BAXTER -- When most people think of their honeymoon, they reminisce of a romantic getaway to an exotic place.
Tom Ashton of Kirkwood, Mo., will think of the gut-busting wind he faced in the second half of the Brainerd Dispatch Online Inline Half-Marathon Saturday.
Ashton captured the Men's Pro Division of the race with a time of 36:44.9. Kara Peterson of St. Paul won the Women's Pro Division with a time of 39:04.6 and Ken Huss of Waukesha, Wis., won the Recreation/Fitness race in 43:36.1.
"It being so nice up here, my wife allowed us to take our honeymoon up here," Ashton said.
Ashton, 45, captured the lead about five miles into the race and led by about 200 meters when a turn brought him into a headwind.
"It's just really hard to stay ahead, with that wind, by yourself, so they caught me after about a mile," Ashton said. "Then we pretty much stayed together the rest of the way with a few people trying to break away."
Ashton battled with Arne Boberg and Jeff Terwilliger, with Boberg trying to outgun the pack 11 miles into the 13.1-mile race. Terwilliger then found himself at the front of the leaders heading into the final corner of the race.
"He led all the way until the corner and a few steps before the corner Arne took off and came around the corner," Ashton said. "I just got myself into position, about third or fourth, so I could draft for about 50 meters and sprint the last 250."
Ashton, who is originally from St. Paul, said he usually competes in 1,000-meter sprints or 15K races.
"This is kind of like an intermediate race," he said. "It's kind of fun because there's really no race like this. They are mostly shorter or longer races, but this is fun because it gives you a chance to try something else."
And it is fun to race against his old pals from the Twin Cities.
"It's kind of fun to come back up here and beat my buddies," he said.
Peterson won her second race in as many weeks as she took the early lead and never looked back.
"I was in the front the whole way," Peterson said. "When we started, there was another paceline that formed and I just stayed by myself and just kept going at my speed and there was only one girl who went with me."
She beat her next-closest competitor by a minute and a half to win the Women's Pro Division after capturing the five-mile sprint at Grand Ol' Day in St. Paul two weeks ago.
Huss broke away in the headwind to distance himself from the field to win the Recreation/Fitness Division.
"Somewhere on the backside, about halfway through into a headwind, I took the lead and I guess they couldn't stay with me and fell back," Huss said. "The last half I skated alone and they chased me."
The 51-year-old is relatively new to the sport of inline skating.
"I ice skated as a kid, so I left it for about 35 years and I started skating again two years ago memorial day," he said.
Despite beating many younger skaters in his division, Huss shrugs off his feat.
"I'm competitive in my age group, in my class," he said. "If you noticed, I wasn't in the pro/advanced group. I'd like to think I'm competitive among the 50-year-old amateurs."
Race director Terry Holm could not be found manning the finish line during the race. Instead, he was on the course and finished eighth in the Men's Pro Division.
"The guy's 55 years old and he's still sprinting for the win the last 100 meters," Ashton said. "I hope I'm doing that 10 years from now."
