A2A 2008

A2A 87 Mile Race Report, October 5, 2008
Presented by Chicagoland Inline Marathon, July 24-26, 2009

I would like to call it a nightmare but it is real. Hours of training logged like never before but like never before I am loosing. The Great Race-bad race, Badger State-dropped at mile 14, Chicago-Bolt comes loose, Duluth-dropped at mile16. Competitors that I have beaten are skating by me and all I can do is watch as lactic acid fills my legs. This was my season, every race a failure.
I am lying in bed trying to fall asleep, heart racing. My mind is dancing between the thoughts of wondering if I will ever fall asleep and imagining every finish line scenario possible and how I would react. I have been lying here for over an hour and still….zzz zzz zzz
Finally the race is going to start but I am not sure if I will have the legs. I slept like crap, but I know the journey ahead will reveal all the answers. The pace starts very steady and it seams to have higher tempo than last year. Pushing the pace is Team Bont, Empire, and Matzger. The first check point came and I go to grab my food bag. I have the bag handles in my hand but the rest of the bag is torn falling to the ground with all my nutrition… not good. A close call then comes as I am descending down a hill and a pack comes up on me and the leader in indecision of whether to pass or push pushes me all on one side as his skates collide with mine. Were both thrown off balance and squirrel across the road to get our skates back underneath us. It is way too early in the race for a mishap of this sort.
We come to check point three, mile 38 and there have been some good pulls by this point and my legs are feeling strong. Another acceleration occurs right before the checkpoint and I miss my feed bag again as we go flying through. I am now in a bit of a predicament as my bladder is full, though a nice downhill solved that problem. I bet I gave the cars following us a good laugh as pee came flying from between my legs. I think it is at this point that Team Bont started really utilizing their team sending one off the front after another. The pack at this point contained Ramirez, Mejia, Moreno, Matzger, Humphrey, Anderson, Detwiler and Me. We came to an intersection and we did not know which way to go. No one knew so while the motorcycles flew down each way trying to figure it out we all stood along a major road peeing in front of a bank. Hahahaha
Bruce Belden and Randy Bowman Caught up to us while we were waiting. Back to racing Eddie started us back fast as we ascended a hill in full arm swing. We are about mile 70 and we drop Belden and Bowman again and not to long after Mike Anderson. About mile 75 I put in a strong pull up a hill and I look behind me and there is a little gap between me, Matzger and the rest of the pack. I told Eddie to keep the acceleration going and if the gap gets bigger that I would work with him. The gap kept growing. My muscles were spasming bad but I pushed hard because I knew this was decision time. First Mejia then Moreno gapped up to us. Mejia, Matzger and me switched off pulling fast for the next few miles. This move that Eddie and I made was brilliant as now anyone who had a teammate was isolated. At Silver Hill will Moreno dropped and now it was down to just three of us. No, Moreno found it in him to dig hard and attach himself after falling back almost 200 meters. From this point the pace remained steady as we all traded pulls.
We were starting to get close and I sat in third spot with Matzger in fourth he was dogging off the back but I was waiting for his attacks that got me the previous year. Then the first came with about four miles to go he attacked hard from the back and I locked on then countered opening a gap on everyone. I slowed and we regrouped and Mejia kept the pace strong. I was right behind Moreno as he began his pull. We came down a hill into a turn with about a ¾ of a mile to go. All of a sudden Moreno slid out and hit the ground. I might have dodged him, jumped him, or just hit him and managed not to fall. Moreno was out and then it was three. I put the hammer down and gapped Mejia by 10 meters who had a gap on Matzger. I kept it hard holding the gap for 30 seconds until I eased up. Mejia and Matzger filed in behind until about 300 meters from the line when we spread out three wide rolling slowly waiting for someone to make the first move.
With 250 meters from the line Mejia made the first move and I tucked in behind. Would I ever win again? This thought started to creep into my mind after so many failures. Though, you fight it with training. Training is an investment into a gamble that you might win. As a person who packs 48 hours of agenda into a 24 hour day, it takes a lot of sacrifice to train every day with conviction. Relatively speaking, after 87 miles there is no fuel left in the tank. So, subconsciously fueled by this notion of sacrifice and instinctual will to extend beyond the bodies limits to beat another, I lit the afterburners and made my move. Fighting against cramping muscles, an uphill finish, and hungry competitors the decision went down to the line. I cross the line in disbelief with a victory solute. I then took the shortest path to the grass where I collapsed, falling victim to a medley of cramps.
There are two races that as a skater I know are the ultimate victories for the kind of skating I do: Duluth and A2A. Winning a race means a lot to me and winning what I consider the big one makes it really special. A special thank you to Greg for hooking me up with some last minute equipment, Glenn/BONT for providing me with the new BONT wheels, My Mom and Fiancé for Cheering me Through. PS… Chicagoland Inline Marathon is July 24-26, 2009.

