When Magnus Vesterheim received a message from one of his partners just before the weekend, he figured it was a routine meeting.

“I’ve had a sponsorship deal with them for a while, so I just thought they wanted to discuss renewing it for next season”, says Magnus Vesterheim to Langrenn.com.

But the meeting turned out to be something else entirely.

“When I came into the meeting room, there were representatives from all the departments there. There were flags, cake, and balloons. And then they handed me the check,” he says.

Got a six-figure check

It turns out that Vesterheim, who has just completed his sixth season in Ski Classics, will receive approximately 13,800 USD from SpareBank 1 Nord-Norge’s community support initiative “Samfunnsløftet” for the upcoming season.

The fund distributes money to initiatives that benefit society in some way. Over the last ten years, more than 5,000 projects have received support. This year, Vesterheim’s ski dreams are among them – something the down-to-earth 30-year-old didn’t expect.

“I got goosebumps! I’m not someone who gets emotional easily. But this really hit me. That they believe in me and want to support my pursuit like this – that’s touching and gives me a really good feeling”, he says.

“Of course, this is a huge sum for me. It means I can afford exactly the kind of training camps I need – both at altitude and in warm weather later in the fall.”

Means everything

This time last year, Magnus Vesterheim passed the milestone of 10,000 training hours, the number often referenced in research as the level needed to reach international elite status.

One year and another thousand hours later, he is still chasing his first Ski Classics podium. His fourth place in the 2023 Birkebeinerrennet remains his best result so far.

“The goal is the same as last year: to reach the podium in Ski Classics and fight for a solid overall result”, says Vesterheim.

That chase just got a bit easier – at least financially.

“I think people underestimate how much financial security means for a skier at my level. This support means I can be a bit more relaxed and continue the training I need without so many worries”, he says.

Access to expertise

In addition to the financial support, the award includes a one-year professional development program consisting of three seminars during the summer and fall, and individual follow-up with Olympiatoppen Nord. Vesterheim plans to make full use of this.

“I’m also thinking about looking into mental training. That’s something I haven’t really done before. But maybe that’s what I need to take that final step onto the podium”, he says.

“Almost accidentally became a skier”

That Vesterheim didn’t pass 10,000 hours until close to age 30 is due to several things – especially the fact that he didn’t take up skiing until he was over 20.

Vesterheim was originally going to be a football player. Then the goal shifted to setting a world record for the fastest ski expedition across Greenland in 2015. Neither happened. He became neither a footballer nor the fastest man across Greenland.

But he did fall in love with skiing. So when the Greenland project fell through, he wanted to put all the base training he had built up to good use.

“I had done some training in preparation for the Greenland expedition and got it into my head that maybe I could get good at cross-country skiing. I had absolutely no interest in skiing before the Norwegian Championships were held in Harstad, near where I live, in 2015. When I saw the 50km race there, I thought, “They’re not going that fast.” The only reason they didn’t look fast was because the conditions were absolutely terrible. But I didn’t know that, so I figured, “Hey, maybe I could do that too,” he recalls.

Vesterheim signed up for some Norwegian Cup and FIS races and finished between 124th and 177th place. In the 120-kilometer-long Troll Ski Marathon, he was an hour and a half behind the winner.

“I was way the hell back”, he admits.

But Magnus Vesterheim didn’t give up on the idea of a skiing career. In 2017, he switched to long-distance races and double-poling. That went significantly better. Both last season and this winter, he’s had multiple top-10 finishes. But that elusive first podium? He’s still chasing it.

Read more: The future of cross-country skiing: Challenges and opportunities