Mary Stone Rows in Head of the Charles at 86

One weekend every October, the Charles River comes alive with rowers from around the world in the most famous regatta this side of the Atlantic.

Standing with a short and petite frame, Mary “Liz” Stone doesn’t come off as a distinctive rower in this race, until you notice her snow-white curly hair. Stone is 86 years old, making her the oldest competing rower in this year’s Head of the Charles Regatta.

For the past 18 years, the California native has made it out without fail for this historical race. Her advanced age has put her in rare territory in which she has continuously shocked spectators with her impressive performances.

Stone is a two-time winner of the Head of the Charles, taking the first-place position for the Senior-Veteran Singles Women Division each time. Her back-to-back victories in 1997 and 1998 were the first two years in which the division existed. Last year, she came in second place behind 81-year-old Eve Green.

“I came up before hardly any women were in my category,” Stone said. “Then all groups of women started going out more and rowing.”

Stone’s rowing career extends past this one weekend in October, and her success follows close behind.

“I have a lot of medals in my basket,” she chuckled. “Some are more important to me than others, especially my two from the Head of the Charles.”

For many people, it’s not just Stone’s age that is surprising, but also her experience—or lack thereof. She started rowing at the ripe age of 65, when she retired from the Cardiac Blood Lab at Stanford Hospital.

Stone got interested in rowing almost by happenstance one day over 20 years ago, when she read an article in The San Francisco Chronicle about the Open Water Rowing Center (OWRC) in Sausalito, Calif. It might have been the sunny and warm weather of January or the first two lessons she took on the San Francisco Bay, but soon she saw her visits become far more regular.

“I found that if I wanted to be a good rower, I really had to put in the time,” Stone said. “I now had time to do that, and I would go three times a week.”

For the most part, Stone enjoys rowing leisurely, but she admits that she became pretty competitive once she picked it up. In her past, she was a member of an international group of women rowers. She also won herself a trip to Boston for the famous C.R.A.S.H.-B World Indoor Rowing Competition by qualifying “by accident” at a similar event at her boat club in San Francisco.

Stone’s involvement with the rowing community of her home in northern California has only grown, as she now works part-time as an equipment manager at OWRC. She is all-hands-on-deck, putting skates back in when they get knocked out by rocks, fixing oarlocks, and even offering unsolicited yet valuable rowing advice to younger members.

“Her experience running the lab has led her to have great skill looking after the equipment,” said long-time friend and fellow rower, Ellen Braithwaite.

“It’s all sort of problem solving, and that’s a fun thing to do,” Stone said.

Braithwaite and Stone met in the mid-1990s at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, where groups of adults were united through programs and camps directed toward outdoor sports. Their camaraderie on and off the water grew from there, and they will both be on the Charles this weekend.

“It is a pleasure to row with [Stone],” Braithwaite said. “She still has the beautiful rhythm and grace of the rowing stroke. And she has a very feisty, competitive spirit.”

Stone’s success doesn’t come from endless hours of training as much as natural talent and determination. Her schedule of working at OWRC two days a week, and its location an hour away from her home in Palo Alto, limits her ability to get on the water and practice.

“I haven’t had as much time on the water this year as I would have liked,” she said. “In the summertime, the fog and wind comes into the San Francisco Bay, so not every day was right for rowing. I have been out the last four weekends getting my stroke all lined up.”

Though Stone has traditionally relied on others for advice on the water, recently her guidance has spread to technology through the Apple application, “Coach’s Eye,” that comes on her iPad while she skulls. While she is in the Boston area, the Cambridge Rowing Club takes her in, lets her train, and even lends her a boat.

What guides her on race day, however, are the voices and cheers from above.

“Support on the shore from fellow rowers and spectators are the true inspiration,” Stone said. “They look down from that bridge and they yell, ‘Hey Mary Liz!’ and it means a lot.”

In addition to the support she receives, Stone keeps coming back for her love of the sport. Back home at the OWRC, she admits there never is a dull day.

Wadsworth Stone traces his sister’s love for rowing back to their father, who was on the Columbia crew team. Braithwaite believes it has more to do with her raw determination.

“She wants to keep on being an alive and vital person,” Braithwaite said. “A lot of older people come to give up when they meet adversity that comes with aging, but she just keeps on going. It’s part of what keeps her alive.”

Whatever may be the motivation, Stone continues to impress everyone she meets with her fearless dedication and strength.

“She is just a great inspiration to a lot of us,” Braithwaite said. “Her generosity is also something that needs to be admired because she is always willing to help people and make their experience on the water better.”

—Staff writer Tanner Skenderian can be reached at tannerskenderian@gmail.com.