Men:
Peter Starykowicz
Luis Carlos Mejia
Eddy Matzger
Luis Moreno
Thomas Detwiler

Women- The womens race was decided in a three way sprint also!!!
Martine Charbonneau
Rebecca George (O'Hearn)
Marcy Turek

A2A Prelude

You can skip to the story race story below, if you want. Well there I sat a 1.5 weeks before A2A wondering what I was going to skate on. I was hoping that my new Custom's would arrive in the mail before the race but it was becoming clear that they weren’t. I couldn’t skate on my Custom 6.5 mount because the carbon had cracked half way around the one of the mounting blocks. I could not send them to be fixed because the boot maker was all the way in Canada. My custom 7.5 mount had both front mounting blocks loose on them. I have no functional boot before an 87 mile race. So, I send the boot next day to the boot maker, he remounts the blocks and sends them back. Great, problem solved. No not really, I get them back and one of the blocks is still loose. He explains to me how to fix it and I am on my way with a barrowed 110mm frame. I skate the new frame boot combo Wed/Thurs and I am just not happy with the way I feel in the boots. In my Custom 6.5 mount's I am quick, light, maneuverable, and comfortable. I have to skate my Custom 6.5 mount's . I take a 1mm spacing block that is wider than the mounting block and epoxy the hell out of it to the boot creating a splint. That would be what I would race on, good old fashion 6.5 with with 100mm wheels.

