Lukas Mark, third-year materials engineering student, competing in the Western Canadian Championships, Lake Louise.
Edmonton-Lukas Mark sprinted to the finish line to qualify as one of five members of Team Alberta for the 2015 Canada Winter Games taking place in Prince George, BC from February 13 - March 1, 2015.
"The thing is I'm not even the best sprinter," Mark said, "I was nervous after the first distance race because it didn't go as well as expected, but I managed to get second in the sprint and qualified," he said.
The Trial Races that qualify skiers for Team Alberta were held in Canmore, AB, in early December and involved three races: two distance and one sprint. The top three skiers are selected based on the average of their distance measured in percentage behind the leader.
Growing up in Edson, Alberta, Mark's parents introduced him to cross country skiing at a young age. At the age of 15, he won gold in the Alberta Winter Games 2010 in the 15- and 16-year-old juvenile classic division and silver in the male sprint division.
Mark is now part of the Capital Region Training Group (CRTG) in Edmonton. Two of his team members, Tate McDonald and Larkin Wasmuth, also qualified for Team Alberta, which has a total of five team members.
"I train everyday, which comes to about 10-15 hours per week," Mark said, "in the summer we run and bike and do a lot of strength training and roller skating. In the winter, we ski a lot more."
Team Alberta will be competing in three individual races and a fourth relay-style race with four team members skiing five kilometers each. Two people will ski the classic technique in tracks and two will ski the skate technique. As only four out of the five team members participate in the relay, the competitors are selected based on their performances in the three individual races.
"I'm pretty confident that I'll be competing as one of the four in the relay race," he said.
As a third-year nano and functional materials engineering student and competitive skier, life is busy for the 20-year old.
"Balancing skiing and school involves a lot of focus and carefully scheduling my time," Mark said, "after classes I'll go to training for two hours, get home pretty late so there can definitely be some late nights," he said. "But when I ski, I don't think about schoolwork at all so it provides a good mental break," he said.
To prepare for the Canada Winter Games, him and his team members are training hard.
"We're skiing here around Edmonton, but in this warm weather we've been having, it's been a bit harder to train," Mark said.
Mark is no novice when it comes to dealing with warm weather conditions and competing at a national level.
"When I went to Nationals in Quebec, it was 20 degrees and it was so slushy. You step up and then sink down and it's so difficult," he said. "Since I've skied with Canada's best, I kind of know what to expect so I'm feeling prepared."
"The thing is I'm not even the best sprinter," Mark said, "I was nervous after the first distance race because it didn't go as well as expected, but I managed to get second in the sprint and qualified," he said.
The Trial Races that qualify skiers for Team Alberta were held in Canmore, AB, in early December and involved three races: two distance and one sprint. The top three skiers are selected based on the average of their distance measured in percentage behind the leader.
Growing up in Edson, Alberta, Mark's parents introduced him to cross country skiing at a young age. At the age of 15, he won gold in the Alberta Winter Games 2010 in the 15- and 16-year-old juvenile classic division and silver in the male sprint division.
Mark is now part of the Capital Region Training Group (CRTG) in Edmonton. Two of his team members, Tate McDonald and Larkin Wasmuth, also qualified for Team Alberta, which has a total of five team members.
"I train everyday, which comes to about 10-15 hours per week," Mark said, "in the summer we run and bike and do a lot of strength training and roller skating. In the winter, we ski a lot more."
Team Alberta will be competing in three individual races and a fourth relay-style race with four team members skiing five kilometers each. Two people will ski the classic technique in tracks and two will ski the skate technique. As only four out of the five team members participate in the relay, the competitors are selected based on their performances in the three individual races.
"I'm pretty confident that I'll be competing as one of the four in the relay race," he said.
As a third-year nano and functional materials engineering student and competitive skier, life is busy for the 20-year old.
"Balancing skiing and school involves a lot of focus and carefully scheduling my time," Mark said, "after classes I'll go to training for two hours, get home pretty late so there can definitely be some late nights," he said. "But when I ski, I don't think about schoolwork at all so it provides a good mental break," he said.
To prepare for the Canada Winter Games, him and his team members are training hard.
"We're skiing here around Edmonton, but in this warm weather we've been having, it's been a bit harder to train," Mark said.
Mark is no novice when it comes to dealing with warm weather conditions and competing at a national level.
"When I went to Nationals in Quebec, it was 20 degrees and it was so slushy. You step up and then sink down and it's so difficult," he said. "Since I've skied with Canada's best, I kind of know what to expect so I'm feeling prepared."