According to Andre Duval, the secret to sled dog racing is simple: hang on for dear life.
"The toughest thing about racing is just hanging onto that sled. You've got to be able to ride that sled," Duval said.
The 20-year-old from Brainerd should know. He will compete for the first time in the 35th annual John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon in Duluth between noon and 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 27.
"Nervous? Yeah, I'm a little nervous," he said. "It's a big responsibility taking care of, you know, eight animals, athletes, but I've worked with the dogs all their lives since they were puppies."
Established in 1980, the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon is one of the longest sled dog races in the continental United States.
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"I'm excited, definitely. I'm excited for the dogs. They've impressed me the last four months that we've been training. I have faith in them and myself," Duval said of the upcoming timed race.
World-class mushers have competed in the "Beargrease," a qualifier for the famed Iditarod race in Alaska. Duval will compete in the related "Beargrease 120," which is about 120 miles long.
"For this year, I believe I'm the only one from Brainerd in the Beargrease, but there are two other mushers from Brainerd that have raced in previous years," Duval said.
Prize money in the amount of $5,400 will go to the 300-mile marathon winner and $3,600 for the winner of the Beargrease 120. There are 24 teams competing in the latter, a mid-distance race.
"We bred two batches of puppies or two litters, and out of those litters, I think we had 16-there was eight in each litter-so we picked the best four out of each litter, and they became my team and that was three years ago," Duval said of his Alaskan husky greyhounds-European pointers, a mixed breed. "I guess downhill skiing would be probably the closest idea of how the sport or the handling of the sled and dogs would be."
Whether Duval would even be able to compete Sunday in the Beargrease 120 in Duluth was in doubt after he crashed his sled during training Saturday in Schroeder, a city along the North Shore.
"My sled needed a new runner or a new ski," Duval said. "I was up north running and went over this road approach, and the ditch was very steep, so when I went down, I just snapped the runner, so we had to make a new one of those."
Last year, six finished out of the 10 teams that competed in the 400-mile race. This year, 12 teams are entered in the marathon, which was shortened to a roughly 300-mile course.
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The Duval family has been active in sled dog racing and rides for years and gives sled dog rides at Cragun's Resort and Hotel on Gull Lake.
"Our family used to sprint race, which is a smaller number of dogs and as fast as you can go for short mileage-4, 6 and 8 miles-but being with the snow in Minnesota not being very well in the last five, eight years, sprint racing has kind of faded out," Duval said.
"When we were sprint racing, I would run four dogs 4 miles, and we'd take off and average about 21, 22 mph for 4 miles, but for this race, we're going 120 miles, so we're averaging between 9 and 10 mph."
The 300-mile marathon will end at Grand Portage Lodge and Casino sometime Tuesday afternoon. Duval's 120-mile race ends at the Lutsen Mountains ski hill.
"Roughly, between, I think, 8:30 in the morning until about 11, everybody should be back to the finish line Monday morning," Duval said of the Beargrease 120.
Life of John Beargrease
John Beargrease was born in Beaver Bay in 1858, the son of an Anishinabe Chief Moquabimetem. The family lived in a traditional wigwam on the edge of the first settlement on Minnesota's North Shore, Beaver Bay. They survived through their traditional native practices of hunting, fishing and trapping.
Beargrease and his brothers were avid hunters and trappers and made regular trips to the region along their well-established Lake Shore Trail trap line. Recognizing the opportunity, Beargrease and his brothers picked up the job of delivering the mail by simply tossing a mailbag or two into existing packs.
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Beargrease himself was best known for his winter travels by dog sled. His sled looked more like a toboggan than today's sleds and he ran with teams of only four dogs. His fastest trip on dog sled was 28 hours from Two Harbors to Grand Marais.
Source: www.beargrease.com
