The brave snowshoers who ventured out into the cold at the 2013 Iola Twilight Snowshoe Race were rewarded with remarkable beauty.  Ten inches of fresh powder had fallen on the Wednesday before the race.  Two days of single digit cold and the expert grooming of IWSP’s Phil Jonsrud set up a luxuriously fast racing surface.  Race night brought a start temperature of 9℉ and still conditions.  Snow frosted the red and white pines that lined the course.  Stars filled the sky, with Orion hovering above the start line.  Some athletes shy away from tough conditions and others live for it - those were the snowshoe racers who arrived to race Saturday night in the glaciated hills of Iola Winter Sports Club, five miles north of the small central Wisconsin town.  Mark Beversdorf of Wausau cruised the hilly 10K course in 42:57 to take overall honors in the men’s race.  His time set a new course record.   “The hills were challenging, but the groomed surface made it fast,” noted Beversdorf.  He was followed by 2012’s winner and former course record holder Jason Ruesch of Medford (50:40).  Andrea Mueller repeated as the women’s 10K champ, crossing the line in 54:55.  Black Creek’s Cheryl Corbeille, celebrating her 50th birthday with a snowshoe race (what could be better?) was the second woman overall with a time of 59:05.  Mueller and Beversdorf were each awarded new Atlas Snowshoes for their victories.    In the 5K race, Kris Borchardt of Kroneawetter, WI kept pace with Beversdorf on the first of half of his 10K race, before splitting off to the finish. and setting a new course record with a time of 20:59.  Borchardt was followed by Jim Graupner of Lake Elmo, MN (24:14) and Jody Sukow of Merrill (29:15).  In the women’s 5K Kelley Koller of Sobieski repeated as the overall winner, running hard on the hills to win in 30:36, breaking her own course record of 32:09.  Mary Lucas of Rhinelander followed in second place (31:39) while Deb Hoover of Stevens Point finished 3rd (34:53).  Complete results are now available.  Race photos are also available for viewing.