Hayward Report, Margo Carvell Crowned NROC Champion
The Hayward Inline Marathon was the final event this year for the National Roller Cup (NROC). Going into the race Rainbo’s Margo Carvell was poised to take the women’s Pro Veteran title, and she did not disappoint. Team Rainbo also once again made a great team showing at the race.
What a gorgeous day it was in Hayward. Lots of climbing, lots of skaters, beautiful surroundings, great hosts, great shopping (ask Margo!) and terrific after race activities including a free lunch, free beer and a free lumberjack show.
Once again Team Rainbo had some stellar performances. In the 41.4 mile challenge, Marcy Turek finished 4th overall in a terrific performance with the top pro women in the sport. Cale Carvell won the Grand Veterans division, Greg Major took third in the Grand Veterans and in the marathon Kyle Brady finished 10th overall and 2nd in his age group.
Photo: Marcy Turek of Team Rainbo attacks another hill with the Pro Women.
Even though she took a fall and lost her pack, Margo Carvell finished as the first NROC Pro Veteran Women’s Champion for the year! Congratulations Margo! A special mention to Brian and Chris who came upon a couple of young girls who had fallen and hurt themselves. While Chris stayed with the girls to calm them down and be sure they were alright, Brian went for help. When you are out in the middle of this course with no one around, it can be very scary. Brian and Chris did Team Rainbo proud by showing that the race was not the most important thing going on. That is what Team Rainbo is all about.
Grand Veteran Report by Cale Carvell
My confidence was low, and 39 miles seemed a very long way to go. I haven’t skated that well this year and have not done any long distances, much less long distances on hills. Oh well, what did I have to lose really, just finishing would be an accomplishment. We started off at a reasonable rate as it seemed that no one wanted to take the first hill to hard before they were really warmed up. Of course it was hard for many of us to hang on, but the big boys up front were just cruising. The first 3 miles or so of the course are all up hill, some spots steeper than others, but certainly challenging if you are going to hang on to the front pack. Fortunately, Greg and I were able to do so.
At the top of the hill, there is a steep downhill that leads into a hard left turn that leads uphill into a 180 turnaround after about a mile. Things were going pretty fast at this time, and we didn’t really know when this turnaround was coming. All of a sudden, there it was – we were coming in too hot, and mayhem ensued. Five or six guys went down or into the forest, wheels were being dragged hard, and staying up became the top priority. Once we got through it, things calmed down. The rest of the 13.7 mile lap went hard, but manageable. We were still there with the front pack….yee ha!
The second time around was a bit different. As soon as we hit the big climbs again, the pace picked up. The front pack wanted to shake loose everyone who couldn’t hammer the hill. Amazingly, I was feeling much stronger than I had all year, and I was hanging with them as one skater after another dropped off. The last part of the climb is the steepest, and I started to fall off a bit. Not much, but when they got to the top they kept hammering. I tried to close the gap for about a mile, but I just could not do it. I was amazed that I had stayed with them as long as I did, as Gr eg and others who are at least as strong as I usually am had formed a second pack a little ways back. I waited for them and settled in for the rest of the race.
Al Marcossan, Greg and I pushed the pace numerous times trying to loose the 12-15 guys that were in this pack, and although we hurt them pretty bad, we couldn’t loose them. Lap two ended, and one lap to go. Same story…we pushed it a few times and they were hurting, but we did not think we could go off on our own and stay ahead til the end. As a side note, there were numerous preems during each lap, and our own Greg Major made them his territory. I think he won them all, after we split from the front pack.
So know we all knew that it was coming down to the sprint finish. Now I know that Greg, Herb Gayle, and Al Marcossen can probably beat me in most sprints, so I decided that I was going to try and catch them off guard. About 1/4 mile from the finish is a hard left turn followed by a 1/4 mile straight away to the finish. Just before the turn, I went out and went hard. I hammered as hard as I could and was the first one around the corner. The pack got a little clogged up in the turn while I was at my dead out sprint speed. I got quite a gap on them and just kept pounding as hard as I could.
I was sure that the entire group would be on me, as my legs were cramping and starting to give into the fatigue. Fortunately, I was able to hold them all off except for Herb Gayle who got ahead of me in the last few yards. I ended up 19th overall, under three minutes from the winner, and first in their Grand Veteran division which was 51 – 60 year olds. I have been struggling a bit this year, but for the first time I really felt good about my race. Hopefully I will still have “it” when Duluth comes around in a month.
Team Rainbo Places Well in NROC Final Standings
In addition to Margo Carvell winning the Pro Veteran title, Team Rainbo placed very well in all divisions. Notable were:
- Murphy Quinn – 11th in Open Elite
- Steve Meisinger – 14th in Open Elite
- Marcy Turek – 7th in Master Women
- Greg Major – 7th in Veteran Men
- Cale Carvell – 8th in Veteran Men
- John Sherwin – 18th in Veteran Men
- Jim Rieckenberg – 20th in Veteran Men
In addition to those above, there were many other Rainbo skaters who scored points in their respective divisions. Congratulations to all.
