Cross-training skate for runner?

[LIskater]

A friend of mine runs marathons and wants to incorporate inline skating into his training program. He recently hurt a tendon and is finally taking my advice to get on wheels for low-impact training. He has not skated before. Can you give me a recommendation for a skate that will fit his needs? I figure he will be doing longish skates and skating fairly hard since he has been training as a runner for years. His aim is to stay in shape with low impact training while his tendon gets better. Thanks in advance for any insights.

[IW Staff]

Sorry to hear of your friend's injury, but you are absolutely right in referring to inline as a great way for low impact. I've had 3 knee surgeries (basketball and hockey), but can still skate like a gazelle... Ok, they wouldn't skate well but you know what I mean.

My recommendation is based on him being active and someone that will want to get into long distance training as quickly as possibe. My reservation is that if he's "never" skated before, it may be difficult to go right into a higer end skate designed for such.

So.. Something leading toward that path that won't need an upgrade would be best. Jumping right on 100mm wheels may be tough, but if athletic he can adapt quickly. The Crossfire 100 from RB has a higher boot style that will give support and stability, is not real heavy, and has 3x100mm ; 1x90mm wheel that will give him good speeds and be ok for longer skates.

http://www.inlinewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=C100


The Rollerblade 90mx would be the next model down with 90mm wheels if concerned with skating ability. Still a good sized wheel, but will help with control and maneuverability. The SX90 and RX100 are more performance driven boot styles and the comfort of the 90MX and Crossfire 100 would likely be best if just getting into skates.


On the K2 side you would have the Mach 100 and Mach 90 doing the same type of thing. Comfortable, but with good stabiity up top (Moto 90 in 2009 as well). K2 also has the Radical 90/100 which would be the more performance driven skate, but these too are also real comfortable. A little more sleek in fit that I question would be enough if a true beginner.


Starting out a true newbie on a skate 90mm + can be tricky. Depending on the person, it can be easy. If someone not so athletic with poor balance, it can turn them off quickly. So think about the person a bit and if worried about them being able to pick up quickly, I would steer toward the 90mm to get started. The Moto 90 2009 is available in a lot of sizes and the clearance price is great should he grow out of them into longer more demanding stuff in a year let's say.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the post!
Stan

[LIskater]

Thanks for the excellent suggestions. Now I need to talk to him and see what he thinks, as well as what I think, he can handle. I'm leaning towards the 90mm models but if he thinks he can handle the larger wheels they may be better for him since spends a lot of time training. I'm sure he will find the info in your post just what he needs to decide. Thanks again.

[IW Staff]

You are most welcome and thanks for the post. I'm sure it helped others as well.

Stan