OARS rower returns from USRowing Rowfest National Championships with gold

Noelle Murray lost her passion for gymnastics five-and-one-half years ago. But she discovered a new one in the seventh grade after a friend introduced her to the Orlando Area Rowing Society’s Learn to Row Camp. 

Murray didn’t know what to expect, but “anything was better than gymnastics,” she said.

The Florida girl fell in love with the water and the sport. 

And this summer, her dedication proved fruitful.

Murray participated in Ready Set Row Elite’s summer camp Friday, June 19, to Thursday, July 15. There, Murray rowed with teammates who were strangers at the start of camp. But together, they coasted through the water of USRowing Rowfest National Championships Sunday, July 19. They earned gold in Women’s Youth 4+ 1,000-meter and bronze in Women’s Youth 4+ 2,000-meter. 

“We were really surprised with our results and how we did,” Murray said. “I’m really proud of them, and they were all super proud of the boat as a whole. I’m glad that we pulled through the way that we did.”

Their boat entered the race as RSR’s B boat, the second tier under A, but that ranking inspired Murray and her teammates.

“In my head, it was like ‘OK, it’s just two RSR boats, and I happen to be in one of them,’” she said. “I know the rest of the boat, since they could see who we were up against. … They were definitely thinking, ‘Oh we can pull faster. We can pull harder than this other team, than these other teams. Just because we have a B next to our name doesn’t mean that we’re any less strong than they are.’” 

Winning gold and bronze in the B boats reinforced all the work the girls had done throughout camp. They even started their gold-medal race in last place and had to claw their way back in the last 250 meters.

“I couldn’t tell where we were in the race because none of the boats were in my periphery, but I could hear them, and that made me get a little bit frustrated,” Murray said. “I just decided to do our sprint a little bit early.” 

The girls in the boat roomed together in Marietta College’s dorms. They quickly became close friends after the first day, which helped to develop their trust in one another on the water. 

Mental toughness was a major emphasis during the summer camp and helped the girls remain confident in themselves even as they began the race in dead last. It gave Murray a newfound understanding that she’ll take back with her as the Windermere High senior prepares for her final year with OARS. 

BREAKING MENTAL BLOCKS

RSR’s summer camp was no leisure summer activity. 

Murray said they woke at 5 a.m. seven days per week. Their days consisted of running 1 mile to the boathouse every morning for their first row of the day, returning around 9 a.m. for breakfast before they napped. After a quick shuteye, they would head to their second row, which ended around 2 p.m. They cleaned their rooms to pass the room checks at 8 p.m. before lights were shut off at 9:30 p.m. to prepare for the next day.

The two-a-day practices and rigid athletic schedule helped Murray prepare for the possibility of rowing in college. She saw her body could handle it and how quickly she, a non-runner, adapted to running every day. By the third day, running no longer was a struggle.

Murray said RSR’s coaches taught them when it comes to working out, how the athletes treat it and how they outwardly speak about it to other people can impact others’ mindsets. 

“Say you’re doing a 2K or you’re about to do a 2K, and you go and tell somebody, ‘Oh this 2K is about to be so difficult and hard,’” Murray said. “That person might have been super excited for the 2K, but now that you said that, it’s going to be super hard, they might start to get worried and that might affect their performance.” 

She learned how to properly speak to herself and others when discussing workouts.

“I will be taking that back to OARS,” Murray said. “I (want) to make sure I’m being more mindful about what I say around people and make sure my teammates are being more mindful as well.”