Planet News Archive ... ... for the week of March 19 - 25, 2006 Monday
(March 20, 2006)
Surprise Winner in Vegas 10,000 Meters
A relatively unknown skater from Washington State surprised the favorites to win the 10,000 meters today in the Las Vegas High Roller Invitational. Nancy Lauritzen says that when she pulled away from the lead pack no one wanted to follow. (Go to Planet story.) Helping Champions Live Their Dreams
 Send the Best is launching a new fund-raiser to help ensure that the top U.S. speed skaters can attend this summer's World Championships in South Korea. The fund drive is called "Helping Champions Live Their Dreams." ... Can you? (Go to Planet story.) Joey Mantia Skates a Blue Streak
 Expect Joey Mantia to be strong again this year. The 20-year-old Powerslide skater clocked 44.5 seconds in the 500 meters Saturday at the Las Vegas High Roller Invitational. That's six-tenths of a second below the U.S. record, set last year by Jeremy Anderson. (Go to race highlights.) Chad Falters in Final Event of All-Arounds
 Chad Hedrick needed a fast time in the final event at the World All-Around Championships on Sunday in Calgary. Instead, the inline champion forgot to make a required lane change in the 10,000 meters and was disqualified. That gave the All-Around title to USA's Shani Davis, who had a great meet, setting two world records. Davis was notably gracious in victory, noting that Hedrick has only been skating on ice for a few years. (Go to All-Around results.) (Go to Chi-Trib story.) Tuesday
(March 21, 2006)
Rollerblade's 4Ds: Flexible and Fast
 The big thing (besides the big wheels) about Rollerblade's new Crossfire 4D and Activa 4D models is their adjustable length frame: good for both rec and fitness skating. We put them through the paces and found them to be quite fast ... until we started climbing. (Go to the Planet review.) Hometown Emulates Joey Cheek
 Greensboro, N.C., is honoring hometown hero Joey Cheek by following his lead. It hopes to raise $80,000 for the Olympic champion's favorite charities during its Joey Cheek Day celebration Thursday. The former inline racer donated $40,000 of his Olympic earnings to help poor children in Darfur, Africa. (Go to News-Record story.) Skate Bytes ...
Some of Europe's top artistic inline skaters, including Eric Traouanez of France, will be performing on May 7th in Hague, the Netherlands. (Go to more info.) Wednesday
(March 22, 2006)
Numbers Climb for Texas Road Rash
 The Texas Road Rash appears to be an event with a future. Organizers expect between 200-250 skaters for this year's event on Sunday. That would represent a healthy jump from last year's numbers. (Go to Planet story.) (March 22, 2006) Skate Bytes ...
This will be the 35th year for the Flanders Grand Prix inline speed skating championships in Belgium. This year's event rolls Aug. 11-13. (Go to Summer Event Calendar.) ...  The bargain ($155) SkateFresh Tour of Holland is proving popular again this year. Already 85 skaters have signed up for the 5-day tour, which starts May 9th. (Go to more info.) Thursday
(March 23, 2006)
Pics Tell Tale of Vegas 10,000 Meters
 Mark Virtue's photos tell the tale of the women's 10,000 meter race in Las Vegas on Monday. The race featured lots of breakaways, a tight pack and a gutsy performance by surprise winner Nancy Lauritzen of the Tiffany speed skating team of Puyallup, Wash. But we'll let Mark's photos (and our captions) do the talking. (Go to the Planet photo story.) (March 23, 2006) Skate Bytes ...
 D. Miles Jr., head of the California Outdoor Rollerskating Association, hopes to pump up skating in San Francisco through a new training program called SkateFit. Details are sketchy, but apparently he will be leading weekly training skates along San Francisco's Embarcadero. (Go to more info.) ... Inline skaters will not be part of the Athens Twilight Criterium this spring in Georgia. The organizer had planned to include skaters in the large cycling event again this year but waited too long to make it happen, says skater Charlie Bennett. Friday
(March 24, 2006)
Wanna Race Fast? ... Train Fast!
 Logging a lot of miles is not going to make you faster. But interval training will. In this second part of Barry Publow's guide to marathon training, the Canadian speed coach sings the praises of intervals and explains how to add them to your 7-day workout schedule. (Don't worry: the schedule includes two days of rest.) (Go to the Planet story.) Help Skating ... Win an iPod!
 The Send the Best fund-raiser just got better! Now, in addition to winning tickets to Indoor Nationals, the patron who raises the most money will win a 60GB Apple iPod (value: $399) ... you know, the one you can use to watch your favorite TV shows. (Go to more info.) Skate Bytes ...
Skater's Quest is offering free Learn to Skate clinics this spring and summer in Fairfax, Virg. The 1-hour sessions will be at Dick's Sporting Goods at at 11:30 a.m. on the second Sunday of each month (thru Sept.) (Go to more info.) | 
