Grants Tomb Marathon swept by K2/Empire Duo Bret Whitman & Helen Havam

The only inline skate race on the streets of Manhattan took place this past Saturday under ideal race conditions.

Jose Escobar (Capital Racing � DC) of El Salvador was the only pro man in the stacked field that that could hang with the repeated attacks from K2's Bret Whitman. Whitman attacked the first hill and didn�t let up during the 30 lap marathon until he finally got away for good along with the long distance specialist from South America.  An interesting observation was K2 skater Eddie Wilcox winning the field sprint to fill out the last top spot. Wilcox has recently made the switch to the K2 three hundred frame which sports an 84mm along with three 100's. The wheels of choice for the K2 team were HYPER MACH 2 and +G's. One of K2's world team members has been training on this setup and is dying to debut it in Central Park. The Grant�s Tomb course is one that is very technical (3 hard lefts, 2 hills) and one that you might not think ideal for the 100mm wheels.

Bret Whitman Pulls Jose Escobar and John Howe Before Whitman and Escobar Made the Final Break

The men's pro finish was Whitman - 1st, Escobar - 2nd, Wilcox = 3rd. The top ten was filled out by skaters from the K2 national team, Bont, UTV, Canarium. The field included William Bowen, the USA Sprint Champion and World Team member who pulled out a top ten placement! World Team members Chris Creveling and Darren Kauffman were also on hand to enjoy the pain fest administered by their teammate Whitman.

PRO ELITE MEN - 42K (30 laps)
Place	Name	Team Affiliation	Time	Stage Points
1.	Bret Whitman	K2 Empire International	1:14:42.6	325
2.	Jose Escobar	Capital Racing	1:14:44.7	310
3.	Eddie Wilcox	K2 Empire International	1:16:00.6	300
4.	Christopher Creveling	K2 Empire International	1:16:01.2	290
5.	Herb Harbison, JR.	Canariam	1:16:01.6	285
6.	Aaron Warr	UTV	1:16:03.4	280
7.	John Howe	Bont	1:17:35.9	275
8.	Jordan Beldos	Canariam	1:18:41.2	270
9.	John Ristine	Canariam	1:19:39.2	265
10.	William Bowen		1:23:30.8	260
11.	Jason Hallenbeck	Bont	1:23:37.4	255
12.	Alex Mark	Toronto Inline	1:24:30.6	250
13.	George Muiruri	-	1:25:42.8	245
14.	Juan Gomez	Canariam	1:31:27.5	240
15.	Remy Chait	K2 Empire International	NA	235

K2's Helen Havam won another big race with her patented killer sprint. UTV�s Skyler McCormack is getting better and better each race and earned a great second place finish. It looks like Bont�s Annie Peck has arrived on the pro scene and has served notice she is not just a sprinter anymore! K2's Liz Drenkkhahn didn't make the podium but was seen pulling the pack 70% of the marathon and still almost placed in the field sprint. Another surprise was to see Chelsea Creveling right in the final sprint,now training with UTV. She could be Springer�s next big star.

PRO WOMEN - 42K (30 laps)
Place	Name	Team Affiliation	Time	Stage Points
1.	Helen Havam	K2 Empire International	1:26:01.4	325
2.	Skylar McCormack	UTV	1:26:02.3	310
3.	Annie Peck	Bont	1:26:02.4	300
4.	Elizabeth Drenkhahn	K2 Empire	1:26:26.3	290
5.	Chelsea Creveling	Frenchtown	1:26:54.9	285
6.	Carolyn Gullo	Toronto Inline	1:37:17.6	280

Master Men was the story of the day. In some ways it was the passing of the guard. The great reign of the EC Beast Masters Team apparently came to an end Saturday when Jim "the Cajun Beast" Bourgeois raced without his familiar EC Beast uniform. Jim, now of Bont, still almost managed to pull out a win. Dennis Humphrey was pushing the pace along with the K2/Empire team. Max Ivenitsky got the K2 team lined up four deep and took off and pulled a 20 meter gap on the field. In the final sprint Bont�s Bourgeois just blasted up the final 250 meters and passed Max and his teammates. As Jim was watching the K2 crew behind him Toronto Inline's Master sprinter supreme Herb Gayle came by Jim from the other side and caught him off guard. In the finish of the day Herb beat Jim by half a wheel.

K2's Naomi Shecter continued her strong skating this year and was followed by Jane Carey who just returned from Outdoor Nationals with many medals.

The advanced men were full of super strong kids and oldsters that ran excellent races and times.
One pack that caught many eyes was SOS skater Dominic Camaioni , Justin Goodwin and Nathan Barry of Calvano Racing- not to disrespect the other kids because they are incredible skaters, but Dominic was out there smiling and just putting the hammer down on his way to an excellent win.

We had a great turnout and thanks to all the dedicated volunteers, sponsors and teams for coming to support us.

- Doug Fessenden

For Full Results and Overall Series Standings Please visit http://www.empirespeed.com/

Canadian World Team Member Peter Doucet Leads USA World Teamer Will Bowen Around a Turn

The Pro Women Round the Corner

Pro Masters' Herb Gayle Beats Jim Bourgeois In The Final Sprint

Pro Men Round the Corner Around the Church Before Heading on the Downhill Stretch

The Sprint Races after the Main Events

©Empire Speed and www.RaceReports.net