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10:30 am | Race recap: For Ty Fidler, today's inline marathon in Eagle Creek Park was much like last week's event in Brookside Park. The 28-year-old from St. Louis spent most of the race with a skater named Brian — only this week, it was Skater Quest's Brian Oswald, not Brian Limke. And again this week, Fidler won the race in the final sprint — this time, edging out Oswald, not Limke, by a few yards. "The last lap, we were just battling it out," Fidler said. "He was trying to take off. I was trying to take off. But then it came down to the final sprint, and I got him there." Fidler's win should move him into a tie for second place in the current National Roller Cup standings. Last week on the rough Brookside road course, Oswald, 35, of Manassas, VA, dropped off the pace to finish third. His second-place finish today will move him to within five points of the lead (currently held by Bont's Norm Kirby) in NROC's pro master division. Oswald represents Skater's Quest. Fidler and Oswald were not alone the whole race. Team Hoigaard's Herb Gayle, 49, of Toronto, stuck with them for nearly half of the 18 laps. "I got dropped on lap 7," said Gayle. "So I skated pretty much alone until later ... when they lapped me." When Fidler and Oswald lapped Gayle, they brought with them another lapped skater: Cory Hickman of Indianapolis. A few minutes later, Fidler and Oswald took off again. That left Gayle and Hickman to contest third place. "Cory and I were battling it out on the last lap, but I got him in the sprint," Gayle said. Gayle's third-place finish puts him, unofficially, in a tie for first place with Morgan Williams in the pro veteran's division. The winner of the women's race was Chris Wright of Champaign, according to unofficial results. Zach Stoppelmoor, 11, of West Des Moines, IA, was one of a handful of youth skaters in the race. He won the freshman boy's division. Both organizers and skaters said they were pleased with today's event. "Everything went a lot more smoothly than last week," said Planet Adventurer's inline event coordinator, Thomas A. Stergar, II. Last week's event was hindered by a rough racecourse and cold and windy conditions. "Today, the weather cooperated. The course was smooth. And the skaters were happy," Stergar said. "It was really great." 10:20 am | Top finishers: Ty Fidler, 28, of St. Louis wins today's Eagle Creek Contemporary Circuit Race in Indianapolis.
Top woman: Chris Wright from Champaign, IL. According to Oswald's GPS, the distance was 28-plus miles, Fidler said. About 30 skaters competed in today's full and half marathon, Stergar said.
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