World Championship 50K

An epic battle, that had a lead pack of over a dozen right until the final two kilometers. Northug sprinted for the win in the last 500 meters. Given that the temperatures were over 40 degrees, soft and dirty snow as well as a grueling course (6320' of climbing), makes the time of 2:08:09 seem incredible. American Noah Hoffman at 22, was probably the youngest guy in the race and skied to a gritty 2:12 in spite of a broken pole going up one of the tougher climbs.