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Event News: New California Marathon 2007 San Francisco Inline Marathon Saturday, Aug. 11 - Fitness Expo Sunday, Aug. 12 - Full and half marathon
Prize money: $5000 Fees:
Shuttles will take skaters from the official hotel, Best Western Miyako Inn, to the starting line. The event will benefit the Delancey Street Foundation. A California businessman's late-blooming passion for skating has led to the creation of a new event: the San Francisco Inline Marathon. Tom Burkhart, the CEO of the Savant Group, got the idea for the event after skating the 2005 Napa Valley and Long Beach inline marathons. "He lives and works in San Francisco, and he felt it was a shame that there wasn't a world-class event in the city that could attract people from all over the world," says his son, Bryan Burkhart. The elder Burkhart — an avid skater, runner, hiker and mountain climber (currently in Tanzania climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro) — enlisted his son to serve as race director. Bryan, a recreational skater, solicited advice from San Francisco-area speed skaters to plan the event. One of the toughest problems they faced was finding a flat, yet scenic, racecourse in the notoriously hilly city. "We wanted a flat course that would be good for skaters of all ages and abilities," he said.
They settled on a 1.5-mile loop on Mason Street in San Francisco's Marina District. Skaters will make 18 laps for the full marathon; 9 laps for the half. The Golden Gate Bridge will serve as the scenic backdrop for the race. The Burkharts hope to make the marathon a large, annual event. But their expectations are modest for the first year. "We figure if we attract 300 people this year, that will be good," Bryan said.
- Skating Ancient Xi'an
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Copyright © 2007 by Robert Burnson | |||||||||||||||||||||
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