Q - Power

Indoor Rowing Team

Clare Busst

Hi my name is Clare, known as "CBUSST" on the Concept2 UK forum.

Why am I spending hours now on the erg? Well, I am not new to sport but I am new to this sport. I have never been a professional sports person or in fact top in a particular sport. However I have a competitive nature which drives me and keeps me focused.

At school I was a complete tomboy and played football and did the occasional cross country event. However when I left school I found makeup/alcohol and partying. Luckily this did not last too long and I decided to get fit again, so I started playing for a local football team and got keen on running. Unfortunately I had a bad tackle in a match and ruptured my cruciate ligament so my football days were over. It also took a year to get this fixed, and in the meantime whilst waiting for the operation I found the swimming pool and started putting in the miles in the pool. I found that as long as I was training and keeping my fitness up, I was happy.

Once my knee was mended I starting clocking up the miles running and decided to run the London Marathon. In 2003 I ran my first marathon and at the finish line remember saying never again. However in 2004 I got a place through the ballot so I decided to have another go. However this year was different - I found out 2 weeks before the big day that I was nearly 3 months pregnant. My doctor said to still go for it. That’s all I needed, so I ran. Perhaps this says a little something about me. I am goal orientated - once I set a goal or target I will just go for it. I went from running to triathlons. This was a great sport for me and I truly enjoyed it. I enjoyed all three disciplines and I was doing really well in my age group in local events. Over the years I have completed in lots of triathlons: a half-ironman in Monaco, another in Weymouth, the Three Peaks and numerous other challenges.

Unfortunately even though I was enjoying both the hours of training and the sport itself, my knee was not. I found myself on my third knee operation with the doctor explaining to me that I need to stop running. In fact he said stop sport altogether - I laughed and asked for a new knee.

Below: Clare becoming world champion in 2014 (LW30-39)

Personal Best legend

Initially of course it annoyed and frustrated me, but I was not going to let that stop me exercising and so I starting swimming and cycling long distances. I have done lots of sea swimming and spent hours cycling, including various 100 mile events. It is important that whatever sport I do my son and work come first. I have dabbled in rowing over the year, largely because every time I got on the rower it hurt, so I knew it was good for me (an approach that is already changing). I also did a couple of months at a local rowing club to try rowing on the water. I really enjoyed it, but I quickly found that this did not fit in with my son and work - it was just too time consuming. So I focused on my cycling, swimming and gym work.

In January 2013 I was on the erg in the gym at my work. After I had finished a friend who works in the same building as me asked if I had ever competed before or whether I was part of a team. I had no idea what he was talking about. That is where it started and since January 2013 I have been rowing and rowing and rowing. In Bristol 2013 I did my first 2000m race in 7:21. I was happy with my result, but quickly came to appreciate how much of a novice I was compared to the others in Bristol on that day. I believe that I have more to give.

Luckily for me Q-Power team have offered a place in the team and in just in the last few weeks I have learned so much. I am down to 7:14 and am training hard for the World Championships in Boston in February 2014.