On Sunday 27 September the awesome community that is Shiplake Vikings Rowing Club came together to celebrate, to remember, and to honour one of our own.
Vikings coach Jeremy Laming was a phenomenal athlete and the visionary creator of so many local sporting events. It seemed only appropriate that paying our respects would involve running our own triathlon.
Row, ride, run
Swimming in the Thames was sensibly replaced by an initial rowing phase, easy enough for the Viking girls but no mean feat for their brave parents who stepped up and rowed the 1,000m course in single sculls.
A 5km mountain bike stage took us in circles around the college Phillimore playing fields, and was topped off by a 2.5km run along the towpath, looping back through the college grounds to finish back at the boathouse.
Highlights from the day
A whopping £1,750 raised
There were hot drinks and home baked goods galore on offer, with all donations and entry fees being donated to Thames Valley Air Ambulance, who had swiftly responded to Jeremy’s accident, and Sobell House Hospice, who had afforded him wonderful care in his final days. A whopping £1,750 was raised.
A lasting legacy: the “Jeremy Laming”
In a separate fundraising venture, Jeremy’s cycling club, Hart Evolution, had raised £2,000, which Vikings has very gratefully put towards the purchase of a Kanghua coxless quad (boat!) from Shiplake College. It is now proudly renamed “Jeremy Laming”, a lasting legacy of a truly great man.
Our thanks go to everyone who rowed, rode, ran, baked, marshalled and donated on the day.