|  | |||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
6:30 | Bounty Update: The Carol Jean Hochstein Foundation for Safe Skating is offering $10,000 for any woman who beats the NorthShore course record of 1 hour, 10 minutes and 26 seconds. The record was set by Heather Elliot-Gunnin in 1998, the same year Hedrick broke the men's record. 7:15 | Photos:
Eddy's Beads - Twincam's Eddy Matzger rubs his handcarved olive oil beads from China on Peter Doucet's nose. "The beads become more valuable if you rub your facial oil on them; it darkens them," Matzger says.
Skate Clown - Zippy with his invisible skate dog.
6:30 | Kids: Alayna finished second in today's kids sprint. "It was fun," says the spunky 5-year-old. Are you coming back next year? "Yes!" Did it feel like your wheels were faster than your body? "Oh, yeah. My wheels got me fast." Mom says: "Well, we're working on the stopping." Alayna says: "Well, I know how to stop!" 5:30 | Could the Record Fall?: The wind has been howling down the North Shore today ... same as it was in 1998 when Chad Hedrick set the course record: 57 minutes and 18 seconds. So everybody's talking record today. And why not? ... K2 is still offering $10,000 to anyone who breaks it. But will the wind hold? ... Don't count on it. Accuweather is predicting a wind from the northeast (right down the race course) until about 9 a.m., by which time the pros will be done. But the forecast is for light winds of 2 to 3 mph, which probably wouldn't be enough to put Hedrick's record within reach.
The 2010 Rollerblade Speedmachine 3:38 | 2010 Speedmachine Reload: Rollerblade is showing off some sleek new Speedmachines for 2010. They feature "performance asymmetrical lacing." "Moving the lacing off-center of the foot, allows you to get more power where you really need it on the inside of the foot," says Rollerblade's Stephen Charrier. "Another thing about getting the lacing off the top of the feet is that it's just more comfortable."
2:12 | New K2 Radical Pro: K2 is showing off a prototype of its 2010 Radical Pro. "It has a completely new upper," says K2's Mike Powell. " You're going to find it a little stiffer, and it's going to grab your feet a little better. It's also lighter weight and more breathable. It provides a firmer handshake around your foot. ... We built them so that when they are broken in, you are still going to have the same snug fit as when they were new." Wheels: two 100mm in front, two 110s in back. Price: $399. Available: Jan. 1, 2010.
Scene at the Expo 1:20 | Skater Ink: The Duluth News Tribune has a story about Lee Engele, a St. Paul skater who will perform — she's a singer — at a jazz club a few hours after skating the marathon. Registration is required to read the story. Here's how it starts. Early Saturday morning, Lee Engele will put on a pair of Capri yoga pants, wrist guards, a helmet and a pair of Salamon skates and compete in the 14th NorthShore Inline Marathon. A few hours after finishing, the St. Paul-based fitness aficionado will trade in her athletic gear for one of her little black dresses — something fitting for a four-hour jazz vocal performance at Club Saratoga.
9:30 | Breakfast: Sitting in the Amazing Grace Cafe in front of a cup of coffee and a cinnamon roll. This is a civilized place, good for the jet-lagged (like me). It's just down the street from my hotel (the Suites) and just across the pedestrian bridge from the DECC (Duluth Entertainment Convention Center), where the NorthShore Expo starts in a couple of hours. A couple guys are playing guitar at one of the tables. People are eating, reading ... there's a baby in a high chair grunting and doing hand signals like an NFL referee. ... Paris on Lake Superior.
...
Copyright © 2009 by Inline Planet | ||||||||||||||
 | | | | | | | | | | | ||||
