The 2014 John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon—the 30th running of the race—was one of the coldest in many years. Mushers were challenged by the bitter cold and high winds, but the dogs ran well on the trail, which was alternatively hard-packed ice and deep snow banks. Mushers said at times it was hard to even see the trail through blowing snow. Ross Fraboni of 10 Squared Racing, the winner of the mid-distance race approaches the John Beargrease finish line in Tofte on Monday, January 27.
Although there were a few teams still on the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon Trail at press time on Wednesday, January 29, the winners of the 2014 race were clear. Surviving the brutal temperatures from the start on Sunday, January 26 to the finish on Wednesday, January 29, was Nathan Schroeder of Chisholm, who successfully earned the Beargrease championship for a third time. Winning the middistance race was Ross Fraboni of Two Harbors.
10 Squared Racing takes first and second in mid-distance race
The mid-distance race of 133.4 miles saw Fraboni of 10 Squared Racing cross the finish line next to the AmericInn hotel in Tofte at 9:04:31 on Monday, January 27 in temperatures hovering around 17 degrees below zero, with wind gusts of 40 miles per hour through the night. Fraboni is familiar to many Cook County mushing fans— he was the winner of the 2013 inaugural Gichigami Express Sled Dog Race in Cook County.
At the Tofte finish line, Fraboni said, “This is definitely one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”
Above: Erin Altemus of Grand Marais was met by her handler-husband Matthew Schmidt after crossing the Tofte mid-distance finish line. Altemus and her Nuannaarpoq Kennel dogs finished in fourth place. Left: Mushers— and canine athletes like this fellow—got some much-needed rest at the Sawbill checkpoint on Monday afternoon.
Fraboni was followed closely by Joshua Compton also of 10 Squared Racing, also a Gichigami Express racer, at 9:09:56. Martha Schouweiler of Irma, Wisconsin was third, coming in at 9:20:50.
Erin Altemus of Nuannaarpoq Kennel of Grand Marais finished in fourth place completing the race at 9:33:52. Altemus was the only Cook County racer and she was enthusiastically welcomed by her husband, Matthew Schmidt. The couple takes turns racing their team and Schmidt was the musher for their kennel in the recent Gichigami Express.
All of the mid-distance racers had arrived at the Tofte finish by 2:30 p.m. on Monday afternoon.
Iditarod-bound Schroeder claims third Beargrease win
When the mid-distance racers turned toward the township of Tofte, the marathon racers headed through the woods to the secluded Tofte checkpoint on the Sawbill Trail. That checkpoint is in one of the most scenic locations in the country and it is where mushers care for their dogs all on their own—no handlers or dog trucks are allowed. It is one of the most interesting places to observe mushers and their dogs as they heat food, rub liniment onto the canine athletes’ joints, and snuggle down in piles of hay to rest together. It is this checkpoint that makes the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon a qualifier for the famed Alaskan Iditarod.
Mushers travel from the Sawbill checkpoint in Tofte, to Devil Track Lake, to Trail Center and beyond. They then turn and circle back on the “downbound” trip. The return trip was very exciting with winner Nathan Schroeder of the Horses ‘n Huskies Kennel hotly pursued by second place finisher Keith Aili of Wolf Ridge Kennel of Ray, Minnesota, winner of the 2006 Beargrease.
Schroeder increased his lead as he neared the finish line at Billy’s. He crossed the finish line at 1:19 p.m. on Wednesday. Aili finished at 4:18 p.m.
Catching the spirit of John Beargrease
Ahead of all the mushers— mid- distance and marathon—was the spirit of John Beargrease. Every year, the first bib number is reserved in honor of the Ojibwe man who spent his life battling Minnesota’s extreme weather. According to the Minnesota History Center, Beargrease delivered mail along the North Shore of Lake Superior between Two Harbors and Grand Marais from 1879 to 1888. In the summer he hiked or sailed and in the winter he traveled by dog sled, averaging 30 – 40 miles each day.
The race that almost didn’t happen—in October 2013 Beargrease organizers announced they were cancelling the 2014 sled dog race because of lack of funding—seems to have been a great success. Saddened at the thought of not holding the Beargrease this year, and concerned that if it wasn’t held the tradition would end, a team of committed volunteers stepped forward to find sponsors and race officials. So, despite financial challenges, frigid temperatures and gale force winds, the spirit of John Beargrease has endured.
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