This is the story of a marathon nobody heard much about at the time. It was called the Southend Seafront Superskate - 36 hours on roller skates up and down the five-mile stretch of promenade. The rules allowed a short rest at each end, but no sleeping. It had never been done before and some people had doubts whether it could be done but, early one morning in May, there were 160 young people ready to give it a try.