LondonSkaters Speed Team - Speed Skating & Rollerblading Club in London

Etienne · Joined: 24 Feb 2004 Posts: 1697 Location: Central Paris

Now I guess you know what it means 111, and I am sure you felt quite happy when you read "Nur 5 km"..... then the last pretty flat 1 km.

Shame you did'nt join the years before !!!! You would have enyoyed a much better weather Wink

2003 was much hotter (canicule in french) and 2004 was actually ideal as it was overcast, but no rain ...

Duracell · Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 1:17 am Subject:

Nice race reports, guys! Smile

Mighty tempting for next year, assuming I'm not broken at the time...

'S funny, Tanya - I recognised you by your resting position...

Well done, everyone! Very Happy

Rick · Joined: 25 Feb 2004 Posts: 5888

Some more from those photos you may recognise:
Thomas - http://romain.delorme.free.fr/roller2006/111-2006/Christelle/IMG_4453.html
XSFred - http://romain.delorme.free.fr/roller2006/111-2006/Christelle/IMG_4488.html
Linda - http://romain.delorme.free.fr/roller2006/111-2006/Christelle/IMG_4576.html
Alex - http://romain.delorme.free.fr/roller2006/111-2006/Christelle/IMG_4607.html

tanya g · Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 1:03 pm Subject:

http://www.swissregiotv.ch/dcpage.aspx?pagetype=file&pageid=stg_default_plr_d&recid=2251&hrub=22&query=stg_eve_d

hans and nats on tv

Xia · Joined: 06 Apr 2004 Posts: 874 Location: Geneva (Suisse)

3:59 in the video
Linda and me 1:47 in the next one (8:06=>8:11)
oh boy is my skating bad!

danceskater · Joined: 22 Aug 2006 Posts: 47

Hi all. .alonzo. from Zürich here...

3rd year in a row and still no photo's of me. didn't have a good time but i had fun. If anyone spots a photo of me let me know.

Found out the guy we saw on the ground died. he was 50 years old and good shape and a good skater. Heart attack. outch.

quick edit: http://www.redus.ch/ is where you can get a copy of your finishing cdrtificate and view more photos when they go online.

roger · Joined: 26 Feb 2004 Posts: 528

Well done to those who finished and commiserations to those who didn't. The times are also very impressive. It almost made me want to do it again, though I still remember very well the pain from the last time.

Natasha · Joined: 09 Jul 2004 Posts: 2973 Location: Basingstoke

When can I sign up for next year’s event? I had been dreaming about doing this race for the last 2 years, and it didn’t disappoint one little bit.

Race organisation? Zuperb.
Alex remarked that although registration was expensive, you could see where the money was spent. For a relatively small race (800-odd skaters), the course-marshalling alone must have been a logistical nightmare as there were people stationed at every traffic intersection. Food and refreshments, from water and carb drinks to energy bars and bananas were all provided at regular (10k) intervals along the course. Bends and downhills were accurately marked according to the severity of each one.

Hop hop across the yellow zebras
The course passed through villages and towns, up country lanes and with views spanning from cornfields and cows on one side to beautiful Lake Constance on the other. We were expecting the rain but in the end only got a little of it (about half an hour over the 5 hours) but although roads were fairly wet from the night before, the surfaces were smooth, largely obstacle-free and pretty grippy. The only really treacherous bits were the yellow zebra crossing road markings, but these were avoidable. There were spectators along large stretches of the course which really helped as they shouted encouragement (the irritating ‘hop hop hop’ and the slightly less irritating cow bells).

And the uphills and downhills? The downhills weren’t as scary as I expected, although I t-stopped down most of the big carpeted one (which was roughly comparable to the Richmond downhill). And that was in the wet, I’m sure it would have been a little less scary in the dry. And the uphills? If you’ve done uphills in Richmond and in Sardinia, there wouldn’t have been any surprises. For some reason, I expected the whole of the last 20k to be uphill, which it certainly wasn’t. The biggie was with about 5k to go and comparable to the long LIM hill in steepness, albeit longer, though straighter and wider.

Would the trains be run on cuckoo clocks?
Travelling was long but quite pleasant (Ryanair to Friedrichshafen, short train journey to the ferry port, ferry across Lake Constance to Romanshorn then 40 min train journey from Romanshorn to St Gallen. 15 minute walk from St Gallen train station to the Olma Messe where we were staying and where the race started from. Alex arrived via Zurich, which was a shorter journey, but missed the lovely ferry ride across Lake Constance which I think was worth the longer journey time alone.

