Tofte Musher Rita Wehseler in the 2009 John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon. She finished first in this month’s Apostle Islands Sled Dog Race.
Rita Wehseler of Tofte was the winner of this year’s eight-dog Apostle Islands Sled Dog Race. The 17th annual event—held over two days— was on Feb. 4 and 5 near Bayfield and was comprised of 74 sled dog teams.
Wehseler told WDIO-TV that she thinks training in warmer weather helped keep her dogs from overheating on the trail. “They’re looking really great right now and that’s because we haven’t had the cold bitter temperatures we’ve had other years,” she said. “The dogs are pretty acclimated.”
Bill Wehseler, Rita’s husband, agreed that conditions leading up to the race were less-than-ideal. He told the News-Herald that he and Rita have had to get far away from Lake Superior to run their dogs. “We’ve been able to train up the Sawbill Trail on the 600 Road. It’s been a kind of challenging year.”
Rita Wehseler finished first among 23 mushers who competed in the eight-dog, 30.6-mile race on Feb. 5. Her winning time was 2:19:14. Bill Wehseler also took part in the race and finished in 2:42:24, good for 13th place. Bill raced a yearling team. Leah Krenske assisted as handler for the Wehselers.
With the Beargrease being cancelled, the Apostle Islands race saw a surge in entries for its pro class, with double the usual number of mushers. Races included 8-dog teams, 6-dog teams, a 40-mile Sportsmen’s Race, a Family Recreation Run, and a 16 and under youth race.
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