Athens To Atlanta

Check points=Food and Water
This was my first year competing in the infamous A2A. Notice That I said competing; though it be a long race much longer than I had ever skated I was going in with the intention of winning. I felt that my long legs and natural endurance would be well suited for the 87 mile affair. The race started out very relaxed which I fine with. I planned to race the race of the veteran A2A’ers and not make my own offensive. The pace stayed constant allowing the pack to be filled with a wide variety of skill levels. Somewhere around mile 15 Mejia and Sarmiento attacked. It was an attack that surprised everybody. It took a while for Aarnt and Matzger to realize what was happening and react. My plan was to stay with Arndt so they started to chase I went with them. The 3 of us caught them very quickly skating full power, an effort that seemed too exhausting this early in the game. But I felt that no matter how great the effort I must stay with leaders. I would rather finish 10th place after completely blowing up trying to win than finish 5th place skating at a manageable pace. The race stayed fairly slow for a long time after this with a few strong pulls here and there. It was quite different from environment that exited in a marathon. At mile 38 we watch as the some younger kids raced to the finish with shanacy Sutter coming away victorious. After the 38 mile mark the pack significantly downsized to a pack of 14. That was all soon to change as around mile 50 the Mejia and Sarmiento went again. If it was not clear before it was now Mejia, Ramirez and Sarmiento were all working together. Sarmiento was not wearing a K2 Empire uniform but he might as well have been. Mejia went up the road a bit and Sarmiento gapped up to him. Then they started to pull away and they were working word to make sure this was a successful breakaway attempt. They quickly grew a quarter mile lead. Then Arndt lead the charge assisted by Matzger. Ramirez and I were also in the pack. Ramirez worked to make sure there was no fluid consistency in our chase group latterly standing up every time he got to the front. Arndt chased hard and assisted by Eddy from time to time but I was just barely hanging on. I would have liked to have helped but as Arndt later explained that was the toughest and fastest time of the race. Arndt in my opinion was the favorite to win and I believe that this was the point in which he proved that he was the strong man of the day chasing down a two teammates working together practically by himself while the third tried to disrupt his effort. We chased for around 2 miles or more till we finally caught them. The selection had been made. I felt that this was the defining moment of the race. I made it I thought to myself. The pack consisted of 6 of us: Arndt, Mejia, Sarmiento, Ramirez, Matzger, and me. As soon as the pace slowed down I immediately replenished with a Gu and Gatorade. With the chase pack clearly out of site we rolled fairly easy but consistent into the mile 58 check point. I grabbed my food bag from my support vehicle (my mom) which was invaluable tool to racing at full capacity. After that stop my legs started to cramp, I thought to myself, it is only a marathon from here. I went to stretch my quads but 3 other muscles would cramp. To my surprise I look back to see Doucet closing just a few meters back pulling a pack of 4 with him. An amazing effort, they must have been a mile behind us after we caught the attack. Though it was not long until it was widdled down to 8 of us: Arndt, Mejia, Sarmiento, Ramirez, Matzger, Doucet, Humphrey and me. On the uphill’s Matzger skated strong keeping us all in check. My legs were really starting to cramp. I drank my Gatorade as fast as I could. I took Gu shots every 20 mins. Then with 10 miles to go one of the hardest charges of the day was initiated by Mejia. It was one that eliminated anybody with weakness. I felt like we were moving at over 23 miles an hour which after 78 miles is fast. The damage was starting to happen and Arndt taking note kept it going. My muscles were cramping, I was on the edge but I knew I had to pull to keep the rhythm of the charge going and show that there was a reason for to be here. We kept it strong like this for what seemed to be a 1.5 miles. The selection was down to an elite few: Arndt, Mejia, Sarmiento, Matzger, and me. My muscles were a wreck cramping like crazy. They still had energy but the cramps made simple motions a fight. Our pace was high and we cruised at over 20 mph down the rough city streets, each bump jolting the muscles. We kept rotating through at this strong tempo. I had an idea of how far we were from the finish but I was not quite sure. The pace started to slow as we came into the last 2.5 miles. Then Matzger attacked but only for a short burst of 20 seconds. Everyone reacted, then again, and again. They were each little blows at short enough intervals that rendered my legs uncontrollable because of the cramping. It was not that they did not have the speed or energy, they were just cramping and I had been fighting the cramps for 26 miles. On an uphill, in a confusing spot, where you jump up on a side walk another attack came. With everything a terminal gap opened (3k to go). I dug hard fighting the cramping legs but they were getting away. Redlined I settled into a strong pace hoping I could get back on in between an attacks. I would gain on them, and then they would pull away. Then right at the end they really opened the gap in the final sprint. I skated hard into the finish. As I crossed the line went to stand up and my legs just cramped up like no words could describe. I could not move legs at all, they were frozen. My muscles cramped so bad I felt as if my knee caps were going to pop off. Not being able to move my legs I rolled until I hit a curb and fell to the ground. I yelled with pain. People came over and tried to stretch out my muscles squeezing the heck out of them so they would release. It took like 4 mins for them to finally release. In the sprint Arndt took of with about 800 meters from the line and sprinted full power. Sarmiento and Mejia chased. At the line it was Arndt by a foot over Sarmiento. Third was Mejia who said he timed his sprint wrong and fourth was Matzger who said he took the wrong way around a car hurting his chance a little before they entered the park. The race was really cool. Yes, the course could never make up its mind to whether it wanted to go up or down but the hills were not as bad as everybody made them out to be. The race was a lot different than I expected and it had a lot to do with the Columbians working as a team. Fifth place is not as high as I would have liked to have finished but I feel it was a very valid fifth place considering that I stayed with the lead pack answering every attack all the way to the end, well almost to the end. Good competition, scenic course, time of life at A2A.

