Mushers have a difficult decision between Beargrease and Iditarod
In the first two days of 2025, two important sled dog races have been postponed causing frustration for mushers. Both the Gunflint Mail Run and now the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon have been rescheduled.
It took several weeks of inspecting the trails along with a 300 mile course before making the difficult decision to postpone the race.
Monica Hendrickson, with the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon, says snowmobile clubs and other volunteers have been critical assets in making sure the mushers and dogs have properly maintained trails for the race.
“The ice is so dangerous for any musher or any dog team to be on. So we had to make that hard decision,” Hendrickson said. “No one is happy about it, especially the mushers, probably more the dogs. They’re definitely, they want to run. But it’s not feasible at this point due to the lack of snow.”
The Beargrease has been postponed until March 2nd. It lands right in between another important race, the Iditarod. The 2025 Iditarod Sled Dog Race will start on March 1, 2025, marking the 53rd anniversary of the event.
“In December, we were kind of hoping for more snow. Then obviously we had to make that decision. A lot of mushers are coming from Canada or from further away, and would start their trip now. It does take a long time to get dogs over here because it’s not a fast process,” Hendrickson said. “So racers, now they have to make the decision on what they’re going to do. So we’re giving them a couple of weeks to decide what’s going to work best for them. Again, not an ideal situation. But we hope some will stay.”
While the board members have more time to plan the longest sled dog marathon in the lower 48 states, Hendrickson says the team is still looking for more sponsors and volunteers to help with the Beargrease’s 40th anniversary run.
“If nothing else, we’re hoping that we can raise more money and get some more volunteers. There’s a lot of opportunities when you have another month to plan,” Hendrickson said. “So we’re hoping that people will still come out and support the race.”