NROC Profile
Profiles of the top skaters in the National Roller Cup

Kara Peterson

Age: 39

Team: Adams Inline

Hometown: Saint Paul, MN

Occupation: Police officer; 11 year veteran of the Minneapolis Police Department

Family: She and husband, Tom Peterson, have a son, 5, and a daughter, 3.

When did you start skating?

"I bought little inline skates at the end of my college career. But I didn't use them much. Later, I tried skating the Dome (the Metrodome in Minneapolis) and hated it. I thought it was boring. But I went back and enjoyed it and then I wanted to go faster and faster and faster. Not long after that I got my first pair of custom Bonts (circa 1999)."

What has been the high point of your skating career so far?

"It was the first year of the Saint Paul Inline Marathon (2004). I was getting tired toward the end of the race, and I talked to my teammate and told her how I was doing, and she pulled for me briefly, giving me a little break. Then we came to the rough final hill. ... I remember going up and passing all the people who had passed me earlier — I felt strong — and finally I was alone. It was an amazing feeling when I finished the race." (She won the women's division.)

Technique:

Peterson has her own unique skating style, which doesn't include the double-push. "I know I don't have the correct technique. I used to be a runner. And our team coach laughs at me and says, 'You kind of have the technique of a runner.'"