Reminiscing

Looking back on my early record attempts, it’s a wonder I managed to break any at all, what with the super stress of organizing the billlions of details, combined with actually doing the miles required for an ultramarathon skating record! After that first 12 hour quad World Record in 1988, if someone had offered me a chance to simply pay money, and show up and skate, leaving the details to be sweated over by another, I would have jumped at the chance! (I remember being so relieved once the event started, I could relax – all I had to do then was skate).

World Record Challenge 99 was held on the .7 mile smooth asphalt oval at the Polo Fields in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, October 30–31, and was an overwhelming success!

Six new World Records were either broken or established in just 24 hours, all done in the dreaded “solo” category – not drafting other skaters as most of us are used to.

Imagine skating the entire Athens to Atlanta 86 miles alone, pushing the wind the entire way, and that is what 8 skaters had in front of them at the starting line, with strict rules on avoiding the drafting zone (like triathlons) hanging over their heads, and nowhere to hide as the entire circuit was under the observation of the officials at all times.

The Entrants & Their Stories

100k: Jamie Johnson, dnf 42 miles, 3h17m
The man in black started fast, and looked strong through two hours, then started having major cramping, by the end he was caked in salt. Surprisingly, he doesn't hate me, even though I convinced him to keep going each time. After he dnf’d, he rested a short time, and then spent two hours going around the circuit putting reflective tape on the fence for the nitetime skaters.

6 hour: Nikki Diamontopolus, World Record 91.79 miles (old 90.5mi, Kim Pavak-usa 1993)
The 99 A2A winner was a last minute invite, and the Salomon skater’s form always looked good-skating low, efficient ultra “hand on knee” style. She went through a rough time at around the 4 hour mark, and even though she was crying from the pain and magnitude of knowing she still had 2 hours to go, never slowed down.

6 hour 50+: Alice Eads, World Record, 78 miles
Alice was steady throughout, always with a smile on her face, a wave for the timers, and encouragement for the other skaters. She exceeded her own goal, and without a doubt could be talked into doing 12 hours next time!

6 hours: Erik Kraan, 70 miles, personal best
“The singing Dutch ice speedskater from El Paso” probably had the best time of all, since where he trains in Texas involves dodging thrown beer bottles and speeding pickup trucks. Erik had no illusions of world records, rather he was competiting against himself and his shouted “hup holland” and other Dutch soccer chants kept us all laughing!

6 hour Masters: Dana Eads, World Rec, 95 miles
The other half of the “Alice and Dana” show was a true sportsman, sponsored by Bont, greatful for the chance to show his world class abilities free from the teamwork tactics of pack racing (where he always seemed to get a mauling courtesy of the better organized Twincam squad). Dana and Alice were among the first invitations sent out by wrc99, and were among the few to personally thank me afterwards. (All event directors know how rare a quality gratitude is among racers!!)

6 hour: Dan Burger, World Record 105.95 mi., (old mark, 91.35mi, J. Seutter-usa, 1991)
12 hour: World Record 190.95 mi., (old mark, C Hechman-dmk, 1999)
The Transpak skater had to be coerced into going for the 12 hour mark, as his initial interest was in the shorter 6 hour record. Dan started blazingly fast, and used the very same aero helmet used back in 1991 when I set the first inline 12 hour mark. Was it the helmet? Who knows? What we do know is than Dan flew thru the first 6 hours with a smile on his face, responding to my repeated inquiries about his speed with a “thumbs up” and grin. By 8 hours the grin was gone, replace by a mask of pain and determination to survive the agonizing final 4 hours. Aided by his screaming crew chief /father, he just managed to eek out the 12 hr wr, but a mere 15 seconds a lap slower would have resulted in a painful failure!

24 hours: Kent Baake, dnf 252mi, 19h49min
Looking focused and determined throughout, Kent skated farther at one time than most skaters do in a month, and dropped during the crucial 3 a.m. to daylight that claims 90% of all 24 hour casualties. With a crew of 3 consisting of his girlfriend Paula, Crewchief Jethro and his mother, Kent seemed well prepared, but nagging knee pain became the center of his existence at 5 a.m., and when he announced his decision to drop, lack of experience and clearly defined “chain of command” responsibilities were a factor in the failure of his crew to work him thru the pain. (The race video shows the “discussion” and tenseness of his final break, and his crews lack of focus. At the same time the video shows Sandy’s crew giving him positive energy and motivation).

