printable versionFighting cancer: Row, row, row the boat
BY MARGARITA GALLARDO
The “Dry Docs,” a crew of medical school physicians and researchers, practice for the Saturday regatta that will raise money for cancer research.
A group of medical school physicians and researchers will find out Saturday whether five weeks of early morning training sessions have been enough to turn them into a crack rowing team.
They'll be participating in the first Firefighters' Regatta at Lexington Reservoir in Santa Clara County. The goal of the event, sponsored by the Los Gatos Rowing Club, is to raise money for cancer research at Stanford.
"Initially, we were just going to make an appearance at the race and speak to the group, but then thought, maybe we should be in a boat," said Ron Levy, MD, the Robert K. and Helen K. Summy Professor in the School of Medicine, and the team's captain.
Levy and faculty and staff from the divisions of oncology and of cardiovascular medicine have been training each morning at 6:30 a.m at the Port of Redwood City with Jeff Nalty, coach of the men's crew team at Stanford. Nalty thought the race was a fantastic idea and wanted to help.
"Their progression is amazing. They didn't have any experience, but picked up rowing surprisingly well," Nalty said. "I think they're going to surprise a lot of people."
The Stanford team, known as the "Dry Docs," is the only academic boat in the race. They'll be up against nine other teams of firefighters and police officers from the Bay Area. There is a minimum contribution of $1,000 per boat to enter the race, and 100 percent of the net proceeds will go toward cancer research.
In addition to Levy, the Stanford team includes George Fisher, Wen Kai Weng, Greg Kanter, Tim Kuo and Dip Banerjee from oncology; Ed Alderman and Randy Vagelos from cardiovascular medicine; and Jeff Wachtel from the university president's office.
The race begins at 9 a.m., and concludes with an award ceremony at noon.