Head of the River Race 2009
11.00am Saturday 21 March 2009
Mortlake Stone
www.horr.co.uk
London's Head of the River Race in March is one of the city's longest running sporting traditions.
This spring, more than 400 crews from around the globe will take to the waters of London's famous Thames River to compete in this historic boating event.
The Head of the River Race (HORR) was started in 1926 by Cambridge and Tideway oarsman, Steve Fairbairn. It was conceived as a way for crews to practice long rows during winter, in preparation for the summer regatta.
The annual event now sees hundreds of boats, each manned by eight men, row over the 4.25 mile (6.8km) championship course from Mortlake to Putney.
It is customary for the previous year's winner to start first. They are followed at 10-second intervals by other crews in finishing order and finally, the new entries start in alphabetical order.
The race sees crews from all over the world competing, from Australia to Austria.