K2 Skates Ups The Ante At 2013 Northshore Inline Marathon With $10,000 Bounty On Race Record

SEATTLE, WA (Sept. 9, 2013) – On September 14th, the world’s fastest skaters will take to the streets of Duluth, Minnesota, with their sights set on dethroning a legend – not to mention walking away with a cool $10,000 in prize money. K2 Skates, developer of the Original Softboot™ and global leader in inline skating products, amps up the anticipation of the sport’s most challenging competition – the 2013 Northshore Inline Marathon – with the offer of a cash award to the skater who can beat the race’s lofty record time.

Breaking Chad Hedrick’s long-held record of 57 minutes and 18 seconds, set in the 1998 Northshore marathon while skating on 80mm wheels in a 12 mph tailwind, has proven an insurmountable challenge to the elite athletes who congregate at the storied race. A top-tier sponsor of the marathon since 1999, K2 Skates has offered up the notorious bounty each year in honor of Hedrick’s cementation of his legendary status in the sport. Though Frenchman Baptiste Grandgirard attempted to close in on the champion’s title with a time of 1 hour, 1 minute and 48 seconds in 2004’s Northshore marathon, to date no skater has been able to wrestle away Hedrick’s iron grip on the blistering record time.

After the event, join the K2 crew for the annual post-race K2 party, taking place at Grandma’s Sports Garden from 12-9 pm on race day. The first 1,000 skaters will receive high fives and a frosty K2 Skates limited edition pint glass filled to the brim with ice-cold Coors Light.

For more information about the event go to www.northshoreinline.com. To check out K2’s full lineup of skates visit www.k2skates.com.

About K2 Skates

K2 Skates is the worldwide inline skate technology leader. The company’s position today began as a concept in 1993 when U.S. National Cross Country team member John Svensson and U.S. Olympic speed skater Tony Meibock approached K2 with a high-performance inline skate design for training in the off season. Both athletes saw beyond stiff plastic hockey-style designs that dominated the market. They worked with K2 engineers to develop a soft and comfortable boot. The K2 design permanently reshaped the inline skate market. K2 Skates offers 23 styles of men’s, women’s, and children’s skates for everything from family recreation to professional competition. For more information on K2 Skates, visit www.k2skates.com. 

About K2 Sports

K2 Sports, based in Seattle, Wash., has achieved unparalleled success through innovative product offerings, marketing programs, and multiple brand acquisitions. The company operates 14 brands and is globally renowned for its non-traditional advertising, graphics, and high performance products throughout its portfolio. With wholly owned subsidiaries in Canada, Central Europe, Japan, Korea, and Scandinavia and distribution in more than 60 countries, K2 Sports continues to assert its position as a global leader across multiple categories of sporting goods. For more information, visit www.k2sports.com. K2 Sports is a part of Jarden Corporation (NYSE: JAH)

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