IRONWOOD -- The city of Ironwood was alive Saturday afternoon.  Despite chilly temperatures, you could hear the cheers of excitement from blocks away, especially as the top competitors crossed the “Finnish” line.

"At the halfway point, I kind of pushed hard and was able to kind of float away, and my skis were running really well,”  said Matt Liebsch, 42k winner.  “I have very soft skies so they helped float a little bit."

But it isn't all about winning.  The event brings the community together by offering activities for all ability levels.

"The other event is the unique 10k Taste and Tour,”  said Race Director Geneva Smiles.  “And they have like 16 restaurants supporting that, and there's four food stops along the way." 

It's a huge event; more than 500 people registered for the fest with 200 signed up for the tour and 350 racers participating.  The fest also brings in many visitors to the area, something that certainly doesn't hurt the local economy.

"You drive around the community...the motels are pretty much filled up,”  said Steven Schurtter, a Montreal, Wisconsin resident.  “Cash registers are clanging, and that's important."

Due to its success, organizers are already gearing up for 2012.

"All the money right now is going back into the race for next year,” Smiles said.  “We have, you know, expenses to put on the race, and eventually we're going to come up with some kind of youth ski scholarship, things like that, to give back to the community eventually.  But right now, you know, we're non-profit and the money goes back to the race."

This year, already 10 people committed to returning to the fun. 

And to wrap up the SISU Ski Fest, on Sunday, Ironwood will host snowshoe events at the Ironwood school's bus garage.