January 26, 2004 – It may have been the most gratifying, yet longest four hours in Canadian cross-country skier Sara Renner's life. The Canmore, Alta., native finished eighth in Sunday's Marcianlonga, a 70-kilometre ultra marathon similar to Ottawaís Keskinada, that has more than 5,000 people jockeying for position on trails and roads covered in man-made snow that winds its way through towns, farmerís fields and the occasional backyard.

“I am completely exhausted and my back feels like a big block,” said Renner, who traditionally specializes in short-distant sprint races. “That was the craziest thing I have ever competed in. It shows our sport is the full-meal deal with disciplines ranging from one kilometre races to long-distance marathons.”

The 27-year-old Renner, who completed the race in a time of three hours 42 minutes 17.4 seconds, is proving she is ready for any distance thrown her way. Sunday's result marks back-to-back eighth-place finishes on the World Cup. She finished in the same spot at last weekís sprint in the Czech Republic.

Exhausted, sore and running out of gas, Rennerís eyes were like saucers focused on the podium until the final 10-kilometres.

“I got off to a great start and was back-and-forth in third and fourth for the first 60 kilometres,” said Renner, whose husband, Thomas Grandi, made history down the road in Kitzbuehel, Austria on Sunday, becoming the first Canadian to earn a World Cup slalom medal with a second-place finish. “With 10-kilometres left, I bonked. A group passed me, and I hung on as best I could, but I had no energy left, and was running on fumes to the end.”

Italy's Gabriella Paruzzi was the first woman to come barging up the downtown street, and enter the finish coral at the cityís main square. Paruzzi captured the gold with a time of 3:33.07.4. Valentina Sheuchento, of Ukraine, was just two minutes off the pace, grabbing the silver after crossing the line 3:35.17.7 later. Manuela Henkel, of Germany, rounded out the top three with a time of 3:37.23.4.

Canada's young male cross-country skiers also enjoyed a successful day in Italy. George Grey, of Rossland, B.C., and Chris Jeffries, of Chelsea, Que., finished a reputable 36th and 44th respectively, in a field of 61 World Cup seed skiers. The 24-year-old Grey crossed the line with a time of 3:18.55.5, while the 26-year-old Jeffries was a little over three minutes behind him at 3:22.17.5 in their second World Cup event of the season.

The Norwegian men had little trouble battling the Italian monster. Anders Aukland grabbed the gold with a time of 3:09.03.5, while teammate and brother Joergen Aukland finished third at 3:09.46.2. Sandwiched between them in the silver medal position was hometown favourite Giorgio Di Center of Italy at 3:09.23.4.

Welcoming Olympic gold medalist, Beckie Scott, back to the team in Europe on Tuesday, the Canadian World Cup contingent will take advantage of week without competition to get in some high-altitude training in Italy, and get some first tracks on the Olympic trails set out in Turin, Italy. The World Cup circuit picks up again in two weeks when the worldís best cross-country skiers glide into France.

For complete results of the menís and womenís World Cup action, please visit http://www.fis-ski.com/calendar/event.php?id=11703 .Cross Country Canada is the governing body of cross-country skiing in Canada. Its 45,000 members are athletes, coaches and officials, including members of the Canadian Cross-Country Ski Team and Canadian Disabled Cross-Country Ski Team.