John Beargrease Dog Sled Race

2017 John Beargrease Dog Sled Race

The John Beargrease Sled Dog Race is a dogsled race held along the North Shore of Lake Superior in northeast Minnesota.[1] At 400 miles, it is the longest sled dog race in the lower 48 states.[2] The "Beargrease" is a qualifier for the famed Iditarod race in Alaska.[3]

The name of the race honors John Beargrease, a winter mail carrier who traveled by dog sled between Two Harbors, Minnesota and Grand Portage, Minnesota during the last two decades of the nineteenth century.

The race has been held every January since 1980, and starts from Billy's Bar in Duluth, Minnesota.[4]

The race was rerouted in 2019, and the course was shortened by 70 miles, due to lack of snow.[5]

In 2022 the race was won by Ryan Anderson from Cushing, Wisconsin. It was Anderson's fourth win. Soft snow due to warm temperatures caused 13 mushers to drop out of the race before finishing. Winning time was two days and just over 6.5 hours.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Beargrease.com". Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  2. ^ "SuperiorTrails.com". Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  3. ^ "Beargrease.com". Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  4. ^ Beargrease sled dog marathon starts with wide field of contenders Star Tribune. January 2022
  5. ^ Goetz, Kaomi (2020-01-04). "Warmer winters put Minnesota dog sledding at risk". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  6. ^ "Ryan Anderson Wins 2022 Beargrease Dog Sled Marathon". CBS Minnesota. February 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  • Lancaster, Daniel. John Beargrease: Legend of Minnesota's North Shore. Holy Cow! Press, 2008.