Daniel Ugas and other Belen rowers move their craft away from the Tennessee River after a practice run.

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Thirteen-year-old Marin Parisi's hands are covered in blisters - proof that she spends three hours a day, five days a week practicing with her Sarasota, Fla., rowing team.

But she shrugs the blisters away; she still loves rowing.

"Right when you are trying to pass a boat and you have to fight for that spot, it's really tough and it's really intense," she said. "But the minute you come through the finish line and you know you had a good row - that's like the best feeling in the world."

Marin raced in Chattanooga on Saturday during the Head of the Hooch Rowing Regatta, which attracts nearly 15,000 rowers, spectators and support personnel from all over the world.

Hundreds of spectators lined the riverside Saturday to cheer on their favorite crews. Brian and Debbie Umbarger traveled to Chattanooga from Kansas City, Kan., to watch their daughter row for the University of Kansas. They try to get to most of her rowing competitions.

"You come a long way and wait a long time to say, 'Here they come and there they go,'" Debbie Umbarger said. "But they put a lot of time and effort into that 'Here they come and there they go.' The attractions are really nice for people from out of town."

See complete coverage in Sunday's Times Free Press.