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Frigid cold proves to be a challenge
With temperatures bottoming out at nearly -50 degrees, more than half of the mushers dropped out of this year’s John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon before crossing the finish line.
BY KATIE BERG
STATESMAN STAFF WRITER
ISSUE: 78/18
TYLER SWIEENY / STATESMAN
Matt Carstens (13) from Whitefild, N.H. starting in the race with excited dogs last Sunday. The John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon started at 1 p.m. at Ordean Middle School here in Duluth.
A bright Sunday morning brought anticipation and excitement for the teams entered in the 25th annual running of the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon. After a year away, many of the mushers were ready to get back on the trail, and the noises coming from the kennels suggested that the dogs felt the same way.
“The dogs know it’s getting close,” said Blake Freking, a longtime veteran to dog sledding and owner of the Manitou Crossing Kennels in Finland, Minn. Freking is no stranger to the Beargrease, being the champion of the full marathon in 2004. Freking and his wife both entered the full marathon.
“All the dogs we have out here today have at least 1700 miles under them,” he said. “We started training them around 10 months to a year old, with short runs and a lot of playing.”
The Frekings have primarily purebred Siberian Huskies for the race, putting the younger dogs in the half-marathon to get more experience. “They’ll get really excited once they get out of the boxes and into the harnesses,” said Freking. “They can’t wait to get out on the trail.”
Many of the racers out on trail range from trainers to kennel owners. Billie Diver, from Cloquet, has 25 dogs in her kennel, and eight were out with her when she ran the mid-distance race. Running in her third race, there’s something that’s a little different about Diver than the rest of the crowd. For one, she’s one of the youngest competitors out there at 18. Diver is attending Lake Superior College to complete her generals right now, and she has had to balance classes, jobs and training since August.
RYAN HANSON/ STATESMAN
A sled dog panting with
excitement Sunday as the
race starts.
“I’m lucky because I had help in training when I didn’t have the time to do it,” said Diver. “We start training in August, having them [the dogs] do running to keep them in shape, and go out every day.” Diver said that in order to get the eight dogs required for the half-marathon, she had to whittle her choices down from 12 trained dogs. Finishing 30th the first year and 17th the second, Diver has been racing since she was seven years old, and is actually a descendant of Beargrease himself. She is also the first Native American woman to run in the race.
Yet none of this seems to faze the veteran as she greets questions and queries to pet her dogs with a smile. Another veteran with a long list of credentials is John Stetson, the only Duluthian and former UMD student, entered in the race. Stetson is the 2005 and 2006 Mid-Distance Champion, as well as the Hudson Bay Quest Champion. Stetson is going to be running the full marathon for the first time this year. Despite his racing experience, Stetson claims that he is an expeditioner above all, and he works with his dogs as a learning tool to educate and draw interest to issues.
His recent 1500-mile Global Warming 101 Expedition was a focus on bringing attention to the climate change. “People are interested in these dogs, and sled dogs really help them to become more connected to the outside,” said Stetson. “It’s important that students, UMD students, get involved, whether it be in the outdoor program or classes.” Stetson’s approach to guiding his team in the Beargrease is “more like a coach, than anything,” he said. “We start training Aug. 1, doing strength training by pulling a four-wheeler,” Stetson said. “It’s like weight training, then when it snows we work on speed … if anything, the Beargrease is very mental for the dogs since it’s so hilly. The dogs have to get it in their frame of mind to transition their gaits, going from uphill to downhill.”
TYLER SWEENEY/STATESMAN
Dogs warm up and relax
before the race starts
Sunday.
Besides the coach, Stetson relates his job at the back of the sled to being a manager, a director, an encourager and a motivator. “I have to slow the dogs down when they want to go fast and motivate them to keep going when they want to slow down,” he said. “You can’t lose your steam in the third period.”
In this year’s Beargrease, Stetson came in second, with a total trail time of 35 hours, 18 minutes, and four seconds. Jason Barron, of Lincoln, Mont., finished first this year with a total trail time of 34 hours, 43 minutes and 26 seconds.
Of the 27 mushers that started the race, only 13 continued on to rest at the Finland, Minn. checkpoint on the way back to Duluth. Many dropped out due to injuries to mushers and dogs, combined with freezing temperatures. With teams from Australia, Finland and Canada, to local teams close to home from Duluth and Cloquet, the Beargrease was brimming with talent this year as the teams crossed the starting line to begin the 150- and 380-mile race, one paw closer to victory.
