“Physical limitations only exist if you’re willing to find them.” That’s the philosophy of Mitch King, coxswain for River City Rowing Club in Sacramento, CA. Every day he does countless things that doctors said were impossible when he was a kid diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. Mitch doesn’t call himself a disability advocate, doesn’t want to be an inspiration, and would rather folks didn’t try to tiptoe around his disability. We talk balancing coxing with graduate school, developing a coxing style, team building, motivation on the erg, and shattering expectations.

Concept2 oars and indoor rowing machines are nearly synonymous with rowing today. But it all started in the early 1970s with brothers Dick and Pete Dreissigacker messing around with carbon fiber and fiberglass in a kitchen hoping to develop a better oar - their “secret weapon” for finding more speed on the water.

As a 5’1, 108lb college freshman, Rachel Le Mieux was literally picked up and placed in a coxswain seat. Today she’s the head coach of Martha’s Moms, a masters women’s team in Seattle, WA. She’s also a USRowing referee, FISA umpire, and Chair of the USRowing safety committee.

Tara and Rachel ask the analytical guys behind Science of Rowing –Will Ruth, Blake Gourley, and Joe DeLeo – to reminisce about high school regattas, injuries, and finding direction in life outside the boat. They also tell us about their November initiative to support the A Most Beautiful Thing Inclusion Fund.

Plus the Best Part of Your Rowing Week calls from grey whale-spotting Rod Sternagle, South African club founder and rower Val Blacking, and masters rower Jen Huffman, granddaughter of Joe Rantz.

Kevin Goyena and Jason Oliver are Seattle-based masters rowers, entrepreneurs, and rowing evangelists. We find out about their progression from being adult LTR students, to getting hooked on racing, to finding community through developing holistic rowers. Jason tells us his motivation behind bringing a GoPro in the boat and a drone to regattas; and we ask Kevin about creating iCrew, a team management app to make magnet board sign-ins a thing of the past.

Plus, the Best Part of My Rowing Week call-ins from masters rower Sarah Copeland, Coach Claudia Loeber, Team USA para-rower Pearl Outlaw, writer and trainer Will Ruth, and 2-time gold medalist coxswain Mary Whipple.