Rowing to Two World Records
Graduate student Amanda Lea Miracle can now add world record holder to her already long list of accomplishments: 4.0 GPA, Presidential Award Scholarship, Ford Scholarship, graduate teaching assistantship and several published research articles. On January 17 and 18, Miracle set the women’s world record for longest continual row on an erg, or rowing, machine at 25 hours non-stop—with only an allotted 10-minute break per hour—rowing for a total of 176,766 meters. In doing so, she also set the world record for the individual 24-hour row in the heavyweight women (age 20-29) category, rowing for a total of 170,425 meters.
Although Miracle just started rowing in the spring of 2003, she showed the same dedication to the sport as she does her academic goals. When she wasnÂ’t working on her M.A. in Historical Studies (she plans on beginning Ph.D. studies this fall, concentrating on the history of women, children and the American family), she trained every day for six to eight hours. In the summer, her day began with a commute to Annapolis for two hours of morning training with the Annapolis Rowing Club, followed by two hours on an erg, and then evening practice with the UMBC Crew club.
“She is a remarkable person about whom her coaches, myself and her fellow rowers are very proud,” says Crew faculty advisor Lou Cantori. “She exemplifies the personal modesty and high individual motivation of the UMBC rower.”
For Miracle, the 25-hour row was a way of balancing her incredibly demanding academic life—she wanted a “big athletic goal” to balance her “big academic goal.” In addition to the physical training, she did a lot of research and planning. Miracle meticulously planned out a schedule which detailed what and when to eat and drink. Her support team, which included friends, fellow rowers and her coaches, Evan Rea and Renee Foard, made sure that Miracle followed her schedule and provided moral support. “Evan was there for 18 hours, and Renee for 14,” says Miracle. “I really could not have done it without them. I may have been the one bouncing back and forth like a ping pong ball, but it was really a group effort.”
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