24 hour: Sandy Snakenberg, World Record, 315 miles (old 313 miles, J Czernika-dmk, 1999)
The hero of the event, Sandy overcame insurmountable obstacles and put to rest forever questions about his abilities. With the advantage of a hometown crew, and superstar Crew chief Don, Sandy managed to squeek over the old mark by only a few km.
The most dangerous time for him wasn’t the wee hours of the morning, but the final 30 minutes. The crowd and his crew had him believing the 24 hour World Record was “in the bag”. Those of us with more experience knew how close it would be for him to triumph. (I begged his crew chief to keep him focused and skating hard the final 15 minutes, to put as much on top of his record as possible, to make it more difficult for the next guy). Gold medal to massage person Anna, for actually rubbing Sandy’s feet during his breaks!)
The success of wrc99 couldn’t have been possible without the assistance of: CORA/David Miles, secured the facility and insurance, Rose Miles for feeding the volunteers; BAIR/Geoff Faragon, scheduling the volunteers (most were bair members) and administering drug tests; Skates On Haight/Lee Cole, providing a base of operations, staff t-shirts, securing 2 pair of skates for the raffle; Tully’s Coffee, we'd have fallen asleep without it!; Salomon, 2 pair of skates for volunteers; San Francisco Parks and Rec/ Sandy Lee and staff, for allowing the wrc99 to run over night. Sandy even showed up 3 times, at the start, at midnite (with food!) and at the 24 hour finish; PowerBar; Transpack; Twincam; Bont; Steve Novak for starting the event and for organizing the takedown of equipment; Jon Lowden, wrc99 security chief and video dude.

WRC99 was officiated under the strict guidelines of Inline Skating Records Assoc. 4 World Records set or broke exsisting published Guinness marks), had a USA/RS participation permit, and a special sanction from USA/IR.

Sandy Snakenberg in person
The betcha-can’ts that only recently were a conversational staple in the U.S. endurance skating circle have quieted – for now. In their place, there is only a respectful silence. On Halloween weekend, Sandy Snakenberg sealed the loose lips of those who doubted he had the focus and endurance necessary to perform the feat that would indelibly etch his name on the pantheon of Skaters Who Matter: To skate farther in 24 hours than any man or woman before him. From the morning of Oct. 30 to the morning of the 31st, Snakenberg skated over 315 miles in Golden Gate Park. This set a new world record, and a potential Guinness Book record, pending a review by the Guinness Records Committee in July.
The 38-year-old skater, averaged over 13 miles an hour each of the 24 hours, stopping only for quick massages and sock changes; he ate, drank, and peed in motion. (Snakenberg burned 12,000 calories while he consumed nearly six pounds of Spiz, an energy-drink concentrate dissolved in water, as well as six bananas, half of a tuna sandwich, two bowls of soup, black tea, and assorted multi-vitamin preparations over 24 hours.) Members of his 12-person crew (under the guidance of crew chief/coach Don Fells) prepared his food and timed his breaks to keep him strong and on schedule. His Holy Grail: consistent lap times over the .7-mile course,. “I felt great in the beginning,” said Snakenberg, who attributed some of that feeling to a sense of relief. “I was glad to get started – I’d been talking about it for 10 years.”

An endurance skater and fitness trainer, who won the longest single-day race in the world in 1991 skating 138 miles from Fresno, California, to Bakersfield in 9 hours and 22 minutes, Snakenberg looked strong for most of the day. But it was clear that fatigue was making itself felt as the sun dipped down below the horizon and a chilling ground fog crept into the area. Even after sundown, it took a while for the buzz to wear off. But when it finally did, said the skater, what followed, hurt.

“It was really not fun anymore at the 17-hour mark,” said Snakenberg, who began to hallucinate in the early-morning hours, especially on the unlit and unoccupied far side of the course. He watched a chain-link fence change into a steam train, saw a spotlight beam transform into a blinking eye, and, finally, enervated beyond all reason but still skating, drifted off to sleep and dreamed he was an albatross. “They were a way to escape,” said Snakenberg of his hallucinations, after the event. “They’d last for 10 minutes or so – 10 minutes that I didn’t have to deal with the pain.” He finished his final lap at 9:16 a.m.

Snakenberg required several days of bed rest after the event. When asked if he would ever attempt to cover a similar distance at a record pace again, he responded, “There’s a possibility. It really depends on whether Jacob [Czernika, the last 24-hour record-holder, at 313 miles] decides to go for the record before the Guinness Records Committee meeting. If he breaks it, I will, of course, retaliate. I want to be in the Book.” Snakenberg is sponsored by Bont, Bones, Hyper, Giro, Spiz, CDS Detriot, and Skate Pro Sports.

The all-day, all-night event also saw a few other world records topple before the sun rose again. Dan “The Beast” Burger, who started strongly and kept his pace relentless as he skated to a new 12-hour, 190.95-mi World Record, also managed to grab the six-hour record on his way into the record book. Asked if he’d ever attempt any kind of world record again, a visibly fried Burger said, “Hell, no.”

Last year’s Athens to Atlanta winner, Nikki Diamantopoulos of Phoenix, Arizona took the women’s 6-hour record of 91.79 mile in an effort that also passed the previous men’s mark. The only other skater working toward the 24-hour record, Washington, D.C.’s Kent Baake, dropped out at 5 am after skating 20 hours. The 28-year-old Baake, who citied fatigue and knee pain as his reasons for stopping, had covered 252 miles and was approximately 3-1/2 miles behind Snakenberg.