This year's Toronto Inline Skate Club race weekend was scheduled for the 3rd and 4th of August. Initially, it was supposed to be contested on the weekend of 10th and 11th August, but the dates were changed to accommodate skaters who wished to compete in the New York Marathon. Skaters from all over Canada and the United States, notably Montreal, Ottawa, New York, Buffalo, Detroit, Vancouver, Ohio, and the Toronto area, participated in the event, adding immensely to its success. Roller-Montreal was represented by 7 of its members skating in several different categories, along with 3 other Montrealers. The first race was scheduled for 5 p.m. on Saturday. We had planned to leave Montreal before 9 a.m., in order to be there well ahead of time and to prevent any unforeseen circumstances that might cause a delay . Our veterans, Rod and Bernard, had learned a good lesson from last year's trip to Toronto. The highway was blocked due to an accident and they took a detour in order to save time. But they came upon a dead end (a river) and had to trace their way back to the highway. Luckily, the organisers had separated the marathon and the half-marathon and they made it just in time for the 21K half-marathon. Our ride too had its bit of hiccups. Firstly, our departure was delayed, because we sat down to watch an Eddy Matzger video. Once the video finished (we fast-forwarded through most of it), the trip got underway. The second hiccup came when, halfway through the ride, Rod said "We have plenty of time left to get there." We knew that something would go wrong, since he had said the same thing to Bernard last year, during the ride to Toronto (...sorry Rod). And the third hiccup came in Toronto when we got stuck in heavy traffic. Fortunately that didn't last long, and we finally made it to the race site, just twenty minutes before the start of the 42K for the pros. The ride took more than 7 hours, much longer than we had expected. The marathon track for Saturday's races was a 4.2 km loop featuring two right-hand turns and two right-hand sweeping curves. The course was smooth but the wind made things difficult for most of the skaters. The men's marathon was a hotly disputed contest. Empire Speed's Dennis Humphrey attacked and pushed the pace early in the race while Roces' Derik Beier and Empire Speed's Eddie Wilcox attempted breaks but were caught. Peter Doucet, Sergio Almarella, Aaron Arndt, Eddie Wilcox and Ian Rubenzahl pushed the pace as the main field went from 15 skaters down to 5 in the last 8 km. Mogema's Peter Doucet attempted a break with 4 km left and got a 40 meter gap on the pack but was caught with only 50 meters left. But in the end it was Montreal's Steve Robillard who edged out Eddie Wilcox for the win. The top 5 finishers were separated by just 2 seconds and a photo finish was required to decide the winner. If the men's 42K was a sensation to watch, the women's marathon was no less. Martine Charbonneau got off to a good start and kept up the pace, pushing and pulling the 4-skater pack right till the end. But a final sprint was required to decide the winner. Coming down the last turn, Meaghan Buisson, from Toronto, took an early sprint and left the other three women to battle for the runner-up spot. Martine secured her place on the podium by edging out the other two skaters by just centimetres. Next came the 21K for the advanced. Four of us took part in this category: Rod Willmot, Bernard Doth, Mao Pan Lau and myself. Thomas Detwiler won the overall race with a time of 40:07. Bernard Doth finished with a time of 46:05 securing the second position in his age group. After the awards ceremony we headed off to a nearby restaurant (Montana's). The supper was excellent. The food was great and our end of the table was in a party mood. Eventually the Ontario skaters started falling asleep, so we hopped into the cars and drove to our hosts' house. The long drive to Toronto and the hot weather during the marathons had taken its toll on us. We fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows. The following morning I got up early and looked out the window. There was a cool breeze blowing, and clouds were just showing up at the far side of the horizon. A perfect day for skating. It seemed as if the whole universe was conspiring to give this day its charm and beauty. With the first race scheduled for 10 a.m., we reached Hershey Center at around 9. Enough time for the all of us to warm up and socialize with other skaters . This time the course was a 330 meter track, a 3x replica of a short-track racing circuit. The track was much smoother than the previous day's street course, and allowed enough room for passing. The day kicked off with the 10K for the pros followed by the 10K for the advanced, and ended with the 1.5K races for all categories. The pro men and women's 10K witnessed a repeat of the previous day's marathon, with the same skaters forming the lead packs and the final sprint being the deciding factor. Eddie Wilcox from Empire Speed won the men's race, closely followed by Steve Robillard and Sergio Almarella for the second and third positions respectively. The women's race saw a completely different picture, with the two Toronto Skaters, Beth Clark and Meaghan Buisson, opening a big gap over the other skaters as they entered the final lap, leaving Martine Charbonneau and Carla Raetsen to battle it out for third. Martine took a good stretch at the starting line, but it was not enough to prevent Carla from acquiring the third spot. The advanced race was dominated by skaters from TISC and Drive Sports. Bernard Doth managed to secure a silver medal in his age group, while Pan came third in his. Rod Willmot did a great job keeping a constant pace right till the end. As for me, due to some injuries to my foot I had to drop out after just 13 laps of the 30-lap race, and couldn't race in the 1.5K either. At 12 a.m. it was time for the 1.5K races. The pro men's race was another sensation to watch, with the skaters trying different tactics to outplay each other. But in the end it was Eddy Wilcox who came first, while Sergio Almarella had to be content with second and Steve with third. Martine again displayed excellent skating expertise by opening a 10 meter gap halfway through the pro women's race, but was soon caught by the other skaters. She was edged out in the final sprint and had to be content with 4th place, just behind Meagan Buisson and Beth Clark, who are representing Canada at the World Championships later this month, and Connie Strub from Team Bont. In the advanced race, Bernard Doth came first in his category and Mao Pan secured the second spot in his. Once more, we came to the end of another day of intense speed and skating. The excellent company of our skaters as well as those from Ottawa, New York, Toronto and elsewhere, made for a weekend of unlimited fun and skating. Congratulations to all those skaters who participated in the events and best of luck to everyone who's going to New York next weekend. For complete results of all races, go to TIRW Results. Said Rahim