Would sharing a room with 400 other skaters be a challenge?
We stayed at the Olma Messe which was where the race started from. With a 7am race start and a one-minute walk from the start line, I’d definitely stay there again next year. The facilities are superb, they provide mattresses and a really restful environment (I’m so glad I packed earplugs). The big downside for me was that they don’t provide showers in the morning, and they’re only open from 8-9 the evening before (which we found out after they had closed) so I started the race feeling tired and skanky. There was a huge range of skate equipment and clothing on sale, albeit fairly expensive. Food (the pasta provided the evening before and 5am breakfast) was pretty ok too.

CHF for CHF
Switzerland is expensive. Getting there via Ryanair isn’t usually expensive if you book in advance, but when you’re an idiot like me and mess up your booking and have to buy a ticket home for the same flight as everyone else then it is a little more so. A cheaper option would have been to pack more food and less wheels! In the end, we ate more when we arrived in Germany and less in Switzerland.

In a nutshell
If you like the challenge of an endurance race (effectively two marathons back to back + another 30k, some of it uphill), then the One Eleven is for you, in terms of the beautiful surroundings, variety of challenges on the course (uphills and downhills and lots of beautiful flat surfaces) and superb organisation. I agree with Alex in that with the proper preparation, most club members could complete this event. Now I know what to expect, I’ll be much better prepared for next year in what I should eat and how much more training to do. This event is certainly on my calendar for next year.

Do they or don't they?
And the question about how our sponsored Star wheels would cope in the rain and the wet surfaces? I had brand new white compound ones which I wore in the night before and they were fine. They were a bit slippery on the yellow shiny road markings, but I think all wheels would have had the same problem.

Essentials to pack
And finally, I highly recommend that you take a Hans with you on every race. I had the luxury of the original who entertained other skaters in the paceline, lugged around a Red Bull for me to drink at half time, saw me through the most scary bits and knew just what was needed to get me up that last hill - alternately that waiting for me at the top of the hill was a) a skaters bottom covered in chocolate b) someone I really wanted to punch and c) that I was going to finish a minute outside my goal time – the last one finally worked for me. Thanks mate.

Bill Begg, who waited out in the rain for us to finish really took a shine to Hans as he mentioned here in the Bont forum, and he and his wife were very encouraging and supportive. I'm definately a fan.

Tammy · Joined: 24 Jan 2006 Posts: 144 Location: Twickenham

I've read these race reports, absolutely fascinated. I just can't believe how fast everyone was over such a long distance. So respect. You are now going to find the Berlin marathon a short sprint.

I'm sort of half tempted, but the message seems to be only do it if your can take a Hans. Oh - and you have to do special eating training first.

dan_b · Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Posts: 2417

I'd add the following to Nats' report

you do need a sleeping bag, but mattresses are provided
all the shops in St Gallen close at 5pm on a Saturday. This was not much of a problem for us (excpet perhaps for the purchase of sleeping bags) as the entire town was full of market stalls selling drinks, food, etc, but I don't know if they're always there.

tanya g · Posted: Wed Aug 23, 2006 9:45 am Subject:

I don't think it has to be a hans - but a team is a must Wink

having bea on the course with me 4 a while and knowing that others were out there too made a big difference ... also an mp3 player.

I think alex & linda also found out the strength of lsst team mates.

Natasha · Joined: 09 Jul 2004 Posts: 2973 Location: Basingstoke

I was being flippant, but agree with Tanya that a team, and particularly a training partner who knows you and what makes you tick makes things a hell of a lot easier. Farhana and I used to egg each-other on when we were flagging.

Xia · Joined: 06 Apr 2004 Posts: 874 Location: Geneva (Suisse)

Mikey-two-Names · Joined: 24 Feb 2004 Posts: 4070

I can remember having many of the same sorts of thoughts when considering a 150km or 200km bicycle ride. In fact it's not a problem, providing you have enough mileage in your legs, you eat and drink properly, and you pace yourself.

If I can do the L2B, admittedly a little shorter, and cycle these sorts of distances, then any of you can easily do it too, so have more confidence in yourselves!!!!

Natasha · Joined: 09 Jul 2004 Posts: 2973 Location: Basingstoke

Coupla photos (still waiting for the official ones)
Dan and Alex