Hundreds of indoor rowers Race the Thames to support London Youth Rowing
58 teams from across the UK raised over £40,000 in the virtual fundraising challenge, running from 7–14 February
Organised by London Youth Rowing, the participating teams took part to fundraise for both London Youth Rowing’s (LYR) Active Row programme, as well as a charity of their choice. This year’s virtual Race the Thames event saw 464 participants take on the challenge, collectively covering 22,820 kilometers – a distance equivalent to rowing the length of the River Thames more than 15 times!
With 58 teams contributing to the event’s success, a total of 3,671 individual submissions were recorded, amounting to an impressive 4,319 hours of rowing.
Among the participating teams, the Great Britain Rowing Team (including Paralympic champion Frankie Allen and Olympic bronze medalist Becky Wilde) made a significant contribution, covering an impressive 540.88 km. The highest distance recorded came from Spinney Indoor Rowing Club, with an impressive 815.1km, followed by Zoom Ergos Wednesday Warriors who contributed a distance of 691.88 km.
CEO of LYR Matt Rostron said, “Race The Thames was a week full of determination, teamwork, and incredible effort from everyone involved. With over £40,000 raised so far, we can create even more opportunities for the young people we work with—helping them access rowing, develop key life skills, and reach their full potential.”
Olympic champion and LYR supporter Andrew Hodge said, “I can’t tell you how much impact the participating teams [have] – the LYR Active Row programme reaches around 5,000 kids each year. We work in about 130 schools between Leeds, Nottingham, London and Bristol and we aim to make a massive difference to them.”
Join Race The Thames 2026
Inspired to take on the challenge next year? Find out how to get involved in Race The Thames 2026 below.
