeley Crew Team, Tirella and Alex Hill ’14 challenged themselves to row for 24 hours straight to raise funds for scholarships which will provide underprivileged kids the opportunity to learn to row and experience the plethora of benefits that crew has brought to Tirella and Hill.

This dream began as an idle musing while standing on the edge of the dock at our boathouse; the idea that a 24-hour continual row had never been completed was stated as a dream that would provide infamy and opportunity to any rower who completed it. I grabbed it; this was going to be my mark on the rowing community. I was going where nobody had before: rowing continuously with a partner throughout day and night, solely to raise money for local children. The idea exploded in our community; we had people asking when the challenge was, how to donate to it, and exactly how insane I was for believing I could complete this challenge.

Training began immediately, and it involved lofty benchmarks that seemed insane for even a professional athlete. The first two benchmarks were 16-mile runs along our racecourse. Two weeks later, proud and aching, my partner and I hobbled from the runs victoriously, only to be faced with yet another daunting benchmark. We had to complete a marathon, thankfully not while running, but on the Ergometer, the standard training tool for land-based rowing. This was yet again a seemingly impossible task, but we powered through and found ourselves victorious. The final challenge, a 60,000 meter row was the next weekend, and we found ourselves successfully concluding our endurance training tests. Psychological training could now begin; we were told to stay awake from 6:00 a.m. until 3:00 a.m. the next day, then make our way to the boathouse. It was pitch black, stormy, and honestly a tad frightening. The only words we heard from our coach were “get your boat ready. We’re leaving in 15.” We obeyed, and rigged up our double for what we perceived as a funeral march to the sea; we had never rowed at night before, let alone in weather preempting a massive storm. Off we went from our dock into the choppy channel for three hours of white-knuckled sculling, only to return soaked and smiling.

All the while, my partner and I created our charity from the ground up by ourselves, designing t-shirts, contacting businesses, managing charitable volunteers and creating our website. Everything before, during, and after the race was the direct result of our work to create our dream.

Finally race day came, and we found ourselves pushing off in the middle of a balmy Florida afternoon towards the completion of our next impossible challenge. The night, and cold, came swiftly, and we maneuvered our boat through the river under at least three jackets and two pairs of pants each. The morning came, as well as the assurance that we could complete this race. Finally, the countdown clock struck and we were officially done; our boat was in continual motion for 24 Hours and 15 minutes. Our bodies were masses of cramps, pain, and achievement. We fully recovered in the following days, but the most important fact of all was that the scholarships were finally secured and funded.

The scholarships allow for any child demonstrating financial need and a desire to row to be fully immersed in the sport, without the financial obligations. Materials, coaching, transportation, and boats are provided free of cost to any scholarship recipient. We believe that this allows any child to be able to enjoy the gifts that rowing gives, including the spirit of dedication, cohesiveness, and self-confidence. The sport has shaped me into the man I am today, and I fully believe that I will be able to pass them on to future generations through the yearly continuation of my race and consequent scholarship funds.