Northshore Inline Marathon (Duluth)

My Girlfriend, Danielle, was happy this picture got in the newspaper. Yes, ot was a bit chilly

For me A2A and Duluth are my big races of this season, the ones I really want to perform my best at. At this point I am in the best skating shape of my life. I woke up Saturday morning ready to exploit the months of conditioning aimed at this race. I started my warm up where I like to throw in two good intervals…. Empty…. Slow. My legs were not feeling bad but they were in no means in any good.
The race started and it started fast. It reminded me of 2004, my first Duluth ever. I settled in line and began skating. I was having trouble holding the pace. What the Hell is going on here, a fast steady pace is my specialty and and I’m having trouble holding. Then the first real acceleration began. The attack came from behind and the train was two tight to jump in so when I went to jump on the wind shut up my already empty legs.. Hopeless, Pissed, Damn it. Well now I’m in the second pack after a minute it forms a divided group of some strong skaters and some just barely hanging on skaters. I’m already thinking about the next race the next year while were pacing along. I always consider the first attack to be the most important because it weeds out most of the riff raff. Well I was the riff raff and I watch a pack with skaters that I know I can hang with skate away.
After a little while I started to tire of this pace line, take your pull type skating, I came here to race not pace a Heterogeneous pack of those who wanted to pull hard and those who liked to suck. I came to the front, my turn to pull and I up’d the pace so that it was real fast, not a sprint. Most everybody fell off except for Rob Bell and Sutter. I attacked, we are away, who wants to pull, nobody, great. I should have kept on pulling. If I would have opened the gap a little more I think it would have given a little more incentive for the others to pull. One mile later we were all back together. Now I am skating at a pace that will be my slowest of the season. I wish I would have went with Rob Bell because together we could have skated up to the pack that finished 2 minutes ahead of us. Hindsight is 20/20. Well there is still a pack of three in sight so lets chase them, still nobody wants to pull.
Now we are at lemon drop hill. I planned to drop all the extra baggage at this point so I attacked. I am at the top of the hill where I have just caught Ramirez, I look behind me and there they all are, I don’t know,stopping for a cup of tea or something. I stand up and wait for them. Last year at this point it was fast fluid and chaotic all at the same time. This time were coasting down the highway. Then the off ramp comes and out of no where Eddy Matzger passes us. I jump behind him. Then were coming down the hill and I step out of line to reorganize myself midpack and behind some of the stronger guys. We come around the turn and Ramirez attacks arms swinging with Anderson and Sutter on his wheel. They have a gap on the guy in front of me. I pull out and cover the gap. Now I am in perfect position and we come around the turn and I dash to the inside. Hammer down, it is Anderson, Sutter, and me sprinting dead even. I am Cramped up against the fence and not able to really open up but we all finished Within a tenth of a second: Sutter, Anderson, and me.
I came here to race the best and missed out on the chance because of empty legs. That is racing and I know I have good and bad days. Though I was frustrated with the race I was happy with how I set up for the finish. I had a good time talking with all the skaters which is one of the great parts of Duluth.

Next year……..

