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On June 16 I had the pleasure of taking a guided tour of the St. Paul Inline Marathon course with General Manager, Adam Kocinski. Adam is a very helpful and pleasant young man and is doing a great job organizing this year’s inaugural St. Paul Inline Marathon (SPIM). If you are doing SPIM and happen to see Adam please stop, introduce yourself, identify yourself as a Northern Inline Skaters club member and thank Adam for his efforts. First, some general comments about the course. The course starts near the intersection of Shepard Road and Sibley. From here you skate west in the lane closest to the river. If there were cars on the course you would be skating into traffic. At the Gannon Road turn around point, approximately 6 miles from the start, you turn and cross over into the lane on the other side of the meridian. From here you skate back to the start, pass the start, and continue on Warner for an additional 2 miles out to the 2nd turn around point. After the 2nd turn around, you then skate back towards the start and continue to the 3rd turn around, which is identical to the first. As you approach the staging area again you will take a hard left and climb up Sibley for about 2.5 city blocks. At 4th Street you take a left and climb up about 6 city blocks to Wabasha where the grade becomes flat. From Wabasha it is about a 1.5 city block straight shot to the finish line. The last half block, the area where the finish line is located, is cobblestone. Just past the finish line is a large bronze statue of Herb Brooks with outstretched arms. If you don’t slow down in time Herb is there to catch you. Except for approximately the last mile of the course, the course is on Shepard and Warner Roads. These roads hug the northern bank of the Mississippi and have some moderate ups and downs, especially at the west and east end turn around points. From the start line going west you will be on Shepard Road. From the start line going east you will be on Warner Road. The pavement is grooved on the large majority of Shepard and Warner Roads. As you travel on Shepard Road west you will be on new, grooved concrete all the way past the 35E overpass. Before and after the Gannon Road west end turn around (about 3 miles total) you will be on “old” concrete. This stretch of concrete is not grooved; it is a bit rougher and has cracks across the direction of travel, which has been repaired resulting in slight bumps. Before and after the Warner Road east end turn around (about 1 mile total) you will be on “old” concrete again. The course offers very little shade and the white concrete making up Shepard and Warner will reflect some of the sunlight. You will spend the large majority of your time skating back and forth in the southwest to northeast direction. Shepard and Warner are bordered on the south by the Mississippi and on the north by tall, natural bluffs. If there is a wind on race day, the best scenario would have it coming out of the northwest. The bluffs will offer some protection from a northwest wind. Water stops and porta potties will be available along the course. There is practically no parking near the start area. It is recommended that you park in one of the many parking ramps in downtown St. Paul. The SPIM web site www.saintpaulinlinemarathon.com has maps to parking ramps plus lots of other helpful information. When you move from your downtown hotel or parking ramp to the start area it is recommended that you walk, at least the last several blocks. Jackson Street down to Shepard Road gets quite steep, especially just before the railroad underpass and the pavement under the underpass is pot holed and rough. If you have any questions about the course you can e-mail me (Terry King) or Adam Kocinski. CLICK HERE to view photos taken on the 16th during the guided tour. They are shown in the order taken and come with a brief description. I hope you enjoy the St. Paul Inline Marathon!
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