Matt Groth, who operates Grand Marais Sled Dog Adventures, had an adventure of his own on Feb. 1-2 when he raced—and won first place—in the 19th Annual Apostle Islands Sled Dog Race.
A number of local mushers headed to Wisconsin last week for the 19th Apostle Islands Sled Dog Races on Feb. 1 – 2. Three Cook County mushers finished in the top three in their racing division in the two-day event.
There were nearly 50 sled dog teams competing in four racing divisions over two days, including an easy Family-Recreational Race, an eight-mile loop each day of the event designed for novice mushers.
The most challenging race was the 10-dog division—80 miles over two days with the best combined time taking first place. Matt Groth of Grand Marais Sled Dog Adventures barely edged out 2nd place finisher Matt Sturmer of Bruce Crossing, Michigan. Groth’s time was better on day one of the race with a trail time of 4:46:40 to Sturmer’s 4:54:17. Sturmer finished with a faster time on the second day—4:10:57 to Groth’s 4:18:10. After times were combined, Groth came out in first place with a total trail time of 9:04:50 over Sturmer’s 9:05:14.
Coming in third, just a few minutes behind, was Matt Schmidt of the Nuannaarpoq Kennel of Grand Marais with a total trail time of 9:14:29.
Noting the name of the top three finishers, a competitor quipped on Facebook, “Apparently you had to be a Matt to even be in the running!”
Reached back home in Cook County after the race, Matt Groth said his dogs did great. His lead dogs were Grendel and Ayla for both days. He said the trail was very soft on Saturday, with lots of loose snow. “My dogs haven’t been racing this year, since we started a tour business. Because of that, my dogs have been breaking trail quite a bit, so they are accustomed to slower runs in difficult snow conditions.
“Sunday was a much faster trail. We were the second fastest team on Sunday, but had enough of a lead from Saturday that it was enough to win,” said Groth.
Tofte musher Rita Wehseler also entered the 10-dog division, but scratched after the first day of racing.
There was another race for six dog teams of 60 miles (two 30-mile stages) and Mary Manning of Hovland ran that race, finishing in 7th place with a total trail time of 7:32:28.
In the Sportsmen’s Class, a six dog race over a 40-mile course (two 20-mile stages), Nancy Lang of Snowy Ridge Kennels of Grand Marais took third place and Erin Altemus, Nuannaarpoq Kennel of Grand Marais, finished in 7th place.
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