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There are not currently nearly as many skating marathons
in the United States as there are running marathons
so finding an event in your city might not be easy.
Instead, consider taking a few days off work and making
a vacation of it! Marathons such as the ones in Tahiti,
Disney World, and Napa Valley all make excellent vacation
destinations. How about traveling to Europe?
Other Activites
If you do plan to participate in a marathon as part
of your vacation, check to see whether the organizers
include a variety of events for the weekend. It is
great fun to join a Friday Night Skate or a post-race
party as part of the race weekend. Organizers of the
Northshore marathon have been doing this for years
and now include a Friday Night Skate (organized by Zephyr Inline Skate Tours),
a Kid’s Sprint, a post-race party, and a pre-race
pasta feed as part of the weekend.
Timing
Is the time of year a good time for you? If you live
in northern climes, joining a southern marathon in
the winter months (Disney in early April) can be a great
break. On the other hand, a marathon that is too early
in the year (National Capital Marathon in Ottawa in
May) might not give you enough time to train.
Size
It is worth checking out how many participants skate
in the marathon. Skating with thousands of other skaters
(Northshore in Duluth and many of the European events)
can be intimidating or can slow your time if you get
stuck behind other skaters. On the other hand, the
excitement of a big race is a ton of fun and can actually
motivate you to skate better than you thought you
could.
Difficulty
Not all marathons are created equally. Some marathons
are flat and straight (Northshore in Duluth), others
are flat but with winding turns (Disney), while others
have hills (Tucson and the Big Granite Marathon in
Ashland). Some marathons are totally closed to traffic
(Long Beach), others are in part on open roads (Roll
through the Wine Country), and others are repeating
loops in parks (New York Marathon).
Course Speed
If you are shooting for a personal best, take a look
at the fastest times by the pro skaters. This won’t
tell you everything, since the times will depend on
weather conditions and who skated in the event, but
will give you an idea of which courses are fast. A
very fast course for advanced skaters, for example,
is the Northshore Marathon.
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