Quick on skis and even quicker with a quip, Andrew Musgrave admits the clock is ticking as he prepares for his latest Olympic adventure.
Still only 31 – all that clean mountain air and fresh living makes him look more youthful – Musgrave is hardly an elder statesman. However, he is hoping age and experience is the prized formula to finally crack his Games ambition.
He made his debut in Vancouver as a teenager but didn't make the top 50 in his three events. Four years later, in Sochi, he arrived as an outside medal contender after winning the Norwegian national title, making him front page news there under the banner headline 'This hurts'.
Usually the wrong sort of snow causes grief to our trains but in Sochi it ultimately derailed Musgrave. "Cool. Hot. Yours" was the logo for those Games but for Musgrave was a bit too hot and just not cool enough.
"I skied like a tranquilised badger," he fumed, after struggling in snow conditions best described as 'slushy'.
And then came Pyeongchang, Musgrave a hot medal contender following a fourth place in the previous year's World Championships, the best-ever result by a British nordic skier.
He finished seventh in the skiathlon, which was only meant to be his warm-up event, but then caught a virus and struggled in the 15km and 50km.
"I'm going to eat a doughnut and not think about skiing for a while," he moaned.
Which brings us to Beijing, where the Scot with a strong line in self-deprecating quotes is back for Games number four. The three events on his schedule include the marathon 50km, two hours of lung-burning endurance endeavour like perhaps no other event at the Games. You don't have to be mad to be a nordic skier ... but it helps.
"I'm getting towards the end of my time when a medal is likely, so I need to go fast this time," admitted Musgrave, who is back to full fitness after shoulder injury in the close season.
"I'm a more stable athlete than I was four years ago, I'm older and more experienced but I also know I've not got limitless attempts at this.
"My top level in 2019 was as good as now but the last few years I've got better at peaking my best form for the important races in the season, that really gives me confidence. I'm definitely one of the podium potential guys and now it's up to me to prove it.
"The older you get the better you get at long distances and that's why my best chances are in the 30km and 50km. My sprint days are probably gone, I'm afraid.
"My racing has been improving throughout the season and that trajectory - and all my training - gives me lots of hope for the Games."
At last year's World Championships Musgrave finished seventh in the 30km, with only the pick of nordic powerhouses Russia and Norway ahead of him. A few days later another top ten followed in the 50km.
It's form that has inspired his Beijing team-mates, including best mate Andrew Young and James Clugnet, who has made no secret of his own medal intentions.
For very obvious reasons, the theme of these Games is about staying healthy. Masks, sanitiser and social distancing will again be the buzzwords and Musgrave is not complaining
"At the last two Games I've got ill, nothing serious but enough to mean that I was a few percent off and that's no good if you want to be a contender," he added.
"Our sport is so competitive, there isn't a margin for being a fraction below-par. Perhaps all these Covid rules will keep me healthy this time."
Sportsbeat 2022