Dog Sled Marathons in the Midwest

Mention the sport of dog sledding and most people think of the Iditarod. No musher can enter the Iditarod without undergoing intensive training. To run a sled dog team in the 2012 Iditarod, a musher must complete two 300 mile qualifying races in the top 75 percent of all sled dog teams in those races or take no longer than twice the time of the winner of the race. The musher must also complete one additional race so that his total number of miles equals 750 miles. The U. P. 200 and the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon have been used by mushers to qualify for the Iditarod. Spectators will find many dog sled related activities and sights in the communities which are hosts to these events.

U. P. 200 and Midnight Run, Upper Peninsula, Michigan
In the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where large amounts of snowfall is a guaranteed part of winter, sled dog racing is a sport fit for the terrain and conditions. The U. P. 200 and Midnight Run Sled Dog Races were first held in 1990 and have grown in popularity and number of dog sled teams participating each year. VIPs who have been honored with rides with veteran mushers include New York Giants professional football kicker Jay Feely and former Michigan governor Jennifer Grandholm.

Three sled dog races with different distances are run in conjunction with this event toward the end of February each year. The U. P. 200 covers about 240 miles of terrain. The marathon starting point is in downtown Marquette. From there, the twelve-dog sled teams and mushers parallel Lake Superior for about four and a half miles, and then veer off to Deerton, where sled dogs not able to run the entirety of the race may be dropped off with waiting handlers. Wetmore is the next stop and a good place for spectators to see the dog sled teams come in to this assisted checkpoint. From there, the teams travel on to Grand Marais, Michigan, and the turn-around point. After checking in, the teams return to Marquette along the trail they have just traveled. There is a cap of 40 entrants for the U. P. 200 Sled Dog Marathon.

The Midnight Run is an 89 mile race which begins in Gwinn and ends in Munising. Deerton is a mandatory layover for the mushers and the eight-dog sled teams. The same section of trail is shared by sled dog teams running the U. P. 200 and the Midnight Run from Marquette to Munising. The Midnight Run has a maximum limit of fifty entrants.

The Jack Pine 30 starts in Gwinn and finishes in Marquette. This is a sportsman's class event. A trophy is given to the first eight finishers. Teams consist of six dogs.

Some of the communities which these races go through have winter festivals to coincide with the event. Munising has snow and sled dog related movies in Mather Auditorium, a snowshoe obstacle course race, pet dog parade, demonstrations of ice-climbing and snowshoeing, and other fun activities through the week.

Marquette sponsors activities throughout the week of the U. P. 200 and Midnight Run including a fireworks display, skijoring, snowshoe races, a children's event with family pets, and snow sculptures. The U. P. 200 and Midnight Run bills the races as "the excitement of Alaska without the airfare".

John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon, Duluth, Minnesota
The John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon has been a major part of the Lake Superior North Shore winter experience since 1980. The race bears the name of a legendary Anishinabe mail carrier by the name of John Beargrease. He delivered mail between Two Harbors and Grand Marais from 1879 to 1899, sometimes by dog sled and in the harshest of winter conditions. One of the mandatory stops all mushers must perform in this sled dog marathon is a visit to the grave of John Beargrease in Beaver Bay.

The larger marathon is 380.1 miles long and has six checkpoints along its length. Both the longer sled dog marathon and the mid-distance race of about 111 miles roughly parallel the North Shore of Lake Superior. There is a cap of 30 sled dog team entrants for the marathon and 50 for the mid-distance race.

The marathon itself starts on the outskirts of Duluth and crosses several roads as the sled dog teams race toward Highway 2 north of Two Harbors and the first important checkpoint. A few miles before this checkpoint, the sled dog teams begin to experience the wilderness feeling of this marathon. The rest of the way to the Beaver Bay, Finland, and Sawbill Landing checkpoints, to Poplar Lake on the Gunflint Trail to the checkpoint and turnaround on Devil's Track Lake is pure wilderness and solitude. The sled dog teams follow the North Shore State Snowmobile Trail for 25 miles on both the upbound and downbound course.

The Mid-Distance race follows the Marathon race course until the Finland checkpoint and then runs along an unplowed road to Tofte on Lake Superior.

By checking an online map of the northeastern Minnesota area between Duluth and Devil's Track Lake, you may find several road crossing areas. These provide perfect photo opportunities as long as you are allowed to park somewhere along the road and wait. We found a group of dog team supporters waiting at one such crossing in 2009. They had built a small fire along the trail and broke out a makeshift lunch while they watched the trail for the first dog sled team to cross. In the first year of the marathon, my husband and I "followed" the marathon by car from Silver Bay up to Devil's Track Lake. If you listen carefully to reports on the radio and ask a few local residents, you may be able to find a perfect location to wait for an action shot of a dog sled team on the trail.

The race week begins with a Gala dinner and silent auction followed the next evening by a spaghetti buffet dinner and opening ceremonies. This is the time in which the racers receive their official racing bibs with the numbers which identify them to officials and spectators. Besides viewing the marathon or mid-distance races from one of the viewing areas, another activity for kids is entering their family pet in the Cutest Puppy Contest. One of the oldest of the Midwest sled dog races, the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon invites visitors and mushers alike to "live the legend".

References

http://www.up200.org/ UP 200 and Midnight Run
http://www.beargrease.com/ John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon
http://www.iditarod.com/pdfs/2010/rules.pdf Page 3