WORLD'S FIRST SPEED ROLLER-SKATING MARATHON TAKES START IN RUSSIAN CAPITAL

KIEV, August 22 (RIA Novosti) - The world's first speed roller-skating marathon is taking start in Moscow today to finish in the Ukrainian capital, over 856-kilometre distance. The athletes will not use any transport facilities on whatever stretch, and the route is expected to take them a week. The finish will be in Kiev's Independence Square, August 28, Saturday next.

A greater part of the route-via Bryansk in Russia, Gomel in Belarus, and Ukraine's Chernigov-lies along highways totally unsuitable for roller-skating, Anton Dzvonkevich, one of the organisers and contestants, said to the Novosti/Ukraine news agency.

Only two will run the whole distance-Anton "Tony" Dzvonkevich of Kiev, and Moscow's Anatoli "Sinto" Ryabov, who arranged and ran a solo roller-skating marathon of 400 kilometres from Moscow to Kharkov, Ukraine, two years ago.

No cars will accompany the athletes, so they will carry their belongings on their back all the way long, with a mobile phone for communications.

A car and a roller-skating support group will meet the Magnificent Two in Ukraine the last day of their odyssey to make the finishing forty kilometres all together.