Skating Coast-to-Coast: Record Breaking Woman Rolls Into Duluth
Friday, September 14, 2012 - 9:12pm
By:
Jacob Kittilstad
Photojournalist:
Kaela Rannikar
FOX 21 News, KQDS-DT
DULUTH-She's the first woman to ever cross America On inline skates. She's also the fastest person to ever do it. And on Friday, 27-year-old Kacie Fischer visits Duluth for the weekend's NorthShore Inline Marathon while continuing her mission of raising awareness for the Special Olympics.
Fischer said she invested about $15,000 of her own money to complete her travels but she says they are still counting the money she raised that will go to programs for people with disabilities.
"We'd wake up and all we're doing is preparing to skate. Like, my whole job was to skate," Fischer said.
"It took almost two years of planning, a year and a half of planning, looking at the route, gathering sponsors/support, training," Fischer said. "We started in Solana Beach, California just north of San Diego and we climbed over 4,500 feet in elevation in 20 miles – on day one."
She averaged about 60 miles each day, Fischer said.
Stan Chaves of Inline Warehouse helped make sure she was always rolling.
"So there's no way of know how long materials are going to last – the wheels, bearings. so we had stuff lined up waiting for her days ahead of her when she'd get there," Chaves, her employer and supporter, said.
"But everyone has their breaking point and everyone feels bad and that was me in Texas," Fischer said. "As we started getting into the dessert it got a lot flatter. Just dirt, sand and my support crew."
That includes her fiancé, Adam Cleveland, she said.
"There were a lot of challenges that we went through with cops not wanting us to be on the roads to having rough surfaces, finding places to sleep every night and stuff like that," Cleveland said.
"But we never worried about her not wanting to continue," Cleveland said.
Quickly making her way through the south Fischer finished in Jacksonville, Florida after about 48 days - crushing a previous cross country record by weeks.
Still celebrating her victory she says sees her future as a challenge.
Struggling with Compartment Syndrome, a muscle and nerve issue, an upcoming surgery means she could need wheelchair for about six months.
During that time, however, she says she will still be asking 'What's next?'
"I cannot wait for someone to come to me and say 'Kacie, I want to beat your record' so I can help them beat me and then in turn – train, train, train and try to beat them back," Fischer said.
You can find out more about Fischer on her website. Follow this link to go there.