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Mike Anderson, a 41-year-old computer programmer from Minneapolis, finished first; Randy Plett was second; and Grant Foster, third. Naomi Shechter, 40, of New York City, won the women's race, tucked into the second men's chase pack. Skaters were enthusiastic about the new racecourse on the Silverado Trail highway in Yountville, describing it as smooth with some easy hills. Grant Foster proved to be the sportsman of the day. When Team Safe's Blair Atwell fell on the first turnaround, Foster stopped and waited for him before continuing on the racecouse. In all, 120 skaters participated in the full and half marathon. 10:07 a.m. Naomi Patino, the winner of the women's race, said the drama for her came at the beginning. She fell a little behind in the fast and furious mass start. "So in the first few miles, I sprinted harder than I ever have to catch up," she said. She settled into the second chase pack of seven men and stayed with them until the finish. "It was fun," said Patino, who has now won the Napa Marathon three times in four years. Her time was 1:25:00. Lorraine Kehler-Plett finished second with a time of 1:33:53. Barrie Hartman was third; Noriko Morita, fourth; and Carol Hochstein, fifth. 9:17 a.m. Bont's Randy Plett credited teammate Grant Foster with pushing the pace and tiring out the competition early in the marathon. Foster broke away on the first 8.7 mile-lap, but the pack, led by Team Safe, caught him after the turnaround. "Then he took off again," Plett said.
Foster created a gap of about 20 yards before the Team Safe skaters, led by Rob Motta and Chris Rojo, caught him a second time. Bont's Anderson and Plett were tucked in the pack behind Team Safe. When the pack caught Foster, Anderson took off on the right side and Plett went with him. At that point, the Team Safe skaters were tired from working to bridge the gap. "So when Randy and Mike took off, nobody wanted to chase them," Rojo said. "You've got to hand it to them. They were using great team tactics." 8:55 a.m. Bont's Mike Anderson and Randy Plett finished together one minute and 41 seconds ahead of the chase pack. They took it easy on the final straightaway with Anderson in the lead by a few feet. Anderson lifted his arms in victory 30 yards before the finish line to claim his second straight win in the Napa Valley Inline Marathon. Teammate Grant Foster was the first skater to appear at the top the hill two hundred yards in front of the finish line. He had a lead of several yards in front of Uel Archuletta and Team Safe's Chris Rojo. He held the lead to finish in third place with a time of 1:19:55. Archuletta beat Rojo in the sprint to claim fourth place. Rojo was fifth. 8:41 a.m. Bont North America fills the podium: Men
Women:
8:02 a.m. Bont's Mike Anderson and Randy Plett have taken the lead after two laps. With Anderson in front, the two pushed hard up the hill in front of the finish line. The chase pack was about 30 seconds behind and moving at a noticeably slower pace. Leading the chase pack up the hill was Bont's Grant Foster. But after the turnaround, Team Safe's Rob Motta took over the lead. Women's leader Naomi Patino looked comfortable tucked into the second chase pack. But on the way back down the hill, she was joking that her turnaround had not been very graceful. "I just about went into the field," she said. One lap to go. 7:38 a.m. Bont's Grant Foster arrived at the end of the first lap with a lead of 20 seconds. Chasing him was a pack of about 15 racers led by three Team Safe skaters, including Rob Bell, who is returning to racing after being injured in last spring's Skate Against Violence. Naomi Patino was tucked away with the men in the second chase pack. Two more laps to go. 7:08 a.m. The Bont North America team shot to the lead at the 7:07 a.m. start of the marathon. Mike Anderson was first; Randy Plett, second; Grant Foster, third. Anderson won the event last year. Tucked back in the pack was last year's women's winner, Naomi Patino. About 100 skaters were lined up for the race. The full and half marathons started together as the sun started lighting up the hills on the west side of the valley. 6:30 a.m. It's a beautiful morning here on the Silverado Trail in Yountville. Clear skies with the sun still below the hills. Skaters are starting to congregate around the registration table and warming up on the road, which is still open to traffic. Among the skaters are Bont North America's Mike Anderson, Randy Plett and Grant Foster.
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