Hi xenon,
I met you at Starbucks during the Boston Marathon. Hope your training for your upcoming race is going well.
I'm kind of into cross-country skiing. I was reminded of a guy named Alexander Penna, who competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. He's an American, but his dad was from Brazil, and he was able to compete in the 50K classic race (representing Brazil). It was a good story, and it was on TV, with the crowd waiting for him and cheering loudly for him! (He came in last place, but it was a great "human interest" story! Maybe it's on youtube?) Anyway, you can check out his story for inspiration.
(I'm not suggesting you would be in last place, like him, haha!)