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Cole was sure rowing could fill that need. The people who do it usually are up at dawn to enjoy the sunrise while they are working their bodies hard and communing with nature.

Susan Dorn is 50-years-old and for the first time in her life has found an escape from the daily grind.

Last year, Dorn, of University Park, joined the Washington Rowing School, which teaches rowing on the Anacostia River, and fell in love with the sport. She now rows at dawn five days a week.

School founder and instructor Cynthia Cole started the Washington Rowing School two years ago and teaches six days a week in Bladensburg on the Anacostia River. Cole teaches beginners, advanced beginners and intermediate classes, each of which comprises about three to four students.

"I adore rowing and I think that people desperately need activities that are fun, but give them good physical exercise," Cole said. "I think I completely understand when people have a hard time constantly going to the fitness center. You need something you enjoy doing."

The school teaches two kinds of rowing: In sculling, rowers use two oars. In sweeping, rowers use both hands for one oar. Among Cole's students, eight are scullers and five are sweepers.

Cole starts beginners off with a five-day "Learn to Row" class that teaches students the basics.

The instructor and her pupils do not do too much competing, but she hoped to enter some contests in the fall. Mostly, she and her pupils are just focused on enjoying the sport recreationally.

"The being outside is enjoyable," Cole said. "The whole activity is enjoyable. It's something you can do for exercise and do it regularly and stay with it. I wanted to share that with people. There is a need for that. I like to provide the opportunity for that for more people."

Cole just completed a two-week course with teenagers, some of whom are now interested in joining their high school teams, she said. The teenage group rowed in the Anacostia Port Towns Paddlesport Regatta July 19.

Dorn had never participated in any sporting activity in her life before she picked up rowing. After, upon seeing an ad for lessons, Dorn tried to persuade her teenage daughter to start rowing, she decided to try it for herself.

For five days straight Dorn took Cole's "Learn to Row" class that taught her all the basics, from how to hold the oars to actually rowing out on the water.

Dorn now takes intermediate level classes at the school five days a week at 5:30 a.m. and is even thinking about competing in the fall.

"It really is being able to clear your mind of anything else and just be physical," Dorn said. "It's an intense experience that way and I love that intensity. It's weird to for someone who has never been athletic to come and to get that desire."

Rowing has even motivated Dorn to eat more healthful foods in order to increase her rowing speed.

"Rowing required me to have an absolute intensity of physical fitness," Dorn said. "I had to be so mindful and aware of where my body was for balance. It removed my thoughts of any other struggles or conflicts, any grocery lists in my mind. My mind had to be clear and that is an experience I don't really have often."

Washington Rowing School

Classes: Learn to Skull: 6:30 a.m., 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. 5 days a week

Learn to Row: 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Saturdays

Cost: $200 for five outings. Group rates are available.

Contact: E-mail info@washingtonrowingschool.com or call 202-344-0886