Inline skaters rock Valley

Walther, Foster
roll to top spots in Road Skate Marathon race

By CARLOS VILLATORO
Register Staff Writer

A stretch of Silverado Trail turned into skate central Sunday morning as inline skaters from all across the country participated in California Outdoor Rollerskating Association’s Napa Valley Inline Road Skate Marathon and Half Marathon.

The place to be for all things skate was on the Trail between Oak Knoll Avenue and Oakville Cross Road, where a 7-mile stretch of smooth asphalt was readily available for the 150 skate enthusiasts who came to the valley.

Skaters competed in several age divisions including master, grand master, senior, veteran, immortal, priceless and pro. Matt Walther, a 29-year-old member of Team Bont North, broke away from the pack of skaters to take first place in the challenging 26-mile marathon with a time of 1:09:35. Fellow Bont North team member Grant Foster, 44, finished a close second with a time of 1:09:35:36.

Bont North was one of the many teams that comprised the pro division at the event, but many skaters from all walks of life were out in force to have a little bit of fun while skating.

“I finished! I didn’t die,” said Critter Crittenden, a 52-year-old Sacramento native who politely declined to give his first name.

Crittenden has been participating CORA’s races for several years, he said, and all joking aside said he had little problem finishing the course. Amelia Zuver’s family decided to weave the marathon into their summer vacation, she said.

Zuver, a 17-year-old native of Atlanta, said she’s been skating ever since she could walk but that Sunday’s marathon was both long and challenging.

“I haven’t worn skates since October,” she said.

The Zuvers are on a tour of California, Amelia said, and have already spent some time in San Francisco. After touring Napa a bit, the family will head to Yosemite National Park.

Jeffrey Neal, 39, and fellow team members from Team Skate Quest, came to Napa from Washington D.C., to participate in the race.

“It was a great excuse for us to come out to see the best of the Napa Valley,” Neal said. “This is my first year doing it.”

Neal said he trained all year for Sunday’s marathon and that the course provided a heavy workout that tested his endurance, stamina, strength and balance. San Francisco resident James Prial, 52, was one of the more unique participants in Sunday’s event.

Prial’s right leg was amputated after a motorcycle accident back in 1982. On Sunday, Prial wore a custom-made skate to fit his prosthetic leg and participated in the 26-mile marathon. When asked if he had difficulty finishing Prial said “It’s difficult for anybody to do. Sometimes I get blisters. This is kind of a smooth course.”

The camaraderie among skaters was turned up a notch on Sunday as many of the skaters who finished earlier in the morning, stayed on to cheer those who crossed the finish line later in the morning.

“What we are trying to show people is that skating is a great sport, it’s fun, it’s healthy and it’s not a fad,” said David Miles Jr., founder of CORA and the group’s executive director. “It’s not something that will ever go away.”

Miles, known in skating circle as the Godfather of Skating, said that his group began doing races in Napa in 1993.

“When we first started, we just skated the bike path (on the Trail),” he said. “We held our first skate, but there have been problems because originally we would skate on the Trail just as bikes do, but eventually they pointed out that the laws were that we have to face traffic.”

With the cooperation of the California Highway Patrol and the Napa County Board of Supervisors, the group eventually managed to close a stretch of Silverado Trail for the race and continues to provide one of the only races of its kind in the Napa Valley.

“The pavement (on the Trail) is baby-back smooth, black ice,” Miles said “It’s just great. For a skater this is hog heaven. It’s the kind of thing that people like me live for.”

Miles has been a fixture in the skating scene of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park and produces several inline skate races throughout the state. For more information visit www.cora.org.

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