STUDENT Esther Rich believes rowing is one of the reasons she has beaten an eating disorder.

The 19-year-old member of Corpus Christi College Boat Club had anorexia during her early teens, leaving her in hospital for nine months when she was 15.

Her weight dropped to about five stone – the average of a 10-year-old – and she could fit into children’s clothes for ages nine to 10.

Now Ms Rich, who is a healthier size eight to 10, is determined to give something back to the charity Beat, which has helped her and continues to support those with eating disorders.

The second year psychology student will row an impressive 180km from Oxford to London with her team of eight down the Thames on Sunday, June 23, over four days to raise more than £10,000. The team usually rows 15km during a training session.

Ms Rich, who is originally from Stafford, said it was her school friends who noticed she was not well. She said: “A lot of my friends were very worried and it was actually my friends who told my teachers that in the end. But at the time I felt quite isolated, that no-one really cares.”

Ms Rich was on the road to recovery following her hospital stay, during which she completed her GCSEs.

She said: “I think going away to university was pivotal – I could have gone either way.

“I think rowing helped me to go towards choosing to get better.

“It is an intensely physical sport, so you have to keep your strength up.

“Eating disorders are hugely under-acknowledged and – as I know first-hand – have devastating effects, physically and mentally.

“We are going to put ourselves under immense pain for a cause we truly believe in, and would love to raise as much money as possible.”

The students will start on the afternoon of June 23, passing through Henley and Windsor before finishing on the morning of Wednesday, June 26, at Putney Bridge in London – the starting line for the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race.

Ms Rich said: “It is going to be really tough.

“I think probably the exhaustion and the hand blisters are going to be the main issues.”

To sponsor the team, visit justgiving.com/londonrow