Recovering from 1000km row for charity

By Otago Daily Times | Posted: Tuesday October 19, 2021

Ben Mason reckons he will have to spend the next week or so learning how to stand up straight again after rowing more than 1000km along the North Island coastline.

The 19-year-old University of Otago commerce student and New Zealand rowing representative finished his 20-day marathon row yesterday, which raised about $21,000 for breast cancer research.

‘‘I’m feeling pretty good, all things considered — just a bit tired and sore.

‘‘I’m better than I was about a week into the trip.’’

He said the voyage began in Auckland and went up as far as Kerikeri, and then back again.

‘‘We went up to the Bay of Islands and spent a few days rowing around up there, looking at the different bays and visiting different towns, and then making our way back down the coast through all the bays.’’

‘‘It was a pretty cool feeling when I came around the last corner into Half Moon Bay [in Auckland]. I was pretty stoked to have completed it.

‘‘I was also excited because it meant I could finally take a day off rowing.’’

He said he spent almost every hour of daylight rowing, only stopping to eat.

‘‘It was gruelling. I’ve never experienced anything like it.

‘‘Normally when you’re rowing, it’s over in a couple of minutes.

‘‘The toughest part was that it was so repetitive — you never really got a break.

‘‘It was also pretty tough mentally, waking up each morning and knowing the clock has reset and you have to get the kilometres in again.’’

Thoughts of his mother, Sonia, helped push him through the physical and mental challenges.

‘‘There were some days when the weather was just terrible. I’d be thinking there were other places I’d much rather be.

‘‘I just had to remember why I was doing it — that kept me going.’’

The fundraising trip was close to Mr Mason’s heart because his mother died of breast cancer in 2007, when he was 6 years old.

Mr Mason said he was looking forward to getting back to his life at the University of Otago.

‘‘I just have to shake the sea legs off and try and get back into a normal routine now.’’

Thank you to the Otago Daily Times for the use of this article.