15th NorthShore Inline Marathon rolls out Saturday

The NorthShore Inline Marathon turns 15 as skaters take up their positions for a 26.2 mile race along the big lake. So, if you’re out on the North Shore Drive looking for the beginnings of fall colors you’ll be joined by lots of speedy skaters trying to break the one-hour time goal.
 

The race starts south of Two Harbors and follows the North Shore Drive and I-35 to the William A. Irvine docked off Harbor Drive at Duluth’s waterfront. The marathon starts at 7:30 a.m., the shorter run starts at 6:45 a.m.
 

Approximately 3,000 entrants are expected for this Saturday’s marathon -- 2,600 of them will run the full marathon and the remaining 400 will compete in the accompanying half-marathon. The numbers are down slightly from last year.
 

Organizers said the NorthShore was the first inline marathon in the country, caught the imagination of skaters and became the largest outdoor skate race in the United States at any distance.