The John Beargrease Marathon

The John Beargrease ‘marathon’ is one of the older and better known mushing races in the lower 48.  It’s been an annual event since 1980 which means it is just a bit younger than the iconic Iditarod (first run in 1973).  The famous—or maybe infamous!—Yukon Quest is actually younger, first run in 1984.  There are actually three races, the main “marathon” close to 300 miles, a 120 miler and a 40 miler, run in one day. The big one is a qualifier for the Iditarod and many names well known in Alaskan racing circles do come down to participate in this notable event and others use the Beargrease to prep or qualify for their rookie run at the Iditarod. .

The race honors John Beargrease, a Native American of the  Anishinaabe tribe although also said to be of the Ojiba and the Chippawa tribes. This needs more research to unravel which I will attempt shortly. At any rate, he was born in 1858 and became a mail carrier, using a boat and dog sled to make his deliveries. Thus a sled dog race in his honor is a very logical and appropriate event. That this race is now part of the developing "world series of mushing," is one indication of how significant and how well regarded it is.

This year, the race started on the 26^th of January—today as I write this—and will finish probably late Tuesday.  It is being tracked with regular updates at checkpoints and there is plenty of coverage if one knows where to look. I am delighted to see more and more of the mid-distance races are being given national coverage, active video recording and gathering a world-wide following that uses every bit of modern technology to further their fandom. 

A relatively small cohort of mushers and their fourteen dog teams took to the trail, just fourteen. However, several names would be familiar to folks who have mainly followed only Alaskan or in the case of the Quest, Alaskan/Canadian races.   Here is the complete list and bios on all this year’s competitors. https://beargrease.com/meet-the-mushers/  It is pretty 'wow' and even the 120 mile race includes many recognizable names. 

As for  me I am rooting for the women, of course, especially Jennifer Freking, Laura Neese, J. Foucher—a Facebook friend, and then Ryan Redington.  We’ll see who crosses the finish line first Tuesday evening and may the best team win!!

This time of year there is a race or even two just about every weekend and you can be busy indeed if you try to keep up with all of them.  I do--and also don't--quite. I have my favorites, both races and mushers, and check to see who is racing where and focus on them while giving others a more cursory watch. Fortunately I have a number of Facebook friends and others who are happy to share our mutual passion so I can almost always find out quickly what is going on everywhere dogs are tracking the snow.  Mush on!!