Imagine for a moment hitting the start line of an Olympic or Paralympic cross-country ski race.

You look all around and you're surrounded by the top cross-country skiers in the world. Your goal is to put it all on the line and ski to the podium for your country. The crisp trails lay innocently ahead, ready to challenge the best in the sport while thousands of screaming Canadian fans, clad in red and white, line the flats and hills of the Callaghan Valley near Whistler, B.C.

The scene is frightening for even the cream of the crop in cross-country skiing, and while we can't all experience this dream feeling, Cross Country Canada has challenged Nordic clubs and enthusiasts across the country with an equally daunting task - to ski the distance around their club trails that equates to travelling from their hometown to the Olympic and Paralympic venue near Whistler, B.C.

Along with Canadian Pacific Railway, Cross Country Canada created the Sea-to-Sea-to-Sea program in an effort to spread the Olympic spirit across the country. With the program starting last year, teams young and old formed within a club will collectively log the kilometers skied on their club/regional trails over three seasons until 2010. Along the journey are lots of exciting awards and incentives to keep the kilometers rolling.

Taking on a challenge of this nature is nothing new to many of the members that now make up the Porcupine Ski Runners club in Schumacher, Ontario near Timmins - a club that was started in 1973 which now boasts a membership of more than 1,000 people.

To maximize health benefits of cross-country skiing, the Club has been encouraging its members to ski often and far with the creation of the 1,000 Kilometre Club since 1984. With nothing more than bragging rights, superb aerobic condition and a specially designed pin on the line, Club members do it simply for the enjoyment of the sport.

In its original season, nine skiers reached the benchmark and were named to the 1,000 Kilometre Club. The prestigious group has grown each year. In 1988, the club enjoyed a record season with 55 members reaching the magic number.

Since 1984, 184 people have recorded completing 1,000 kilometres in one ski season at the Club.  Last year, 27 skiers of all ages logged 1,000 kilometres.  But one man stands above all as the only person to do it each year since 1984 - Gerry McNair.

If anyone is set to accomplish the task of racking up the kilometres to Vancouver/Whistler, the members at Porcupine Ski Runners are sure to do it.

Since the Club's beginning in 1973, it is a Club built on a tradition of setting big goals in a tight timeframe.

What started out as a group of 30 interested individuals starting a non-profit organization under the leadership Dr. Raymond Tusluk, the group has not stood still.

By its 10th anniversary in 1983, the club had completed some ambitious plans which included moving its home to Schumacher, had hosted the Northern Ontario Ski Championships, had built an Olympic loop, three five-kilometre trails, a three-kilometre trail and a chalet.

Over the years, the membership acquired proper grooming equipment to properly maintain the wider trails and by its 20th anniversary, the membership count also passed the 1,000 mark for the first time. In 2004, another major addition was completed to allow for more skiing hours and distances.

With four-kilometres of lit trails added for night skiing, Nordic skiers in Northern Ontario now clearly have their trail lit to accomplish the goal of clocking the kilometres to the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.