St Paul Inline Marathon

The first thing I did when I woke up is look out the window. Relieved to see no rain and almost dry asphalt I laced up. After a long warm up the race started and shortly after so did the rain. I was hoping for a race with a lot of attacks so I could really test if my hard training was paying off. The pace started off strong but nothing that fatigued the legs. I recall some strong pulls from Ramirez, Jono, and Team M. The rain made the course slick and the small corrugations in the concrete offered no help. I expected some hard hits on hills but when they came only a strong pace was set. We were standing around looking at each other for a lot of the time and I joked that the rec skaters were going to catch us. I do remember one attack from Robert Bell that got the peloton moving real fast. When we hit the turn around it was very confusing and skaters sprawled all over the parking lot trying to figure out what the actual course was. The confusion provided a perfect time to attack and out of the turn the hardest attacks came. I figured that this would have happened and so I came out of the turn with arms swinging. I was up with the lead group and looked back to see a long line of chasers. When the attacked ceased the pace was the counterpart of the attack, very slow. As we came closer to passing by the area where we would eventually turn to the finish the Pro Masters caught us. They comically badgered us a little and the pace started to increase. At this end of the course there was no rain and the course was dry. We skated hard into the next turnaround and again coming out the turn pace was hard and a pack of 6 of us gained a 30 yard lead on the rest of the skaters. We continued to hammer but it was not high enough of a pace to solidify a break away and they soon caught us. Soon enough we came back into the rain and Robillard skated away from the pack. No one tried to go with him and I figured that even if he gained a large gap he would not be able to hold once he hit the wind after the turn around. We hit the turn around and again the attacks came. I felt that this was an attack that could actually solidify into chase pack and break away from the peloton. I was behind Ramirez who was chasing hard but was not closing the gap fast enough. I passed him and closed the gap up to Jono, Sarmiento and Maybe one from Team M. Again we did not get away but once the group formed again a hard charge came from Team M. This was one of the hardest efforts of day and it was long as I believe all three skaters from Team M pulled but after there effort was over Jono skated to the front and skated leisurely to slow the pack from catching robilard. Again another attack came and it was from Pyro’s Robert Bell leading the charge up the hill. After we got to the top the pace slowed again. The attacks were too intermittent for any chase effort to have success. Robillard went on to win the day with a breakaway that payed off. The attrition had become present as the pack numbered less than 10. Robert Bell tried to attack a few more times but was quickly shut down. As we closed in on the finish everybody started to jockey for position. We skated at a consistent pace that did not match the high level of entropy that existed with in the pack. Skaters were moving up into position as fast as they were moving back. Everybody was acting very aggressive as they tried to stake out their piece of Real Estate that would put them in prime position leading into the sprint. A few shoving matches flared but nothing too intense. Sarmiento pulled off to the side, lifted his skate to find a loose frame rendering his skate useless in the sprint. The pace accelerated and everybody calmed as we came into the turn up the hill. I sat in good position as everybody started to sprint, I stayed in the draft. Then Jono accelerated from behind with pure carnage speed. I took this as my queue and accelerated behind him. I just followed his lead and we flew past everybody as we scaled the hill. My muscles uncharacteristically started to cramp and Jono was pulling away. I skated hard hoping to hold on to a podium spot and knowing they were all behind me. Then Scott Bliss from Team M passed me. I crossed the line 3rd in the pack sprint and 4th overall.

Results: http://www.peaktiming.com/2007spim/overallresults.asp?catid=PRO

Badger State Inline Marathon

Please Excuse grammatical errors I wrote this fast and did not check it

The race started off in an untraditionally slow manner. Bont present with a strong line up of three skaters’, Rookard, Jono, and Anderson, put the control of the race in there hands. I knew what they were going to do and my plan was just to keep answering the attacks that I knew would occur in order to tire me out. I just knew that if I was there at the end I would give anybody a run for there money. Needing practice on pack finish I was hoping for a large group to be present to battle it out at the end. The first attack came at about mile three when Jono attacked with a huge acceleration after his teammate Anderson had just put in a large pull. I heard Teammate Greg Major yelling at me that he was coming and I quickly started to accelerate and chase. After a few moments of chasing I thought there is no way that he is going to skate the rest of the race solo and retired back to the pack. Racing with intelligence was the only way for me to win this race. Soon we caught him and and we all filed in behind him. I gave him a regular push on the rear as accordion affect of the pack gave me a push. This is when tensions started to build. He freaks out on me and tells me not to touch him. I told him to settle down and he looks at me and says, “who are you?” Shocked I reply, “who are you?” He replies, “I am a World Champion.” Shocked even more I decided that this kid had some sort of ego that in his mind no one was going tarnish and so I proceeded to race on knowing the “bigger they are the harder they fall”(That is a metaphor). Then Alan Marcoson went on an attack and started to get a pretty significant gap. Not wanting this race to get away from me with a lucky break I chase him down with the help of Matt Robinson and Herb Gayle. A few attacks occurred from there to about mile 12 when Rookard goes off on a break away attempt and gapped the pack at one point by 500 meters. Though she was out on the break for a while I could tell she was starting to labor. After we caught her came Bont’s Hardest attempts to tire me out. First Anderson would go off on the attack and I would chase him down then the pack would catch us and Jono would go on the attack. This kept happening for about 4 miles. I was still with them and feeling strong. Soon enough mile mark 20 came and bont began to get in formation at the front. They lined up Anderson, Rookard, and Jono. I filed in right behind Jono. Behind me sat Greg Major, and Dan Zaker. Also in the pack were Murphy Quinn, Alan Marcoson, Herb Gayle, and one other guy. As we neared the line the pace was strong. Then Anderson dropped off after his lead out and Rookard started to take her turn to lead out Jono. As we neared the line she was out in front pushing hard but I was felling great right behind Jono in the Rocking Chair. The pace was not fatiguing me and the line was starting to get real close. I decided with lots of sprint still in the tank to make my move and take my 3rd Badger State Games Victory. I stepped to the side and new at this point that the victory was going to be mine. Whether or not it would have been nobody knows but I felt strong. All of a sudden Jono takes a few crossover steps and slams into me. Not with his skates but with his body. Jostled, I was scrambled for balance that I did not have. Before I knew it, Jono’s hands were gripping my uniform as he proceeded to try to throw me out of the race. It was only a moment but it was intense and I was just fighting to stay up. I bit of a scare but I had no time to do anything go finish what I came here to do and that was win. At this point Jono had started to make his move on the other side of Rookard. I sprinted to the line not having much track to work with I began to catch Rookard who at this point had a good lead after the I composed my body after being thrown. It came down to a hawk where all three off us crossed the line in a 16 inch window. Rookard the overall winner and Jono edging me out by about 5 inched. I crossed the line really mad that someone would pull such low class and very dangerous move at a grass roots event. I felt that for the setting of the race his sportsmanship was really immature and was yelling at him about what was he thinking pulling such a dangerous move like that. He replied “That is how a world champion skates.” I feel Jono may have been the winner but not the champion and he was DQ’d. I would like to congratulate Team rainbow with a men’s 1,2,3,5 finish. Also this is another one of my favorite events and a great Job to the organizers.

