Lake Superior In-Line Marathon Featured Brian Tilley
Duluth, Minn.- Braving a cold rain with a raw temperature of 45-degrees, one thousand skaters started, with only 709 finishing, the 22nd annual North Shore In-Line Marathon along the scenic Highway 61 on the north shore of Lake Superior two weeks ago. Among the 99 elite skaters division, Madison’s Brian Tilley completed the 26.2-mile jaunt around the lake nicknamed Gitche Gumee, made famous by the 1970’s sinking of the ship the Edmond Fitzgerald.
“It was really cold and slippery as there were several accidents with the skaters due to the weather conditions,” said Tilley, who completed the race with a time of 1-hour, 24-minutes. “We started out fast averaging 32 miles an hour the first 10 miles.”
Participating in the Pro Men’s World Class Elite Division, the 36-year old Tilley finished No. 29. The winner was timed at 1:03:01. Tilley was among the lead pack until mile 10 when he felt a little uncomfortable and decided to drop back from the skaters up front. He completed the race skating alone.
“The course was really smooth and really fast,” said Tilley.
The North Shore In-Line Marathon is the largest inline marathon in North America. The course begins just south of Two Harbors and winds around Lake Superior finishing at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center. Nearing the end of the course, skaters exited the highway via an off ramp, skated toward downtown Duluth before a finish in front of the William A. Irvin tour ship.
Skating for the Insanity Complex Team, Tilley was the only team member to make the trip to Minnesota. He has participated in the sport for several years and is regarded as one of the top skaters in the U.S. and has trained with Team U.S.A.
“I had a great experience on the trip except when our plane in Chicago was held on the ground due to bad weather and had to wait for three hours. That was something no one should have to go through,” added Tilley.
Tilley was somewhat disappointed with his finish in Duluth, but will now turn his training attention to partaking in the annual Athens to Atlanta Race scheduled for Oct. 8 along the highways of the state of Georgia. Tilley won that huge race two years ago and was runner-up a year ago.
