John Hagen's ice-encrusted beard told the tale as he crossed the finish after 15 kilometres and nearly an hour of tough slogging Sunday on the steep snowy slopes of Otway Nordic Centre.
The -17 C cold and persistent flakes coming down from the sky made for difficult race conditions and Hagen had to push hard to get to the head of a tough pack of masters skiers in the Teck B.C. Cup Nordic Forest cross-country ski race, finishing in 59:21.3.
Hagen looked cold with his frosty face wrapped in a balaclava, but under all that ski gear he had keeping him warm a finely-tuned engine that drove him to an impressive showing the week before at the 2018 Masters World Cup in Minneapolis, Minn.
Hagen's second stab at the world masters event produced an 11th-place finish as the top Canadian in the 30-kilometre classic race and he shared in the bronze medal in the men's (50-55 year-old) 4X5 km relay.
Hagen teamed up with Caledonia Nordic Ski clubmate Tony Fiala and two Quebec racers - Martin Massicotte and Benjamin Du Hays - to finish third ahead of the Americans and just behind Russia and Switzerland, who took gold and silver respectively.
"It was close, by the time the first two classic legs had run we were about 25 seconds behind the U.S. and Tony kind of reeled them in," said Hagen. "(Anchor-leg skier Du Hays) and Tony had almost identical times and (Du Hays) kept us ahead."
Hagen, a 51-year-old fish biologist, raced in the Masters World Cup in 2011 at Silver Star near Vernon but he said he wasn't in shape at that time. This season, knowing he was going to Minnesota, he trained harder than ever before and it's showing in his results. He leads the B.C. Cup masters standings, with the B.C. championships just two weeks away in Kelowna.
Hagen is in a three-way battle in the men's 50-59-year-old class with Paul Hardy of Vernon and Rory Luxmoore of Revelstoke and Hagen's win Sunday will keep him first in his class.
"I haven't been dong enough skating, classic is my thing, but I paced myself well enough - the conditions are slow, pretty soft," he said.
Hagen excels at distance events but still managed a sixth-place finish in Saturday's PWC classic sprints at Otway. Glenn Bond of Larch Hills Nordic (Salmon Arm) won the men's masters class.
The 30 km classic race in Minneapolis drew 27 entrants from nine countries in Hagen's age category and it went well beyond his expectations.
"It was amazing - everything came together, fitness and good skis," said Hagen. "It was on man-made snow and it was hard to wax for because it was mixed all over the course and it's abrasive and icy. It was a technical challenge to figure it out because we don't race on that (made-made snow) here."
Hagen said the world event and its international flavour gave him unique perspective on his sport which made for a unforgettable experience.
"That part was really fun, instead of feeling like a weirdo, being one of a few masters taking it seriously, everyone was like that," Hagen said. "The camaraderie was really good, even with the language barrier."
Hagen also finished 15th in the 7.5 km classic sprint and 16th in the 40 km freestyle in Minnesota.
Fiala, 52, a Quesnel native who competed for Canada in biathlon at two Olympics - Albertville in 1992 and Nagano in 1998 - posted eighth-place results in three events (30 km classic, 30 km freestyle and 7.5 km classic). He also placed second in the shorter loppet on the last day of competition.
Fiala's wife Wendy, 52, won classic relay silver for Canada on a team with Kathy Butler of Saskatoon, and Duntroon, Ont., skiers Sian Leyshon and Chris Huet. Individually, Wendy Fiala placed sixth in the 30 km classic, 13th in the 30 km freestyle, and 15th in the 7.5 km freestyle.
The Fialas both competed at last year's masters event in Switzerland, where Nikki Kassel of Prince George won two silver medals.
"We want to foster it more out of this (Caledonia) club because in three years world masters is going to be in Canmore, close to home," said Tony Fiala. "We'd love to take at least 20 athletes from here."
