A little update for the curious.  I spoke with (super) Mauro yesterday and he had a fabulous trip out to McCall Idaho, USA for the 2008 Masters World Championships.  He was impressed with the venue and the quantity of snow! 
 
I think the only thing which dissapointed him was the lack of people in his category, M01 (who I call baby masters).  He was very happy with the 45 km classic event where he came in second!!  Silver medal isn't so shabby!  He skiied a fabulous anchor leg in the relay, too.  Also a couple of third place finishes in the 10k and the next longer classic event.  
 
Congratulations to Mauro for (another) inspirational effort!!  We should expect a more detailed report directly from Mauro with discussion of blood sugars etc.
 
 
dp