WWW's

While in-line skating on the Hamilton Beach Trail this Spring, I've come to know a great group of masters speed skaters training for the Montreal 24-hour inline marathon. Many thanks to group co-founder, Rosie Chong, for the following story:

Like many fun things, the name WWW, (or Waterloo Wonder Women), began as a joke, and the reason for it has long since been forgotten, although it was definitely first proposed by one of our original 4 wonder women, Catherine Kwiecien. The WWW’s are a group of women, all of whom are Masters, all of whom belong to the KW Sertoma Speed Skating Club, and all of whom go to as many of the speed skating marathons as they can fit into their schedule. Catherine and Rosie Chong have been entering marathons since 2004, with the Portland marathon being their first ever marathon – indeed, they have entered every one of the “Big Rideau” marathons since its inception. Patti Walsh, our third member, has been entering marathons for much longer, although she spent quite a few years concentrating on middle distance events, and it was only in 2005 that she realized how wild, wacky, and FUN we were, and again fitted marathons into her incredibly packed skating schedule. Sandy Ramer, our fourth and last original member, started speed skating in 2005 (she crossed over from the dark side of hockey), and was immediately a dedicated Wonder Woman.

WWW's Go Cycling - Photo by Kathy Hunt

As the years passed by, we fitted more and more marathons into each season, and, thankfully, we improved each year as well. From marathons being “just another fun activity” to enjoy in winter, they became for some of us, almost the whole point of winter, and certainly (along with cross country skiing) they have now become pivotal focal points around which our winter activities are planned. Happily, the marathons are normally located in areas which are wonderful for skiing, and so a one or two day weekend would frequently be extended to three or four days to allow for some other winter pursuits to occur as well. (This year two of us decided that the long drive to and from Waterloo to Lake Placid and then Ottawa, was a bit pointless, so we took the intervening week off work and had a skating/skiing holiday, sandwiched between marathons).

Two years ago Catherine and Rosie decided that all their winter training was being a bit wasted in the “other season”, so they hesitantly purchased some recreational inlines, and wobbled their way onto asphalt. Our inlining improved rapidly (spurred on by meeting two Mennonites in bonnets and dresses, who zoomed down our local “HILL” and who shamed us into attempting it as well). Are the WWW’s competitive? Well, maybe just a tad! Of course, Patti and Sandy joined us as well (although Patti is a bit more of a purist, and regards inlining as a poor substitute for skating). By mid-summer of that first year we had progressed to our first marathon on wheels – the local (for us) Cambridge Canada Day Marathon. And before the next inlining season started, we had purchased proper inlines, rather than just the recreational kind. By that season’s end we had committed ourselves to entering a team into the 24hr roller Montreal event – an event which was so fun that this year we have too many participants, and had to have a couple of us join another team.

Needless to say, all the enthusiastic tales from the WWW’s filtered through the speed skating change rooms, and so we started to collect some new members (or WWW wanabees, as we fondly called our newbies, until they became initiated). So, in the past couple of years, we have collected some new members – Anne Flanagan and Lianne Franklin did their first marathon with us 2 years ago, and last season we welcomed Tracy Cook and Deb Heeney, all of whom came to Quebec City with us on the first marathon of the season. That weekend generated a motto for us as well…. “It's all in the food” – a phrase which some of our newer wannabees (see below) seem to have taken to heart very much indeed! This season also generated an unusual record – Sandy Ramer was the only marathon skater in Canada to compete in every sanctioned MSI event for the season.

Skating is over for this year, so 7 of the 8 of us have taken to inlines, and we regularly roll along the Hamilton Beach Trail. Here we have been meeting our newest initiates – it seems some of the males of the KW Sertoma Speed Skating Club have been wanting to join for a while – so far we have skated and eaten with Paul Shoebridge, Bob Lawrence, Kevin and Noah Heeney, and Ross Hanham – Ross is our first non KWSSC member. We’ve been giving some serious thought to names for the guys, and the general consensus is the MMM’s (Marvellous Mighty Men, or perhaps MASTERFUL Mighty Men). We did wonder about the Waterloo Wonder Wildmen.

WWW's Inlining on the Hamilton Beach Trail - photo by Kathy Hunt

We now have an official photographer too. Kathy Hunt is never to be seen without her camera, and although she has yet to be convinced that marathons are (dare I say it) BETTER than short track events, she is an enthusiastic inliner as well as cyclist – another of those pursuits which the WWW’s regularly participate in.

WWW's After Inlining - Photo courtesy of Kathy Hunt

We have started plans to branch out into non-sporting and non-eating events now. The first WWW activity will be a trip to Toronto to watch the Toronto Nationals in a Lacrosse game. I’m sure more activities will follow – not least of which will be the attendance of quite a few of us at the Sue Ellis Edge camp in Ottawa.

Watch out MSI – the WWW’s and MMM’s are coming and we’ll be a force to be reckoned with!