There's a little boy still living inside the grown-up Gary Blank as he zooms along on roller skates at 20 mph on Constitution Trail.

It's the lad who tied on his uncle's hand-me-down roller skates with the outdated wooden wheels back in the 1970s and '80s and raced around the wooden track at Orbit Roller Rink in Palatine, where he grew up. The rink staff tried to shout, "Slow down!" over recorded organ music blasting in the background.

"I was already a speedster back then," laughed Blank, 34, a computer network administrator at BOPI, a printing company in Bloomington. "Then I outgrew the skates. I was really bummed out."

Today, Blank puts on high-end speed skates, bends at the waist and puts his hands behind his back like the speed skaters who compete at the Olympics. He races along the Twin Cities' linear park several times a week.

Blank cross-trains on ice skates at the Pepsi Ice Rink at Bloomington's U.S. Cellular Coliseum and rides bicycles.

He travels about 100 miles on skates during a normal seven-day training period, which includes rest days. The workouts are designed to get him ready to compete in several marathon races this year with Team Rainbo, a professional racing squad based in Chicago.

Blank has skated full circle. Last winter, he made several trips back to Palatine to train with Team Rainbo on the Olympic-sized rink at the Orbit. But, there's a difference this time - no one shouts he's going too fast.

Blank is nostalgic over the loss of other large roller rinks like the Axle, also known as the Hub, in Niles. When he went there in the old days, Duran Duran blasted over loudspeakers while music videos played. The giant track was 400 meters. That's the size of most running tracks at schools.

"It's gone. All the big roller rinks are gone," Blank said. "The Orbit is the only one left (nearby) that's Olympic-sized. It's a change in time with Generation X sitting in front of the computer and playing video games. That's the buzz today, America's kids are obese. I wonder why. They don't get out and do anything, and they're eating junk food."

Blank set his own skates aside for a drum set and a band in high school. He "dabbled" again with inline skates in college. But, he admits he had a serious bout with heft himself. Several years ago, he was up to about 200 pounds, well above his "fighting weight" of about 165. He dropped 60 pounds in six months using his own diet, riding bicycles and skating with fitness skates. It's a style with boots that reach higher on the legs to offer ankle support.

"I wanted to bottom out, start with a clean slate. It (rapid weight loss) really made a lot of people worried, but that was part of my game plan. Start with a good diet, adding muscle … and that's what I've been doing in the last seven years. I'm basically a work in progress," he said.

A transformation came when he watched Olympic speed skaters on television. He studied their form and saw how much more efficient they were. He realized he was wasting a lot of energy and power using fitness skates that required a more upright, wind-resistant position.

"It (speed skating) is a much different stride. Olympic skaters get down in a tuck position, down low, arms behind you."

Another twist came not long after when Blank stopped to talk to avid Twin City bicyclist Paula Aschim on Constitution Trail one day. Having lived in Minnesota, she knew of a speed skating event called the North Shore Inline Marathon held every fall in Duluth. Intrigued, Blank went online to learn more about the event that covers 26.3 miles, just like the marathons held for runners. He signed up, but he had little time to get ready or get familiar with using speed skates that offer no ankle support. Blank had to learn to skate again all over again on larger wheels with low-friction ceramic ball bearings.

The event was held in mid-September and it rained. Still, he finished the distance in 1 hour, 36 minutes.

"I was pretty happy considering I only had my speed skates for a month before the race. I had only one month to figure out how to use these things coming from a fitness skate and going to a marathon. I was pretty pleased," he said.

Conditions were worse last year. The race started at a record low temperature, 28 degrees, and strong winds blew off Lake Superior.

"It is interesting up there," Blank said.

He finished with a slower time than a year earlier, but relative to what the rest of the field did in the harsh weather, he was fast enough to qualify at the pro level.

He joined Team Rainbo after the group sponsored the first inline speed skating marathon in the Chicago suburb of Mundelein last year. Part of the proceeds benefit Special Olympics.

Blank plans to compete in four or five marathons in 2008. They'll include events in Wisconsin and Minnesota and the second annual Team Rainbo event as it moves to Hoffman Estates in July. The marathons are open to the public, including kids and seniors. A shorter course is offered.

"There are people in their 80s who do this stuff," he said.

Blank has seen surge in interest in inline skating since about 2000.

"It's a growing sport. They are trying to get a buzz out there to get people back in to it," he said.

That shouldn't be a problem, he said.

"It's a great workout. You enjoy it. You see people. It's not being in a gym on a treadmill staring at a TV. You're mobile, you're moving and you're getting a better workout than any other sport. You're burning some big-time calories," he said.

And, it appeals to the little kid in everyone.

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Inline skating tips

• Always wear a helmet. Even low-speed accidents can cause severe head injuries. Hand protection is a good idea, too, because they often hit the asphalt first during falls.

• Buy good skates. Cost can range from $150 up to $450 or more for a well-made pair that will be fun and efficient to use.

• Maintain your skates. Wheels need to be rotated to avoid uneven wear. Bearings need to be oiled.

• Drafting - following other skaters very closely - allows you to avoid headwinds and reach higher speeds. This is not for the newcomer, however. You must be within an arm's length of the lead skaters or you lose the advantage.

• Visit www.teamrainbo.com for information. The team site is a portal to other inline skating addresses on the Web that offer tips on equipment, training, events and more.