Boulder resident Anne Miltenberger, 25, will be the only American woman competing in an ocean rowing race across the Atlantic Ocean.

Miltenberger, who rowed for the University of Colorado during her freshman and sophomore years on the Boulder campus, will be among the athletes competing in this year's Woodvale Challenge.

The competitors will launch from the Canary Islands on Dec. 6 and row more than 3,000 miles to the Island of Antigua. They are attempting to set a new world record for crossing the Atlantic Ocean in less than 33 days.

Miltenberger said that there are six rowing positions, and each team member will be rowing for about 12 hours a day.

While attending CU, Miltenberger took a semester-long Outward Bound sailing course, which introduced her to the ocean.

“Living in land-locked Colorado my whole life, I had never seen the ocean,” she said in a news release. “But once we got acquainted, it was a lasting love affair.”

Miltenberger said that upon graduation in 2007, she bicycled across the country, from Washington to Maine.

“I decided that this trip was going to be my next big adventure,” she told the Camera.

She's been preparing for the trip by exercising on a rowing machine, doing cardiovascular workouts, lifting weights and reading books about others who have taken similar trips, and how to deal with storms.

Over the course of the journey, the 12-member crew will eat and sleep within the confines of their 40-foot ocean rowing boat. There is a small cabin that will hold up to nine people during bad weather.

The boat is designed to self-correct if it were to flip.

There are 36 teams in this year's race.

The team's Web site is www.atlanticflyer.co.uk.

Miltenberger has done environmental consulting work and this fall started the Athletic Dream Foundation to help athletes raise money for their adventures.

To donate to Miltenberger's trip, visit www.athleticdreamfoundation.org.