Next Year at Hayward I Will Skate The 39 Mile Challenge

The world of inline speed/endurance skating is expanding I will be there all the way! The new thing now is longer distances. I am reading more and more about events with 39 mile challenge
races (a.k.a. ultra marathons.) Hayward had one this year - next year I think I will give it a try.

This from an article on InlinePlanet.com about the new trend of ultra marathons:

Why Ultra?

Co-director Prois believes the longer length Challenge race will prove to be particularly appealing to the sport's growing number of strong athletes in their 40's, 50's and even 60's.

"As athletes age, they don't develop more speed, they develop endurance," said Prois, one of a number of inline skaters with bike racing backgrounds. "Why are inline races of 26.2 mile-lengths, an arbitrary distance used by runners? Other endurance sports, like bike racing or skiing, use longer distances to test the endurance limits of top performers. Two hours of top effort is a more typical test. That translates to more than 26 miles for inline skaters.

"That's the type of racer we're trying to attract," he said. "These races should be a challenge."

I will not, however, skate a challenge in my current condition. I have much work to do and a year to accomplish it.