The 144th Boat Race took place on 28 March 1998. Held annually, the Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames. Cambridge, with the heaviest crew in the history of the event, won by three lengths in a record time of 16 minutes 19 seconds. In the reserve race, Oxford's Isis defeated Cambridge's Goldie in a time which equalled the record, while Cambridge won the Women's Boat Race.