2004 Montreal International Marathon

Montreal International Marathon, Montreal, Quebec, September 12, 2004
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The Montreal International Inline Marathon was a street-skater's dream, taking skaters on a 42 kilometer, twisty-turny tour of Quebec's most scenic city. Kelly Martinez and Eddy Matzger were the grand champions, twisting and turning better than the rest of the field.

Skaters weren't the only athletes to compete on the course as part of the Festival de la Sante, but they sure provided some of the most spectacular images. A pace vehicle and several motorcycles carrying camera people recorded the breathtaking action and even burnt some rubber of their own trying to keep up with the speedy skaters.

Canadian ice speedskating stars Olivier Jean and Steve Robillard found themselves off the front with the race's major animator from TWINCAM, Eddy Matzger, after 20K of relentless attacks. The three worked hard for 10K to put distance on a hard-chasing pack before the fireworks started erupting between them. Robillard was the first to detatch from the group, followed by Jean a mere kilometer from the finish.

Colombia's Kelly Martinez outclassed the women's field, and showed up many of the men as well. She served notice that she will be hard to beat at the upcoming New York City 100K. Martine Charbonneau and Jan Riopelle also showed that they can run with the big boys any day on any course.

Montreal is a skate-friendly city, and Charles Beaudoin and all the organizers deserve heaps of credit for putting the marathon on the map as one of the best in North America, which will be sure to attract more and more skaters in the years to come.

Rapid curves	Start bridge	Speedway
Top two	Roller coaster	Positioning
The break	Chinatown	Screaming
First K's	Jonathan hawk	Start smile
Podium puppies	Winning skates	Race director

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