Watch: 'This is not for the faint-hearted...' - Adi Roche on mastering the art of rowing

Three members of the Lee Rowing Club’s Lady Masters tell Martha Brennan how a sport entered later in life has helped their mental and physical wellbeing

'Maybe I was being ageist': At 61, Adi Roche never thought she could pick up rowing again. Four years later, it's become one of her greatest passions. Picture: Larry Cummins

It’s never too late to row, according to the Lady Masters from Cork’s Lee Rowing Club. The 16-strong team is one of the biggest in the club, ranging in age from mid-40s to 65. Many had never rowed before joining. For those that had, it was a welcome return to a sport that tests body and mind.

The eldest member of the team, at 65, is Adi Roche, founder of the Chernobyl Children’s Project. She joined the Lady Masters four years ago after a decades-long interval from rowing. Since then, it’s become one of her greatest passions - and a welcome break from the daily stresses of work.

“I started rowing in 1968 and finished in 1972. For the intervening 47 years, I was absolutely immersed in work,” Adi says. “I used to look wistfully out at the River Lee from our office and watch all of the teams rowing and get a little tuck in my heart, never thinking somebody as old as me could go back.

“Maybe I was being ageist against myself. It’s a societal thing. If you get to a certain age you think you can’t do certain things, but there’s nothing to confine you from doing whatever it is you want to do other than your mind.”

Soon, Adi found herself at a charity event where someone told her about masters: men and women from the ages of 27 to 80 plus who row. “That was on a Friday night and on the Monday I went down and asked if I could join.”

There has been an increasing interest in masters rowing over the past decade, particularly among women. The benefits are endless: it’s a full-body workout that enhances the respiratory system, builds muscle, and burns nearly 600 calories an hour. Unlike other aerobic sports, however, rowing is low in impact on the joints, with a study by the Croatian Medical Journal showing that masters rowers only experienced about two injuries per 1,000 training sessions, none of which took them out of training.

A 2004 University of Toronto study also found that rowing is ideal for female masters, who highly ranked the sport for intellectual challenge, relationship building, and confidence.

No substitutes

For Adi, rowing ticks all of such boxes. “It’s probably the most strenuous sport. You have to be on the extreme end of fitness. In rowing, there is no halftime. There are no substitutes. If you break a finger or something bleeds, you have to keep going. But that’s what’s exciting about it.”

The team is currently training three times a week after returning to the water this month for the first time since December. Adi says that every second of the sometimes “gruelling” training is worth it.

“There’s this tremendous sense of taking off and leaving everything behind. That feeling of the water carrying you is magical. It’s the best natural high you could get,” she says. “Once you get that synchronicity and harmony in the boat, it’s almost like it’s humming. There is a particular sound when the oars are hitting the water as one. There is a moment of elation in human beings in total harmony.”

Synchronicity between the team is something Adi often goes back to when describing the Lady Masters. “It’s all about friendship, loyalty, and dedication. If one of those elements is off-kilter, you will not row well. The boat is ultra-sensitive to the slightest disconnect. It was only when I went back as a mature adult that I really realised how unique it is to any other sport.”

Adi (third from the left) first began rowing in Clonmel Rowing Club in 1968.

Adi originally rowed with Clonmel Rowing Club growing up. Her first competition was against her current club at age 14. “I spent some of the most wonderful years of my life on the River Suir but rowing on the River Lee is very different for me. Rowing from Blackrock up to The Maltings and going under all of the amazing bridges, seeing the beautiful old houses, it’s just incredible because you really see the history of Cork,” she says. “Rowing is like a bug, once you catch it, there’s no getting out.”

All-round fitness

During the last lockdown, the team did a weight lifting session on Zoom every week, l along with a HIIT class, a core session, and various other tasks on land. Adi even practices her balance by standing on one leg whilst cooking dinner. At aged 65, she’s never been in better shape.

“I’ve never been fitter. I used to have a back problem as well but rowing has totally healed that. The mental health aspect has also been one of the golden plusses for me as someone who works 24/7. I have a lot of difficult things running around in my head but the second you get into the boat, you cannot think of anything but your next stroke,” she says.

“I think back to the first day I went back to rowing after 47 years when we got pushed off out into the water. It was a very liberating feeling. It’s like a form of therapy for me. Before this, I did nothing but focus on my charity work. I was constantly in that mode and thought there was no time for anything like a sport.

“But I swear once I got pushed into the water for the first time after all those years, my heart was singing. I needed it to breathe, and it has brought real peace to my life.”

A different zone

Sinead Kingston, a 48-year-old radiographer living in Glanmire, joined the club two years ago after more than 20 years off the water. Being a part of the club has especially helped her after a stressful year at work. “When you get into the boat, you just focus completely and switch off. You don’t even see people go by. You’re in a different zone,” she says.

