| The lead pack of five professional skaters pulled away from the rest of the field early in the 2003 North Shore Inline Marathon. They kept a tight paceline for most of the race course until the final hills near the end of the course, when 21-year old Josh Wood of Sacramento pulled away, finishing the 26.2-mile course in 1:04:33. Photo by Darlene Prois
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Aim High, Skate Fast
Big debut planned for St. Paul Inline Marathon
by Joel Patenaude
Call it chutzpah or just a good bet, but the organizers of the St. Paul Inline Marathon are looking to create one of the largest events of its kind in the country and in their first outing, no less.
If they reach their goal of attracting 3,000 racers on August 21, the size of the field will be second only to that of the North Shore Inline Marathon, set for September 18 in Duluth.
As popular as inline skating is in Minnesota where rollerblades were invented and an extensive paved trail system exists in the Twin Cities established races still rarely draw more than a few hundred people.
Just as inline skates first appealed to Midwest hockey skaters in their off
season, the St. Paul marathon is intentionally being sold across sport lines to Nordic skiers, runners and even cyclists. Regional enthusiasts say inline skating is a great cross-training option. And skating the distance of a marathon is challenging but doable for the average recreational skater.
While there's no shortage of running marathons, 26.2-mile inline marathons are still relatively few. But the appeal of the latter is that they
can be completed in a fraction of the time and with much less effort than in running shoes.
Both the serious skaters and semi-serious coasters are in the target market for the St. Paul Inline Marathon, the biggest addition to the summer season of inline racing and touring.
Somewhat surprising, however, is that this particular, yet-to-happen event was ranked the third best inline marathon scheduled in 2004 across North America, as determined by Zephyr's
MarathonSkating.com, a rather specialized tour company. (Zephyr Adventures offered a six-week online training program for free to early St. Paul registrants and, incidentally, Zephyr's webmaster is a Bemidji State University student and Minnesota inline racer.)
You may question the source, but the numbers don't lie. As of early May, more than 950 skaters already had paid their entry fees for St. Paul, putting it on preregistration pace with No. 1 ranked North Shore.
(Ranked second, between the two Minnesota marathons, was the Disney Inline Marathon, held May 2. Even with worldwide promotion, the event drew only 1,700. For perspective, Disney in Orlando hosted five times as many high school and collegiate paintball gunners two weeks earlier. And countless visitors pass through the gates of the theme park every day.)
So the St. Paul marathon organizers are aiming high if they think they can muster 3,000 entrants.
"Part of it is taking a stand and saying, 'We're going to prove it to you,'" said Mike Cofrin, promoter of the St. Paul event. Cofrin, co-founder of the Rollerdome at the Metrodome, brings his experience as marketing director for the U.S. Speed Skating Team to 26point2. Inc., the for-profit company set up to run the inline marathon.
His cohort, Lifetime Fitness Triathlon organizer Marilyn Franzen, said the effort to bring out 3,000 participants "may be aggressive, but the
goal is to shoot for the moon. Our biggest goal is to create an event that is a really good experience for everyone."
This team, which includes the marathon's general manager Adam Kocinski, has the confidence and support of other race directors, namely Chuck Carlberg, executive director of the top-ranked North Shore marathon.
Carlberg expects 5,000 racers at the ninth annual running of his event this year, up from 4,200 in 2003. The additional skaters could come out
for the full or half marathon, a distance added just last year.
Carlberg said it took four years to even approach this level of participation. Nonetheless, he doesn't disbelieve the St. Paul marathon can attract 3,000 in its first year.
"Mike (Cofrin) is very capable," Carlberg said. "If anyone can pull it off, he's the guy."
Carlberg said Cofrin helped the North Shore race get started through his
early promotion of ice and roller skating. "He's a fund-raiser for U.S. speed skating, so he comes with credibility. No. 1, he's a businessman," Carlberg said.
Cofrin said North Shore has grown steadily "into a marquee event. It's created something we could step into."
