40th running of John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon begins

TWO HARBORS — Spirits were high Sunday as hundreds of supporters gathered to cheer the mushers commencing the 40th running of the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon.

The race was canceled in 2024 due to a lack of snow and then delayed five weeks for the same reason this year. After a late February melt, the starting point was moved from Duluth to a wooded area north of Two Harbors. The prevailing sentiment among both mushers and fans on Sunday was simple: We’re happy to be here.

Blake Freking, a two-time Beargrease winner, said he was glad for “the fact that we’re just here, having an event, even though it’s a little shorter than planned.” Freking, his wife Jen, and their two daughters are all racing in the mid-distance Beargrease 120 this year.

“It’s going to be rough the first 10 miles,” Freking continued. “Hopefully, everybody can get through it just nice and safe and slowly and take it easy.”

Times between mushers were extended to three minutes instead of the usual two, with Kirk Weber departing at 11:07 a.m. as the first to hit the trail.

Fifteen mushers participating in the full 277-mile race to Grand Portage departed first, followed by 16 participants in the Beargrease 120 (including the two junior participants from the Freking family) and then 11 mushers in the recreational-class Beargrease 40.

Spectators perching among trees on trailside hills cheered mushers, including Erin Aili, who won the marathon in 2021. In 2023, the most recent running, her husband Keith won the marathon.

“Aili family’s got a lot of trophies on the shelf,” said announcer Ken Buehler as Erin Aili prepared to depart. “Keith Aili holds a course record for the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon. Erin, take him down!”

The field also includes Nathan Schroeder, one of three mushers to hold four Beargrease marathon titles — and the only one racing this year.

“Nathan Schroeder has the opportunity to be the first in Beargrease history to win five John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathons,” observed Buehler as the sun briefly broke through on a mostly cloudy day.

The loudest cheers may have been for the four Freking family members as they departed in sequence: Blake, Nicole (12), Jen and Elena (14).

“My dad and my sister Elena are planning on running a little faster and more competitive, and then me and my mom are going to stick together and just run the race,” Nicole Freking told the News Tribune.

Even in Ely, said ninth grader Elena Freking, “most kids at school don’t know a heck of a lot about dog racing.”

Nicole Freking, a seventh grader, said, “New kids, when they hear that I have like 60 dogs, they don’t believe me. A lot of them think that’s kind of crazy.”

Spectators assessed the crowd as somewhat smaller than the typical turnout when the race starts at Billy’s, a bar and restaurant in Rice Lake. Billy’s was still represented at the starting line on Sunday, selling food and beverages from a stand under a tent near a giant bonfire.

“On Monday night, we were pretty certain that we weren’t going to be part of it,” said Billy’s owner, Brian Larson. “Tuesday morning, they asked if we still wanted to come up this way and be part of it. It kind of reinvigorated us.”

Larson said he typically expects 1,000 to 1,500 people for a Beargrease start at Billy’s, but even with lower numbers, the pop-up eatery was proving a success. “We’re going to run out of just about everything, or get close to it,” he estimated. “I’d like to get back to the more traditional running, but it’s been fun.”

Spectator Andrew Patron, of Blaine, Minnesota, was standing by the bonfire carrying his 1-year-old child on his back. “I found out about this four years ago, came up here, and I’m just like, I’m going every year that I can. This is just fantastic.”

Patron and his family were undeterred by the weather-related change in plans. “When it got pushed back, we just changed our hotel reservation,” he said. Looking around, Patron observed that “everybody’s got a smile on their face.”

He’s also been to the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska, which he described as a little more intense. Comparing the Beargrease crowd to the Iditarod, Patron said, “Find the guy here wearing the most animal fur on his body, and multiply that by 100.”

Blake Freking said his family extended their training regimen to have the dogs ready to race after the five-week delay. “Our teams were really trained up for that January race that was originally scheduled,” he said. “We drop them down a little bit and then try and peak them again to get them primed up for a race.”

Jen Freking said she and her family members have had conversations about the future of sled dog racing given the changing climate.

“I hope that they have some way to enjoy the sport,” she said about her daughters as they grow up. “We have to be adaptable, I guess. Obviously, we love our dogs and, yeah, it’s probably changing with the weather.”

Less than two hours before she hit the start chute, Elena Freking said she was just looking forward to the experience. “I’m not very competitive,” she said. “I have a goal of finishing well, and all my dogs finishing well, and that’s my only goal, really.”

This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.