Road America Inline 20k and 13k

By: All Community Events, Inc

The 2nd annual Road America Inline 20k and 13k rolled out on dry asphalt after raining on and off all day. 80 skaters started and the lead pack remained about 30 strong until an attack on the second and third hill of the first lap formed a lead pack of about 8. After the last climb of the first hill Mike Anderson Hammered weeding out any weakness that still remained. The fatigued legs were allowed a chance to rest for the hills the second lap would bring on the descents. Again fans camping out along the course for the motorcycle races delightfully cheered and waved as the skaters past through many portions of the course. There were no hard surges on the second lap. The tempo was hard on the climbs and games of cat and mouse were played out on the flatter sections as each skater tried to force the other into the first position. As the race rolled on a skater seemed to crack on every climb until on the third lap it was down to only Bont’s Mike Anderson, Mad City Roller’s Matt Robinson, Adam’s Inline Matt Meyer and Tom Peterson, and Team Rainbo/TUSA carbon frame’s Peter Starykowicz. After pulling away in a full tuck at the bottom of the first descent Anderson assumed his familiar time trial position and put in a very strong burst of speed that at one point opened a gap near 20 meters. Starykowicz feeling the pressure of the race nearing an end chased with arms swinging. This was probably one of most tense moments of the race as the Anderson was making a very respectable effort but after about 45 seconds Starykowicz had brought the pack as well as himself into the Anderson’s Slip stream. This put Tom Peterson out of the picture and then there were 4. Starykowicz kept the pace up on the first hill and at the top the skaters looked at eachother waiting for the other guy to take the lead. This shadow boxing continued on for the rest of the down hill allowing Peterson after a valiant effort to latch on the back before the 8th climb of the day. Meyer leading the way was saddening put on the defensive as Starykowicz jumps out of the pack and surged forward. The pack immediately reacting and the attack being abandoned but still starykowicz setting the pace. At the top of the hill the pace slowed to around 9 mph as they weaved from side to side. Anderson sitting in the second position played a very smart game keeping Starykowicz in front. Last year’s winner Matt Robinson was sitting in the best position with two of the stronger skaters of the day in front of him. Meyer and Peterson sat in behind. The pack wove back and fourth as they approached the bottom of the hill. Then in an instant the dynamic of the race changed as with a few powerful steps Starykowicz opened up a few yards. Robinson quickly jumped out and lead the chase as the others followed. On the mid section of the steep slope Robinson made his move sprinting even with Starykowicz. With Anderson, Meyer, and Peterson out of the picture the two front runners raced mono y mono. Starykowicz sensing Robinson’s presence shifted gears again and opened up a gap of about 10 meters which he held for the remainder of sprint. Another awesome race at the Nations most Dynamic Inline Racing Course. A special Thanks to Bont, JMTS, Starzwood Homes, Web Printing Plus, PyroApparel, and Adam’s Inline.

