Physics of Rowing

Claire Doran

Physics 211X

Fall 2004

"Marathon runners talk about hitting 'the wall' at the twenty-third

mile of the race. What rowers confront isn't a wall; it's a hole - an

abyss of pain, which opens up in the second minute of the race. Large

needles are being driven into your thigh muscles, while your forearms seem

to be splitting. Then the pain becomes confused and disorganized, not

like the windedness of the runner or the leg burn of the biker but an

all-over, savage unpleasantness. As you pass the five-hundred-meter mark,

with three-quarters of the race still to row, you realize with dread

that you are not going to make it to the finish, but at the same time the

idea of letting your teammates down by not rowing your hardest is

unthinkable...Therefore, you are going to die. Welcome to this life."

-- Ashleigh Teitel

The Basics

Drag

Power

Impulse

Stroke

References