GRP Race at the Green Mountain Head Regatta

Kevin Meador winning his second quart of Maple Syrup

Meador and Madden winning another quart of Vermont maple syrup

Forbes and Lado also brining home the syrup

Last Updated: 30.Sep.2019

Yesterday morning the Green Racing Project Rowers drove just about as far as one can from Craftsbury while still staying in Vermont. The annual Green Mountain Head Regatta held in Putney was on the agenda for the first official head race of the fall season for much of our team. Consisting of a 2.5km upstream leg followed by stake turn around two buoys then a 2.5km downstream leg back to the start line, the GMH is a well known race within the North East, drawing a large number of contestants from the Eastern Seaboard.

The GRP athletes had a great regatta with top finishes all around. Kevin Meador started the day off for the GRP with the number one seed, defending his first place finish in 2018 with the. He was quickly followed by Nathan Lado, Wes Vear, Lucas Bellows, and Andy Raitto. In true Vermont fashion, the prizes for racers consisted of a quart of maple syrup, a gallon of apple cider, and a bag of apples. With syrup on the line, Meador retained his title, finishing in a time of 19:39.6. Raitto placed fourth with a time of 19:59.1 shortly followed by Vear in fifth with a time of 19:59.9. Lado and Bellows rounded out the GRP men in 6th and 8th places, respectively, and times of 20:01.7 and 20:06.9. On the women's side, Jen Forbes finished 7th overall with a time of 21:56.5 and Bridget Schodorf finished 16th in 22:47.2. It was a great day of racing for the team as they get back on the water and their rowing legs back under them after their end of summer racing vacations and family visits. The Center's sculling director Troy Howell also raced, finishing in 6th in the Men's 45-54 age division with a time of 21:29.3. Our Fleet Manager, Erika Sloan raced in the open Women's division and finished 26th with a time of 23:59.3.

Several of our team then hot seated into doubles to race the course again, with Meador joining Danny Madden to take home another quart of maple syrup by winning the Men's Open 2x in a time of 18:13.9. In arguably the most important event of the day, reigning champs of the Mixed Open 2x, Forbes and Lado once again dominated the field with a time of 19:11.6. Sloan revived her Middlebury Alumni Mixed 2x with Thomas Phifer and placed 4th overall. 

It was a beautiful day and full of lots of fun and competitive racing. The GRP will now start gearing up for the always anticipated Head of the Charles Regatta in October. Until then, it's time to start building the aerobic bases with next year in their sights.

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