20k Mens Result
1. Peter Starykowicz
2. Matt Robinson
3. Mike Anedrson

20k Women’s Results
1. Rebecca George
2. Kara Peterson
3. Lizzy Loeb

Great Race Inline Half Marathon

Half marathon:

Finally, sun. That was something to be excited about after two days of pouring rain. The race started and after about a mile someone went on a break away. Not sure who it was but I did not worry too much I knew if anything got to drastic me and Anderson would real it in. The pace was pretty high until we got to some hills. At this point the flyer which was at about 350 meters out looked as if he was starting to tire. Once we hit the first hill I through in an attack that was chased by Team Bont. Then in just moments later we came to another hill in which I attacked hard my legs were fatigued as I neared the top from the first burst. I notice that I was not feeling strong because of a lack of hydration from the day before. The pack at this point split to the more experienced skaters. Not the damage that I would hope for. Then Mike Anderson attacked and my legs were very tired from my own attacks. I let the pack chase and then spanned the gap up to Anderson. It was now just me and Anderson and we began to work together to the finish. We are fellow competitors who both have time trial strength. His pulls were strong and I felt weak. Though never out of site of the lead pack we hit the final stretch(2 miles) still out in front. After my pole I think Anderson felt my weakness and put in a real strong pull. My muscles just were not working and it was very frustrating to watch someone I know I could beat skate way from me like nothing. Anderson went onto win the race. A that point nothing really mattered to me much and I skated just fast enough to finish ahead of the lead pack. I almost missed the last turn which would have cost me 2nd place. Anderson deserved the victory because he was the strongest man of the day. I can’t wait to face him at the next one. Danny Fredricks won the field sprint which was very large. The Great race is a top notch event and one of my favorites.

Men 10k1- Mike Anderson (Bont)Peter Starykowicz (TUSA/Rainbo)2- Peter Starykowicz (TUSA/Rainbo)3- Danny Frederick (Team Aloe Up)4- Bobby Piedra (Bont)Women 10k1- Helen Havam(Bont)3- Mechele Bubsy(Bont)
2- Rebecca George

The Great Race Crit

Picture Provided by Peter Doucet

Elkhart Great Race 10k Criterium(Check out the video coming soon)

So there I was talking to everybody when over the loud speaker I hear. “There will be no rec race. Everybody will start together in ten minutes.” I have to change all of my bearings and bolt on my strap ratchet. 10 minutes later I was at the line tieing my laces when the gun went off. With my strap not even tightened I sprint off. Doucet pushed the pace hard and I skated from the back to the pack to third position in a very uneasy first lap. It raining very lightly and the course was soaked. Most of the asphalt was of a very slippery nature. I finally Strapped my skates then got ready for it to get tough. Anderson throws in a strong effort and I latch on to the draft. This race is too short for anyone to be breaking away. Then the relentless attacks came to by doucet. The pack quickly desintigrated until there was only Helen Havam, Herb Gayle, Mike Anderson, Michelle Busby, Peter Doucet, and me. The attacks came again and I remember flying down the front stretch when I here a retched scraping sound echo of the Loud speaker followed by the announcer, “Busby takes a tumble.” Not hard to believe, it was very easy to fall victim to the slippery surface but the speed made it almost impossible not to fall. It got to the point where it was just me and Doucet on every attack. In between the attacks Anderson and Herb Gayle would bearly latch on only to be dropped on the next surge. Doucet was trying tire me out and it was working. Then it came to the last lap in a half. Anderson gets on the back. I expected him to pull hard so that Herb Gayle would not rejoin the group so that he would be assured 3rd place. Anderson did not pull and the game began. At a slow pace we rolled sprawled across the street waiting for someone to make a move. Slow enough to allow Helen Havam and Herb Gayle to rejoin the group. On the front stretch Helen makes a move and skates away from the pack. No one reacts. Finally Doucet takes the lead out position and we slowly follow. The pace was fairly easy and I sat on Doucet contemplating when I would make the move. Mike Anderson and Herb Gayle were both in the draft waiting for the sprint. In the short chute between turn 3 and 4 we passed a fatigued Havam. Then the grippy asphalt of turn four came. I waited for the attack but it was delayed. Then Doucet arms dropped and he quickly accelerated but I was still on his tail. I made my move on the leftand started my fall out sprint at which point I clipped skates with Doucet. Doucet and I both tripped up but only for a moment. Both of us had the bit between the teeth and were sprinting so hard that it is unbelievable we both did not slip to the ground. And then just that happened, The length of the sprint started to sieze the muscles and good form became hard to achieve and then I slipped. At the point I had a two foot lead. I thaught right there and then that I had lost it. Though I kept on pushing and all of a sudden as we races dead even I through the hawk and watch as my foot crossed just inches ahead of Doucet. Herb Gayle took third and Anderson close behind. This was a very exciting race for me and I really respect Doucet as an athlete and I had a great time chasing him. The Great Race is one of the best skating events out there.
Men 10k1- Peter Starykowicz (TUSA/Rainbo)

