January 29, 2014
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This year was the 30th running of the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon. I think it was also the coldest. Yesterday Karla and I went to Devil Track Lake to watch some of the teams come into the checkpoint. When we arrived the wind chills were 50 below. Schools all across Minnesota were closed. It was hard to imagine spending the night on the back of a sled in those kinds of conditions. As the teams crossed the lake the wind picked up snow making it difficult to see across the lake.
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Colleen Wallin’s husband gave her a kiss as she finished a very cold 60-mile leg of the race.
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The dogs were quite frosty and appeared to be in need of some rest.
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The mushers take care of the dogs before they got some rest themselves.
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Even the vet team looked pretty frosty after examining the dogs.
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As I looked at the back of this sled I just couldn’t imagine putting my hands into the gloves and heading down the shore for the final 150-mile leg of the race. It takes a special athlete to endure all the tasks that both the mushers and dogs must do to complete the race.