This race is for the dogs.
And despite the cool temperatures and nearly 650-kilometre trek, they seem to love every minute of it – though relish a chance to lose their winter booties and find a fresh pile of straw to lie down and recover in.
Ryan Anderson’s team from International Falls, Minn. was the first to cross the halfway checkpoint Monday near Grand Portage, Minn., and he said he figures he’s in the middle of the 11-team pack at the 32nd annual John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon.
“It’s just a tradition,” he said. “It’s a race close to home for me and it’s just a good atmosphere and a good event for Minnesota in general.”
While the dogs are put to the test during the race, which began Sunday in Two Harbors, Minn., it’s an activity they enjoy, Anderson said.
The sport is also a long-term commitment for the mushers, he added.
“Raising the dogs from pups and watching grow into the dogs they become is pretty special,” Anderson said.
What makes a good sled dog? That’s simple.
“A dog that runs and pulls and eats,” Anderson said.
Keith Aili, from Ray, Minn., was the second racer to arrive at the halfway mark, and said his marathon has gone fairly well to this point.
But It hasn’t been a perfect run, he added.
“It’s been great so far,” he said. “I have some injuries showing up from early training. But this heat is really hard on my dogs, where I come from up by International Falls.”
For Aili, it’s a chance to be at one with nature that keeps him in the game.
“It’s the solitude mainly. I just enjoy the animals and being out in the woods,” he said, guessing he was in fifth or sixth place in the race, which for the first time since 2000 made it's way as far north as Grand Portage.
Unlike traditional automobile races, hitting a checkpoint first doesn’t necessarily mean you’re winning. Each team has to rest for at least 28 hours over the course of the race, named for American Indian John Beargrease, who delivered mail along the shores of Lake Superior in the late 19th century.
Spokeswoman Jessica Shold said they pay tribute to their namesake along the route.
“Each of the mushers in the marathon and the mid-distance carry official mailbags. They are sworn in as honourary mail carriers and they each carry a package of trail mail which is signed by the carrier that’s carrying it,” she said.
“Anyone can purchase trail mail. It goes the length of the race with the musher and then comes back and goes to whoever it’s addressed to.”
To follow along, visit http://www.beargrease.com/gps.htm.
