DULUTH — Ryan Anderson spent the few seconds before his staggered start of the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon checking in with his dogs — a team that includes seven Alaskan huskies who helped him to his record-tying fourth win last year.
The dogs yipped and leaped in the chute, seemingly eager to race, a marked contrast to the cool musher from Cushing, Wis., who — with another victory — could this year become the 300-mile race's winningest.
"We're pretty excited about this team," Anderson said, describing his crew as "pretty strong."
True enough, as the dogs — outfitted in black and purple booties — cruised up the first snowy hill along Tischer Road, a wide-eyed woman who had helped wrangle the pack at the start said it was the strongest team she had ever handled.
The 39th running of the John Beargrease Sled Dog races started Sunday morning on the grounds of Billy's Bar, a townie tavern on the border of Duluth and Rice Lake. Seventeen teams started the race that winds up the North Shore with a series of checkpoints along the way where mushers take mandatory rest breaks and tend to their dogs.
Marathon officials predict that the first mushers will cross the finish line at Grand Portage Lodge and Casino on Tuesday evening.
There were 58 total mushers signed up for Beargrease races, which include a 120-mile mid-distance competition that is expected to end early Monday morning at the Trestle Inn in Finland, Minn. Ashley Thaemert of Cook, won the 40-mile race on Sunday afternoon.
It was sunny and 10 degrees below zero at the starting line, cold that was expected to last the duration of the marathon. Hundreds of fans mingled with mushers and took photographs of dogs — whose barks turned into puffs of clouds. Some fans dipped into a heated tent for coffee mixed with Bailey's or a Bloody Mary. Inside the crowded bar, parents tended to cold fingers and toes.
