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Ed's Sk8toronto Website
NORTHSHORE MARATHON (DULUTH MINNESOTA) -SEPT 2001 The Northshore Marathon is the biggest inline race in North America and it is quite an event! I hope you can sense my enthusiasm in the following account which was written in the days after the race. After reading over this account and skating in the advanced category again in 2002 I am not sure that I was close enough to the front of the pack in 2001 to really see what was going on. The fast times in this race may have had more to do with the favourable wind (a very light cross breeze) than pack dynamics. WOW! If you want a better marathon time go to the North Shore Marathon in Duluth Minn! I broke my record by 17 minutes! In light of the tragic events in the USA, Gillian, Herb, Morgan, Dan and Elaine and I showed up at the airport on Friday morning not knowing what to expect either at the airport or at the border. There were no problems. I am trying to remember the important details of my training and pre-race experiences so I can attempt to re-create the winning formula. Perhaps it was the bedtime snacks in which I allowed myself to indulge in the few days before. Maybe it was the hard pull I did on the weekend before or dogging the Tuesday night practice. Or was it rooming with Lanny at the Radisson and sharing a couple of beers in the revolving lounge at the top of the hotel? As dawn broke on Saturday morning, we were delivered by school bus to the start area 26 miles up the highway. It was cloudy, warm and calm -perfect conditions. After a special prayer and two national anthems, the waves of skaters began streaming away from the starting line at predetermined intervals. Away went Peter, Hip-Hop and Herb with the pro men and away went Beth with the pro women. Lanny, Morgan and I had to wait another 8 minutes for our start and as usual I ended up too far back from the starting line. It didn’t matter in this race. After a wild scramble, drafting lines began to form. Early on, there were as many as 4 parallel lines spread across the road. The object for the first few miles was to not go down. Some did (with startled screams and a sickening crunch). Whenever it happened there were audible groans of sympathy from all directions. I tried not to dwell on it too long. The pace seemed slow but we passed the 4 mile marker in 11:15! I wondered if someone had placed it in the wrong spot. As things spread out the 4 lines thinned to three and then two. By the end there was usually only one (about 50 skaters long). It’s a pretty flat course but on the little downhill grades you had to transfer an amazing force to the skater in front. If someone ahead tripped everyone behind him would be toast. I hit the 12 mile mark at 35:28 -under 3 minutes per mile. Wow! I was still with the leaders but I had lost Lanny and Morgan. I decided to try to stick with the lead pack all the way to the end. I felt great. At one point, I got caught on the outside of the drafting line and about 50 meters from the front. I decided to pull for a while and managed to pull a few guys to the very front. I bailed out and someone let me back in. What a great bunch of skaters! I hit the 20 mile mark at 59:03 (2:57 per mile). Now I knew I was going under 1:20. This was beyond my wildest dreams. At about 4 miles from the finish I hit a rut and almost went down. I was so thankful to stay up, not so much for me but for those right behind. We came to a significant uphill and I thought I would pick up a few positions. No way. These guys were good skaters. As we started through the first of the 3 tunnels I decided not to try to pick up any positions in the last couple of miles. Finishing with the lead pack in my first year was good enough. Save something for next year. I stopped my watch at 1:16:48. My official time was 1:16:47. I finished 44th overall only 9 seconds behind the first place finisher. Perhaps with a few more pointers from Peter, I can move up next year. What I had read on the internet was true. The advanced men’s category is all about co-operation and friendly competition. Skaters in the lead pack get better times than a significant number of the pro’s because when 50-100 good skaters all skate together for the common good who is leading is not an issue. Nobody has to waste themselves. There is always somebody else eager to pull for a while. Upon reflection, I think my success may have been due to the workout my heart got during Dan’s fast and furious drive from Thunder Bay. On the other hand, perhaps it was the canned sardines that I ate for lunch two days before the race. I’ll see if I can narrow it down next year. This rather geeky picture of me was taken at the finish line and for some reason was included in the rather slick Race Results Booklet that the organizers sent out to the 3248 finishers of the race. I was doing the funny thing with my arms because I was worried about tripping on the mat that you have to skate across. The wires under the mat sense your timing chip and record your time for the official results.
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