However, the official results list Dan Stietz as finishing first, though I don’t know we ever saw him in or around the main pack, and he finished about 3 seconds ahead of the pack. The open wave was lead by Matt Melanson, Cale Carvell, Roger Olson, and myself. We were cruising into the final sprint, and I looked to my right only to see one of the other skaters closing, so I shot my right foot out to cross the line first, finishing in the top 5 for the wave, first for my age group, and 33rd overall, finishing in 42:02.30. I managed to duck in behind Roger Olson and hang on to the finish. Unfortunately, the rest of the pack came with us. It took about a mile, but I managed to reel them in. The line broke up a bit up the hill to the turn around, and I opted to see if I could catch the flyer. Cale Carvell gave chase, and caught the group on the flyer. We rotated out, I continued to draft, and as we approached the turn around a couple of skaters got away. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to hold that pace through the rest of the race, and opted to let the line catch me. I looked back to see the line dropping off behind me. Oddly, at about mile 5.5, I was pulling the line and found myself alone. We had a solid group through the first half of the race. The main group filtered out after a couple of miles. At the start, the pace was predictably fast through the turn around. The conditions were tight, and it took a bit to get across the start line. I got in with the group of skaters in the open group, but was shuffled a couple of skaters back from the start line. I made it to the start line, but just barely before the National Anthem. When I checked in and got my bib, I didn’t get an ankle chip. Thankfully, one of my teammates from Team Rainbo was kind enough to drop my gear bag for me at gear drop while I got my skates on. The line for parking was long, and I still had to get to packet pick-up and get my skates on before getting to the start line. The race was scheduled to start for the Open Wave at 7:33 AM, so I was very late. Paul, where the race took place, until 7:15 AM. I got out of the house and on the road by the time I had planned, but didn’t get to St. This is a local race for Minnesota skaters, and it usually draws a big crowd from the local speed skating contingent here. The road conditions are decent, there aren’t a lot of big hills, and the pace is pretty fast.
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I like this race, generally, even if it is only a half marathon. Coming out of the Chicagoland, I was aggressive with the two weeks of training I had getting ready for this race. I have often felt that this race rejuvenates my confidence as a skater after the Chicagoland Inline Marathon, as I haven’t been able to keep up with the main pack at that race since I have raced it.
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However, after the race this year, this event should be considered a staple of the Midwest outdoor racing circuit and anyone within reasonable driving distance should put this race on their calendar. A lot of people question the value of the Minnesota Half Marathon.