Once a highly competitive runner who competed in 12 marathons, including the prestigious Boston Marathon, Nancy McCormick (a member of UNMC’s Engage Wellness Medical Fitness Center) needed a new challenge when a knee operation forced her to find a new outlet.
She discovered rowing as an exercise alternative and an obvious question came to mind:
Do they have age-group standings for rowing, too?
They do, and McCormick is the current national recordholder for the 85-89 age group, a record she set in 2020. She just turned 90 on Jan. 17, which means she’s in a new age group. So, there’s a new record to break – and this time, she’s going for the international record, as well.
On Feb. 8, McCormick will take part in the Creighton University Rowing team’s 10th Annual 2K Challenge. Creighton Coach Daniel Chipps and his team will be on hand for the event and also will document McCormick’s official record attempt.
“Creighton holds this event every year to raise money for their rowing program,” McCormick said.
It was at the Creighton event in 2020 that McCormick broke the national 80-89 age-group record.
“I missed the international record by only a few seconds,” she said. “The national record? I cut it in half.”
The age group divisions have since changed to five-year increments, but McCormick still holds the 85-89 U.S. record.
McCormick now has a rowing machine at home. It was a gift from her late husband, Peter Brodkey, and the new record attempt, she said, is in tribute to him. She also is training with Bella Daugherty, a certified rowing instructor, at the Jewish Community Center. She comes to Engage Wellness two or three days a week for cross training, including weights, flexibility and group classes, and because she enjoys being part of the community at the center.
“She is kind of an institution,” said Meg Davis, program manager at Engage Wellness. “She has our support here, and she’s really embraced all that we have to offer – stretching classes, line dancing classes, fitness. She’s been here long enough to be familiar with the equipment and do her own thing, but at the same time, when she wants or needs to do something different, she will ask one of our wellness specialists to modify her exercise to continue to challenge her.”
And for breaking records? Her preferred venue is Creighton University’s 2K Challenge (which still is open for registration), and the team is looking forward to seeing her there this year.
It was a Creighton assistant coach who trained McCormick for the 2020 record, and although she’s now working with Daugherty at JCC, she still calls the team on occasion to ask for advice. She spoke with Chipps just recently to check the weight requirements for the record attempt, as the Creighton team will collect the necessary data to make the attempt official.
“I’ve known Nancy a long time. It is spectacular that she’s still doing this,” Chipps said. “In athletics, whether you’re a super-senior or an elite athlete, records are records – and they are made to be broken. We’ll be out in full force rooting her on.”
McCormick’s goal in the age group is to row the equivalent of 1,000 meters in less than 5:56.9 for the national record and less than 5:27.1 for the world record.
As with her Creighton supporters, McCormick has found a welcoming community at Engage Wellness.
“Peter died in October,” she said softly. “I want to do it for him. It helps me to come here and see people, the friends that I’ve met. When I was rowing the first time, everybody here was behind me. A lot of them came and watched at Creighton. It was nice.”
McCormick said she thought about the new age-group record as soon as she turned 90.
“Racers race,” she said.