“We were so excited to get back on the water this month. It didn’t feel like we hadn’t seen each other for so long because we saw each other online but it’s so much better seeing people in person.”

Sinead originally began rowing in her early teens in Dungarvan and later rowed for her college in London for three years. However, she didn’t have time to commit to a club when she moved to Cork after qualifying at age 21.

NO 'OAR'DINARY SPORT: Rowing has become a huge part of life for Sinead Kingston, Adi Roche, and Caroline O'Halloran. Picture: Larry Cummins

“There were over 20 years where I didn’t row. I was cycling and walking, which kept me fit, but rowing is a different kind of training. It’s intense,” she says. “Two years ago I was watching the Oxford and Cambridge race on television with my mother. I was looking at the river that I knew so well and said: ‘Gosh, I miss it’.”

At age 46, she picked up an oar again at the Lee Rowing Club. “I was quite nervous but once I got into the boat it all came back. I had big blisters on my hands and I had to get my fitness back again but it was great. I’ve never been fitter,” she says.

“We have two great coaches [Dan Crowley and Mick O’ Riordan] who are so enthusiastic. They have us all organised before we get down there. The girls are brilliant as well. We have a lovely community and it’s so motivating because you never want to let the crew down. You don’t have to have rowed before either. There are only a few of us who rowed when we were younger.”

‘We’re all ages’

Caroline O’Halloran’s family joined the club seven years ago when her twin daughters were starting secondary school. Caroline volunteered at events and was eventually appointed club secretary. However, it wasn’t until 18 months ago, at age 49, that she got into a boat herself.

“I had never rowed before. I was standing on the banks organising as club secretary,” she says. “I used to look at the kids and saw the commitment they gave and what they got out of it in terms of their mental and physical fitness. I was so involved as well that I was just naturally drawn to it. I like fitness and challenge and rowing is a challenge.”

Like Sinead and Adi, Caroline’s never been fitter. “We’ve really upped our ante since lockdown. Our fitness has really improved, mentally and physically. We’re a really focused group and everyone is very committed,” the mother of three says.

'You can row up to any age': Caroline O'Halloran had never rowed before age 49. Picture: Larry Cummins

“I saw what my kids had gone through so came in with my eyes open though. My son trains four days a week and gets up at 7am at the weekends. People walk down the marina on lovely bright days and think they’d like to give rowing a go but if you’re to be a true rower you go out on a wet, windy, dark, October morning. If you get something out of that then you’ll stick with it.”

Caroline says the technique was the hardest thing to master when she started, but that anyone who is willing to commit can do it. “You really have to work very hard but it stayed with my kids forever,” she says. Her daughter Aoife, now 18, even coxes for her mum’s team from time to time.

“We’re all ages and come from all different backgrounds. Some of us are single, some are married, some have kids. We all support each other and we don’t let each other down. It’s a balancing act to get to training but we all appreciate the importance of fitness. There are huge benefits for young and old. You can row up to any age. It’s well worth giving a go.”

Good for the body and mind

The reason rowing is such a beneficial sport is the team element, according to the Irish rowing squad’s lead physiotherapist Sinead Murphy.

“What I like about rowing is that it gathers people, particularly groups of women. It gets people in a team environment which means they're more likely to commit to regular exercise. It can be quite challenging for those who might have kids, but you'll carve time for exercise if you have to be somewhere with your crew. You also have the social side. If you feel like it's your place to belong you're more likely to keep it up,” Sinead says.

“It’s brilliant. You're getting outdoors, getting aerobic exercise, and you're also getting that sense of team that you don't get as an older adult and the mental benefits of that are just as important as the physical side of it.” 

The Lady Masters, with Adi Roche heading up the bow, at their first training session post-lockdown. Picture: Larry Cummins

Sinead’s clinic, Performance Physiotherapy Cork, treats some of the rebel county’s masters rowers. Over the past few years, she has seen a big increase in women starting the sport - especially among those who have children.

“I've seen women who had never taken part in any sport before joining clubs because their kids are rowing and they're loving it," she says. "The thought of getting into a boat might seem quite daunting but the clubs around Cork are really good for teaching novice and new rowers."

Sinead says that the sport is particularly beneficial for those going through menopause. "Rowing is brilliant for the muscular and skeletal system but also for hormonal health. Physical exercise is really beneficial for women going through menopause because it helps with hormonal imbalances.

"It's also low impact. Once you can master the range of motion for the sport there are no real surprises for the joints. If you gradually build your range, it's a really beneficial exercise for the body and mind."