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From dawn to dusk: Inside the grit and camaraderie of the North Suburban Crew
Meet the masters. They are a local rowing crew made up of women, who range in age from late 40s to late 60s.
CHICAGO - Meet the masters.
They are a local rowing crew made up of women, who range in age from late 40s to late 60s.
Kara Pellaton is a former triathlete and this will be her fourth season with the North Suburban Crew.
"I got into this at the encouragement of one of our teammates here, who I knew through triathlon. My son was a rower in high school and I thought it was a beautiful sport," said Pellaton.
Team member Peg Corboy said they are up before dawn and on the water at the Dammrich Rowing Center, either indoors in a rowing tank or on the water outside under the cover of darkness.
"What keeps us coming back is the camaraderie. There's nothing like being on a team with like-minded people who enjoy working hard, getting dirty, getting up early, rowing in the dark," said Corboy.
The team practices four days a week. However, when they get closer to the race, practices are five days a week.
"You never kind of blow off rowing because your boats waiting for you, and you can't let the other people down. That's a motivator," said Corboy.
But their season highlights are motivation as well.
"We have the gold medal for our master national championship in our 60-plus age group," said team member Marcia Krause.
"Age does not matter as far as our athletic pursuits,' said Pellaton.
And yes, they are rowing right along with the youngsters.
"What really got me excited about rowing is you feel very relevant again. The collegiate rowers are there and you're rowing right alongside them, so you don't feel like you're too old for anything. You feel like you're part of the action," said Corboy. "I must say, we have just as much fun when we don't win. We come off the water thinking, ‘oh what are we gonna do?’ How can we do this better?'"
And this year, there's no doubt that they will.
First up, catch them on the water July 12 and 13 at the Chicago Sprints on the Lincoln Park Lagoon. Then, they'll head to the Super Bowl of racing: Head of the Charles.
And they're ready to row their way into a string of gold medals again this season.
"This group of women works really hard. We work hard in the off-season so we can do better when we are in season and we are willing to do things to make ourselves better every single day," said Pellaton.