Over the weekend of August 3rd, 2008, I traveled up to Minnesota to compete in the Saint Paul Inline Marathon (yes, 26.2 miles).

With this being just my second race after a knee injury sidelined me for a few weeks, I wasn't sure what to expect; however, I'd been training hard and hoped to finish below 1 hour, 30 minutes -- as an Advanced speed skater (the category below pro), this is often a reasonable goal to set.

Race conditions were nearly ideal, with just a bit of rain at race start. And I'm very happy to report a new personal best, finishing in 1:26:11 at an average speed of 18.3mph! [See photo below]. This race result also assured me a top 10 finish in my age division in the National Roller Cup inline race series.

Also racing was vegan Pro athlete Rob Bell (from Oklahoma City, OK), who finished fourth overall in 1:14:13 (2.6 seconds behind his teammate and race winner, Adam Miller) at an average speed of 21.2mph.

Next up is the Montreal 24-Hour Inline Race the weekend of September 6th-7th. Wish me luck!

~ Brian