The excitement for the 2015 John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon was in high gear following the first full day of registration. In the first 24 hours, 31 sled dog teams registered for the full and mid distance races.
“Less than 24 hours after we opened up registration for the 2015 race, we have a marathon field that is halfway full,” says Beargrease board president Jason Rice.
“That’s an amazing accomplishment considering all we’ve been through in the past year and is a sign the Beargrease is clearly growing,” says Rice.
This year’s field of mushers is already larger than last year’s 30 registered teams, with registration remaining open for the 2015 races until January 15, 2015.
The field includes three-time Beargrease champion Nathan Schroeder of Chisholm, as well as former champions Jamie Nelson of Togo, Blake Freking of Finland and Mid Distance champion Jenny Greger of Bozeman, Montana.
The John Beargrease Board of Directors has also released the dollar amounts winning mushers will ride away with, and this year’s totals are the highest in recent years. The winner of this year’s Full Marathon will take home $10,000, while the top musher of the Mid Distance race will win $4,000. In all, mushers will go home with $45,000 in prize money.
“We haven’t had numbers like this in a long time,” says Rice. “We believe it’s helping to really invigorate the mushing community and we look forward to a full roster of competitors.”
Three lucky mushers who registered for this year’s race at the Registration BBQ last night at Black Bear Resort Casino won FREE registration thanks to generous donations. Peter McClelland of Ely won a free full marathon registration, while Elizabeth Nelson of Togo, MN won a free mid distance registration, and Milo McClelland of Ely, MN took home a free Cub Run registration.
To see the full list of mushers registered for this year’s races, please visit www.beargrease.com.
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