All Systems Row
All Systems Row are a six woman team setting themselves a 35 day target for the race, raising money for Renewable World.
Visit their website here: www.allsystemsrow.co.uk
Charlie Cooper
Age: 21
From: Portsmouth
Years Rowing: 8
Club: Bexhill Rowing Club
I was born in East Sussex and graduated from the University of Plymouth in 2020. I have recently moved to Portsmouth to start my career as an NHS Physiotherapist which has been quite a challenge after being thrown in the deep end with Covid. This experience has had a big impact on me and I have become mentally stronger as a result.
I started rowing in the gym when I was 11 with my dad and through competing in several indoor rowing competitions was invited to join Bexhill Rowing Club. Since the first moment I went out in a boat I realised how dull erging is and was desperate to spend as much time on the water as possible! My proudest moment in a boat was winning at Womens Eights Head of the River Race in my first year at university (I cried!).
I generally love anything outdoors, from sea swimming and paddle-boarding to walks and runs in the countryside.
Despite having never participated in a challenge like this before, I'm sure it will be an incredible life experience as well as extremely mentally and physically hard. But nothing worth doing is easy, right?
Jess Plail
Age: 33
From: Tunbridge Wells
Years Rowing: 10
Club: Bexhill Rowing Club
I lived in Bexhill most of my younger years before going to Exeter Uni to study Sport and Exercise Science, followed by having a Sports Massage business and finally retraining as a Physician Associate. I now work in the Orthopaedics department at Tunbridge Wells Hospital.
I have always had a competitive sporting spirit. My first challenge was walking 100 miles in 5 days across rugged terrain in Cumbria raising money for Prostate Cancer UK. I was later inspired to try rowing by a fellow colleague who always had great things to say about it and I’ve not looked back since. My proudest achievements have been winning the gold medal in the ladies open pair at the British Rowing Offshore Championships and Beach Sprints in 2019 and later that year winning the Ladies Senior Open at the CARA South Coast Championships in Dartmouth.
When I’m not rowing, I enjoy walking the dogs, cycling, spending time with friends and family and generally anything outside! I am excited to be able to take on such a huge personal challenge both mentally and physically and I look forward to everything it will bring!
Andrea Harwood
Age: 45
From: Bexhill, East Sussex
Years rowing: 0
Club: Bexhill Runners and Triathletes
Originally from Northern Ireland, I moved to Nottinghamshire and represented the county as captain of the junior hockey team before studying French at Newcastle University, with a stint working as a ski guide in the Alps.
On graduating, I cycled 800 miles through England, before managing teams in West and Central Africa in the aid and development sector. My first expedition many years ago, was to Zimbabwe with Raleigh International, then I was on a team researching a tropical disease in Indonesia. I have completed 6 ultramarathons, including 100 miles on the North Downs. This year I am running the length of the Lake District in a day.
Married 18 years, I have 4 children and spent 3 years living in Yemen before the war. I am a Social Worker with children seeking asylum in the UK. I am excited about becoming a rower and hopefully a world record holder.
Lia Evans
Age: 22
From: Bexhill
Club: Bexhill Rowing Club
A physiotherapist in profession and keen charity fundraiser, I like to physically challenge myself; anything from a skydive to the 3 Peaks Challenge, raising over £1500 for good causes so far. Additionally, I feel strongly about conservation and spent my university summer volunteering aboard a sea vessel and teaching in Madagascar.
To date, nothing has taught me more about my mental resilience than working as a respiratory physiotherapist on intensive care during the pandemic. I am the first from my family to qualify from university and am proud to have been able to step up and help during COVID-19. I thank ESHT for their continuing support and Bexhill rowing club for keeping me fit and focused throughout this time.
I am predominantly a horse rider but with a change in circumstances I have been able to fully commit to personal improvement in my newfound hobby. Combining my love for the sea and training with determined and likeminded people, this is the beginning of an exciting new era and an ultimate mental and physical test of my training.
Steph Toogood
Age: 51
Years Rowing: 5
Club: Bexhill Rowing Club
I am from Massachusetts, USA where I first rowed at University on the Charles River about 34 years ago. I moved to the UK in 2000 and married a Brit, we have a 13-year-old son.
I work as a NeuroPhysio with acquired brain injury survivors. It is a job I find stimulating and rewarding.
I rediscovered rowing 4 years ago, but this time on the sea. I absolutely love it and it has given me a new lease on life- training with rowers of all ages, pushing myself beyond what I thought was possible. I am thrilled about taking on this challenge with 5 strong women and I can’t wait to take in the gorgeous British coastal landscape along the way.
Fiona Jamie
Age: 62
Years Rowing: 4
Club: Shoreham Rowing Club
I come from Kent, but have been living in Brighton for the last 28 years. I studied Industrial Engineering at University and have an MBA, but latterly I have been working as a Sports Massage Therapist . I discovered rowing about 35 years ago when I lived in Peterborough and rowed for a few years before moving to London. Life and work made rowing difficult so running was my fitness fix for a few years. I started competing in triathlons in my 40’s and managed to race in the World and European age group championships in Madeira and Holland respectively. My best achievement in triathlon was winning a silver medal in the National age group championships. I have done Beachy Head marathon a few times and cycled the South Downs Way in one day about 5 times. I have a little experience in ocean rowing having signed up for a charity in 2019 to row across the Mediterranean from Ibiza to Barcelona (unfortunately the weather interfered and we were only able to row from Ibiza to Majorca). My lockdown achievement was to get the British record for indoor rowing for the marathon distance (42,195m) for my age group in August 2020 and then beat my own record in December 2020 only to have it taken from me in early 2021! C’est la vie!
I am so happy to be part of this amazing team of women. We will be pushed to our limits mentally and physically, but what an enormous achievement to cross the finish line in London having experienced a multitude of different daily challenges.
