Taking a break from singing and playing his guitar, Michael Monroe and his plucky dog named Puckey got an exuberant start at the 7-kilometer skijoring race held at Pincushion Mountain last Sunday. Puckey, who also has an excellent singing voice, and Michael finished in third place in the fun-filled race.
There was a lot of fun-filled action on a warm, windy day at the Pincushion Mountain Festival held Sunday, February 12, which was once again hosted by the Cook County Ski & Run Club.
Max Hollmann, a high school cross country skier from Thunder Bay, Ontario, won the 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) classic cross country ski race held Sunday, February 12 at Pincushion Mountain. Hollmann finished in 35:42, 14 seconds ahead of runner-up Eli Greenwood, who is also a high school cross country ski racer from Gorham, Ontario.
Chris O’Brien and Denny FitzPatrick of Cook County finished 6th and 7th in the 10K race. Both are over 60 years of age.
Erin Endsley of Duluth won the women’s 10K, crossing the finish line in 41:53. Erin was almost a full three minutes ahead of Madi Fabiano of Thunder Bay. Lynn Swanson of Grand Marais was the top finisher from Cook County with a fourth place finish. The next Cook County skiers were Rebecca Wiinanen, Kathy Horak, Anne Hegg and Raia Meltzer who finished 6th through 9th.
And they are off! Part of the fun of the Winter Festival is the cross country ski races for the kids. These young athletes, who showed some real skills on their “skinny skis,” turned in some fine results.
32K Classic Cross Country Ski Race
Thunder Bay’s Greg Kilroy won the 32K race with a time of 1:50:05. John Praxmarer was the top local finisher, placing 6th in 2:08:31. Tim Lederle of Grand Marais placed 9th, Chris Hegg 13th, Tim Kennedy 18th, and Jan Horak 19th.
Marilyn Ailey of Thunder Bay won the women’s 32K race in 2:22:35. There were no local women entered in the long race.
7K Fat Bike Tire Race
Keith Ailey of Thunder Bay won the 7K (about 4 miles) Fat Tire Bike Race in 21:49. Jay Arrowsmith DeCoux of Grand Marais placed second in 23:30. Other top Cook County male finishers were Max Wahlers in 5th, Matt Neisheim in 8th, Chris O’Brien in 10th, and Jeff Cadwell placed 13th.
Because the men and women raced together, Marilyn Ailey of Thunder Bay placed 5th overall but was first among the women finishers. Her time was 34:08.
Top: Fat tire bikers were close here, but spread out as the race went on. Next year the goal is to make this event bigger. Upper left: A smiling Lynn Swanson (77) neared the finish line to cheers. Above left: Denny FitzPatrick (below Lynn), came across the line feigning slow motion, much to the delight of the crowd. Above right: Until the skiers found their own pace and rhythm, they stayed in a line, working together.
Kathryn Ramberg of Grand Marais was the top local women finisher in 9th place and Lee Bergstrom, Grand Marais, placed 12th.
Skijoring results
Go Dog North partnered with the North Superior Ski & Run Club to host 7 km and 3km non-competitive skijoring races at the Pincushion Winter Carnival. In these races, contestants coordinate their cross country skiing as a dog is pulling them. The dogs tend to be eager, starting fast and the races are exciting.
Alison Long and her dog won the 3K race in 9:15. Sophia Crosby placed second in 10:42. Erin Claeys was third in 11:28 and Marco Good 4th in 11:50.
Matthew Schoales was first in the 7K race n 24:06. Second place went to Matt Neisheim and third to Michael Monroe.
Kids’ races were also held, said Chris Hegg, with some competitive, fun filled skiing.
Hegg, the event coordinator, said, “Overall we had a good day. There were just under 100 participants. We could always use more participation, but that is something we will discuss next year. The volunteers did a great job. I can’t say enough about their efforts. The fat tire bike races were low-key events, and we might want to expand on those races next year. Mike Larson (one of the originators of the Lutsen 99er) helped out and he said he sees a lot of potential to make these races bigger. We will be asking for advice before next year’s festival. The skijoring races were a lot of fun. As always, a fan favorite. Next year we will discuss how to make this festival bigger. A lot of work goes into the day, and we need to see it grow.”
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