few yards to win. >> henk angenent: yeah, yeah it was crazy. super day. >> whitaker: he had skated 125 miles- without stopping- in less than seven hours. >> angenent: six hours, and 49 minutes and 11 seconds. >> whitaker: and 11 seconds. any >> wite. it is... >> whitaker: overnight, he became a star. there's no prize money, but with his newfound fame, he traded ros r show jumpers. the race, he told us, changed his life. the day before the race, nobody knows your name. >> angenent: yes. >> whitaker: the day after the race-- >> angenent: everybody. >> whitaker: everybody in the netherlands knows who you are. >> angenent: yeah. >> whitaker: what's that like? you're a hero >> angenent: yeah, yeah, i'm hero. but i'm still henk angenent. >> whitaker: now a coach, he was among the thousands of dutch skaters who packed up and poured into austria for the re-located race, for what's called the alternative elfstedentocht. sitting high in the alps, tiny weissensee- a village of 700- balloons to 6,000. ( clapping to beat ) it's a friendly invasion. there ar