2- Peter Doucet

3- Herb Gayle (Team Aloe Up)

4- Mike Anderson (Bont)5- Bobby Piedra (Bont)

Women 10k

1- Helen Havam(Bont)

2- Rebecca George

3- Mechele Bubsy(Bont)

Wolverine Inline Marathon

Detroit

I arrived at the hotel at midnight having to get up at 6am. After a quick loosening up midnight roll I went to bed. In the morning as I walked out of my room the ground was dry. This dry condition lasted about 30 seconds at which point it started to rain… Damn. Rain is really not a big issue but the thought of messing up a set of bearings is not favorable in my mind. After registering for a race that they decided to charge $60 for instead of $50 the night before the race, I did a little warm up and waited for the start. Three minutes till race start, ahh! I don’t have my bib number. I made it back with bib just as the gun went off. The first two laps, of eight were pretty easy. I sat there pleasently watching Mike Anderson deliver a respectable break away from the gun. He was out there with a pretty good gap for a while. Then, Peter Doucet kindly brought up the pace putting the hurt in the legs of all competitors to shut Anderson down. Then the trend of Doucet putting in attack after attack began. I did not have my legs with me and I was hurting. I barely was hanging with him and as I looked around it was just Rookard, Mike Anderson, Peter Doucet, and Me. We were splashing through 2-3 inch deep puddles of water that stretched for nearly 50 feet. Then came another acceleration that dropped Rookard. Again it came and I chased, Anderson tight to my wheel. The fatigue was too great and my speed started to falter. My legs just were not at %100 this day. Anderson made the pass and latched on to Doucet. I sat there frustrated with legs that wouldn’t move watching them skate away. I pushed through the pain, accelerated through the turn and just barely got back. I really thought I had cracked and had lost them for good. 30 seconds later another attack came. I felt strong but did not have good position as I was in front and Doucet attacked from the back. I chased and was matching Doucet speed but he had a gap of 10 feet. Not being able to catch the draft I yelled for Anderson to help out but he was as fatigued as I was. That was the winning move and Doucet skated away as we looked at each other. Anderson and I worked together for the rest of the race to catch Peter Doucet but he was the man of the day. We chased for two laps and then with a half a lap to go I through in an attack where I gapped Mike Anderson by 20 feet. I felt his weakness and slowed to dual it out in a sprint. Then the sprint came and we started playing the game of cat and mouse as the rain started to monsoon. I tucked in right behind Anderson and with 150 meters left mounted a sprint. Anderson gave an honest attempt to answer but did not have the sprint. A competitive race though I was not very fond of the sub-par race organization.

Mens Results:

Peter Doucet
Peter Starykowicz
Mike Anderson

Womens Results:

Jilleanne Rookard
Helen Havam
Mechele Busby