Some people still have the outdated perception that rowing is an elitist pursuit and that when students convene for a regatta, it is all about them leaping into action without a moment of preparation, as the prelude to invading the bar.

Emily Geddes knows this is total hogwash and speaks from experience of competing in the annual Aberdeen Asset Management Boat Race between Robert Gordon University and Aberdeen University, which returns to the River Dee on Saturday.

Now in its 20th year, the participants in this gruelling test of endurance and technique have been rising at 6am throughout the winter to take to the water and the rowing machines before they venture off to lectures and tutorials and nothing, be it Christmas, illness or even exams has been allowed to interfere with the athletes' build-up. The focus is all on the rival crews maximising their ability and being in the right condition to break new records when they tackle the 3.5km course in as close to perfect harmony as possible.

Geddes is only 20, but has been one of RGU's prize assets in recent campaigns, which helps explain why she and her colleagues are chasing their fourth consecutive victory at the weekend. As the president of her university's Boat Club, she has enjoyed success at British Championship level, has grown accustomed to pushing her body through the wringer, and will be her team's cox as she seeks to inspire another triumph for the burgeoning RGU brigade. There's not much of her, but don't be fooled: this young woman is anything but fragile.

"This is a really intense event and you have to plan every hour of every day to make sure you can put in the work to be at your best in the boat, while you are continuing with your studies," said Geddes, who is a student in applied sports and exercise. "I injured my wrist a couple of years ago and it hasn't healed as I would have wanted, but there are so many things to do that I have concentrated on other things, and it has been terrific to see how our fortunes have turned round in recent races.

"We know that won't count for anything on Saturday, but there is a great camaraderie and sense of everybody pulling together at all levels at RGU just now. Both crews crossed the line in record-breaking times last year which made the win even more special, but nobody is standing still, nobody is at all complacent, because we realise how quickly things can change and we expect Aberdeen to be even tougher opponents this time around."

The AAM Boat Race has become one of the most eagerly-anticipated occasions on the Aberdeen calendar, not least because it's one of the few events where males and females combine as part of joint crews. The RGU squad features individuals from such diverse locations as Nairn, Stonehaven and Warsaw, while their Aberdeen University opponents hail from everywhere from Glasgow to Kirkwall and Chester to Zagreb.

In the past, many gifted rowers have taken part in the proceedings, including Lewis McCue who stormed to a mass of medals at Strathclyde Park last autumn and although Geddes makes no comparison between herself and Olympic champion Kath Grainger, one detects similar qualities of beetle-browed intelligence and incredible intensity in both of them.

In these circumstances, it is hardly surprising that Tom Coles, the Callander-born president of the AU Boat Club, recognises he and his alumni have a real fight on their hands. Yet, despite recent history, there is no hint of apprehension or anxiety in his approach, far from it.

"We may not have won last year, but we came very close and we almost succeeded in breaking the previous boat race record," said Coles, another cerebral-looking character with a hint of Daniel Radcliffe about him, who is utterly transformed once his charges have climbed into their vessel and the formalities have ended. At 21, he has witnessed more than enough jubilant celebrations from the other mob in the city. Time to dislodge the status quo.

But, of course, there are a few obstacles standing in his path, not least the redoubtable Geddes. "I have seen how much work the RGU crew members have put into defending the title and I am quietly confident we can do it," she said. "But we all realise there isn't much between us."

It's a grand festival in the Granite City and much of that is down to the encouragement and largesse of Aberdeen Asset's supremo Martin Gilbert who has flung his weight whole-heartedly behind not just the boat race, but the series of fun events which accompany it every year.

In many ways, it's the perfect way to herald the arrival of spring. Especially for those who have prepared for it on so many dank, dreich mornings.