UP 200 Dog Sled Race

Amy’s friends from Pennsylvania came up this weekend for the UP 200 Dog Sled Race!!! It is a qualifying race for the Iditarod.

Friday after I was out of work I busted home, quickly changed, and ran (yes, ran, literally) to the Landmark where I joined Amy and her home gang for dinner in the VIP area! I had quite the appetite after rushing over…it is not easy running in boots with fur in the snow! Then we walked downtown and watched some of the teams run by and then we went down to the start to see a few depart the gates! Run doggies run!!! Video above is from the start. Please be kind to the camerawoman (me), I took it with my digital camera and was being elbowed by cheering people I weaseled in-between to get in the front. It was an extremely unique experience watching dog sled races. Awesome.

Saturday I went skiing with Dany and then we headed to the Up Front to listen to the reggae band and hang with the peeps from Penn. before calling it a night.

Sunday I set my alarm because I was told the dog sled teams should return between 10 and 11am. I get there around 10.30 after walking from my house over a mile without sidewalks in the -15 degrees to find out they don’t expect anyone before noon. Then it was 2.30pm. long story short Mariah and I met up and made it to the finish line before the first team. We waited about an hour because they hit white-out conditions a town away and were slowed way down. After finishing, it was refreshing to hear how every single rider stated that the priority was to finish with healthy dogs and gave the dogs all the credit and took care of them like they were their kids. Picture below is me at the finish line all bundled up!