Geronimo

Today I'll be participating in my first Olympic style long track race. The Oval Finale week is going on right now and skaters from all over the world are here to try and break world records, national records and get personal bests.

I'm going to give it a try. I've been on clap skates 4 times in total to prepare for my race - the 1500m.

Which race is the toughest long track race?

The 1500m.

It seems like every long track skater or coach I talk to asks me why I would do something so ridiculously tough for my first race. The 1500m is renowned for being a killer. It's too short to start off with an endurance pace and too long to just sprint all out. Basically it's a grinder of a race and it's supposed to hurt at the end. (No worries, I'll be hurting near the start!)

Oh yeah, and I'm paired with one of my skaters, Michael Gilday. (Yes, the same guy who broke the world record in the 1000m last season).

So, I figured the only way to experience the wonders of the long track world are to "grab the bull by the horns" sort of speak.

Geronimo!

JC