Rather than view the St. Paul event as competition, Carlberg said he considers it exactly what the inline skating industry has been clamoring for: more big competitive events.
"We couldn't be more pleased," Carlberg said, adding he and Cofrin compare notes on a weekly basis.
The North Shore guru said he gets at least one call a month from someone wanting to organize an inline race in their city. He said most venues are either too small to support one or too big to feel the benefits. He said he considers St. Paul "a medium-sized market" with the necessary infrastucture, ample hotel space and municipal support to be a
successful site for another marathon.
"Duluth absolutely paved the way, there's no doubt," Franzen said. "Our success and theirs are tied together."
She said the St. Paul marathon will mimic the one in Duluth with elite and pros, veterans and masters and advanced racers leaving the start in waves before the bulk of the field, which will be fitness and recreational skaters.
The St. Paul event essentially two loops on new, smooth pavement, two
lanes wide will remain a marathon only, at least for its first year.
"We thought that even with all that (road) real estate we would concentrate on the marathon and get the basics down," Franzen said. "Maybe next year we'll add a kids event, an elite criterium of four miles or hill sprints."
Franzen said she lost count of the number of athletic events she's organized at around 200. A veteran of 23 Birkebeiners and many
triathlons, she said she has long dreamed of putting on an inline marathon on the chosen course.
It had to wait for a Shepherd Street paving project, which was completed last year leaving a perfect surface for skating, she said. The inline course is not hilly but undulates as it follows the Mississippi river and offers downtown St. Paul as a backdrop.
Cofrin said the event has the full support of city of St. Paul from Mayor
Randy Kelly, who committed early to skating the entire race, to the polices, parks and streets departments.
"It's hard for race directors to find a strip of pavement 26.2 miles long that local officials are willing to shut down for an event," said Russ Korpela who, as the director of the Big Granite Marathon and Half Marathon in Ashland, Wisconsin (June 19), would know.
Korpela said his course is too technical for first-timers. "We have a
couple big downhills, hairpin turns and two-way traffic," he said. Between 350 and 450 skaters have done Big Granite (ranked No. 8 by MarathonSkating.com) each of the past three years. "I don't think we could get 1,000 people on our course," he said.
But Korpela wouldn't put it past his St. Paul peers to bring thousands out, especially if a half marathon is added in subsequent years.
"I think they have a shot at it. The existence of North Shore has already
put the upper Midwest on the map for key inline skating events," Korpela said. "I think the St. Paul event will be a really good complement for Midwest racing."
Korpela said 20 percent of Big Granite participants do the half marathon. "The reality is if you've done any training, you can do a half and finish it in about 45 minutes."
Slower inline skaters can complete a full marathon in 3 1/2 hours. The pros finish in an hour and 10 minutes, he said.
Korpela is also the race director for the Whistle Stop Marathon, a point-to-point running marathon along the south shore of Lake Superior ending in Ashland, Wisconsin. In its sixth year, about 1,500 runners take part and have a significant economic impact on the area.
Former marathoners are turning to inline skating because it generates less impact on the joints, he said.
And the older racers are making their presence known. Korpela said the
average age of Big Granite inline skaters skews older (37-38 years of age) than the Whistle Stop marathoners he sees (36). He said he's noticed that the most competitive inline skaters are in their 20s, 40s and 50s.
"There's a major gap between the young guys and older ones," Korpela said. "There are some very fit 40- and 50-year-olds out there."
Among the older gentlemen skating the St. Paul course will be Cofrin's
father, who lives in Waunakee, Wisconsin. "My dad's doing it," he said. "The deal was I'd buy him a pair of inline skates if he registered. He did, so I did."
Cofrin added, "We're all about the recreational and elite skaters, and the distinction is critical." If not for the base of recreational skaters, he said the elite would not have a venue to enjoy.
Carlberg said marathon runners should consider strapping on skates and
doing the same distance in St. Paul and/or Duluth.
"Imagine finishing with a smile on your face and energy left over," he said. | |
