The Beargrease Dog Sled Race 2022
Joanna got third place in the recent Beargrease Sled Dog Race in Duluth, MN. Here is her writeup of the race.
Beargrease is always an adventure and usually never goes as planned:) On Sat. we had just gotten all the dogs out and the vets were heading our way to check the team when I noticed Bandit (who was panting with excitement) had a HUGE lump under his tongue!!! I wish I had taken a photo of it looked absolutely awful, like a huge growth!!! To the vets... umm... I have a problem... 
I had worked late the night before so my dad had fed the dogs... we had run them short on Thursday and Bandit was on fire, ran great! The only thing my dad had noticed as he was the one to usually feed Bandit is that he ate a bit slower then normal. I don't normally bring a spare dog to races as it is a hassle to care for or sometimes have room for an extra dog but I might have to in the future:) Long story short, it was a blocked saliva gland most likely due to trauma and most likely from Bandit's son playing and "jawing" with his dad who he is next to... they mouth each others necks ect so needless to say we will have to move Jedi to a different spot:) Bandit was unable to run the race in that condition even though he acted as crazy and wild as ever, dragging us around when walked. He is such a powerhouse at 65 lbs so it was a real bummer.... So... I was starting one of the toughest races with one less dog which is so not ideal:) Also three of my four females were in heat, and my super handler that is my dad had a horrible tooth ache from an abscess so we had all kinds of fun things going on:) Once we were on the trail it was an absolutely thrilling ride behind that fast and powerful group! I dubbed my team "The Magnificent 7" from that movie my sister always forgets the name of and calls it "the 7 amazing guys" lol! My magnificent 7 were 4 girls and 3 boys and they did absolutely outstanding:) I didn't find out until later at Two Harbors that we had the fastest time by only 30 seconds or so with Rita's smoking team in 2nd! My only yearling did not rest at the checkpoint but the adults did better and with dusk and cold temps settling we took off like a shot on leg 2!! Another super fast fun run that was just a blast! Getting into the hills nearing Finland we probably lost time in the climbs with less dog power so dropped to 3rd place with Rita and Mike in 1st and 2nd having had super fast runs!!! My super leader Nikita was just a tad stiff in her hips so didn't want her to continue. Unfortunately I, yet again, ran the last leg with only 6 dogs but mainly 5 pulling:) Though Thor is so huge he is almost like having two dogs in one;) The dogs did so well on that last and toughest, hilliest leg with Laska leading with her grandma Tamar. Those two are my screamers and if we are climbing a steep hill too slow (I can't run the whole long mountain guys!:) they both start screaming and the whole team shoots forward:) Love it! We all worked our butts off and I really wish I had shed a layer before that last leg lol. My goggles were so fogged up it was getting hard to see even with the little fan running constantly. Way more hills then I remembered but then maybe its good we mushers forget 
The team finished strong in 3rd place a little over 5 min. behind Mike Bestgens awesome team!!! I saw his headlamp shine back a few times nearing the end on those long, gradually climbing straight stretches and we did our darnest to catch you Mike though I am sorry we made you work harder I was surprised and deeply honored to be awarded the Best Cared for Team Award chosen by the vets!!!! They do such an amazing job I am just so thankful for all the wonderful vets at all the races. You guys rock! Thank you to all the race organizers and board, volunteers, sponsors and many thanks to my Dad for all his help training and caring for the team. I couldn't do this without his help!!! He was suffering terribly with his toothache so not a very fun time for him but he persevered and was able to get in to the dentist Tues. Thank you to my Mom for feeding the dogs remaining at home!!! And congrats to Rita on her amazing team's win and Mike for his super team's great finish, Joann's super team coming in 4th. It's always so much fun to get to hang out with such wonderful friends that we have to wait for winter races to see!!!! I haven't gotten to look at all the leg times yet but so proud of my team and how well they did despite being way behind in training this year for a multitude of reasons. Tamar, Laska, Katniss, Kodiak, Thor and Cobra finished with Nikita having led the first two legs and setting a blistering pace before having to sit the last leg out. All are happy and crazy to run our next race which we leave tomorrow, the Klondike Dog Derby! Oh and after we got home and unloaded dogs Monday we drove Bandit over to the awesome Ely Vet Clinic to get help. I am happy to report the meds seemed to have unblocked the saliva gland as it deflated most of the way down yay!!!!! (Surgery to remove the gland is the only other option:( )
I had worked late the night before so my dad had fed the dogs... we had run them short on Thursday and Bandit was on fire, ran great! The only thing my dad had noticed as he was the one to usually feed Bandit is that he ate a bit slower then normal. I don't normally bring a spare dog to races as it is a hassle to care for or sometimes have room for an extra dog but I might have to in the future:) Long story short, it was a blocked saliva gland most likely due to trauma and most likely from Bandit's son playing and "jawing" with his dad who he is next to... they mouth each others necks ect so needless to say we will have to move Jedi to a different spot:) Bandit was unable to run the race in that condition even though he acted as crazy and wild as ever, dragging us around when walked. He is such a powerhouse at 65 lbs so it was a real bummer.... So... I was starting one of the toughest races with one less dog which is so not ideal:) Also three of my four females were in heat, and my super handler that is my dad had a horrible tooth ache from an abscess so we had all kinds of fun things going on:) Once we were on the trail it was an absolutely thrilling ride behind that fast and powerful group! I dubbed my team "The Magnificent 7" from that movie my sister always forgets the name of and calls it "the 7 amazing guys" lol! My magnificent 7 were 4 girls and 3 boys and they did absolutely outstanding:) I didn't find out until later at Two Harbors that we had the fastest time by only 30 seconds or so with Rita's smoking team in 2nd! My only yearling did not rest at the checkpoint but the adults did better and with dusk and cold temps settling we took off like a shot on leg 2!! Another super fast fun run that was just a blast! Getting into the hills nearing Finland we probably lost time in the climbs with less dog power so dropped to 3rd place with Rita and Mike in 1st and 2nd having had super fast runs!!! My super leader Nikita was just a tad stiff in her hips so didn't want her to continue. Unfortunately I, yet again, ran the last leg with only 6 dogs but mainly 5 pulling:) Though Thor is so huge he is almost like having two dogs in one;) The dogs did so well on that last and toughest, hilliest leg with Laska leading with her grandma Tamar. Those two are my screamers and if we are climbing a steep hill too slow (I can't run the whole long mountain guys!:) they both start screaming and the whole team shoots forward:) Love it! We all worked our butts off and I really wish I had shed a layer before that last leg lol. My goggles were so fogged up it was getting hard to see even with the little fan running constantly. Way more hills then I remembered but then maybe its good we mushers forget The team finished strong in 3rd place a little over 5 min. behind Mike Bestgens awesome team!!! I saw his headlamp shine back a few times nearing the end on those long, gradually climbing straight stretches and we did our darnest to catch you Mike though I am sorry we made you work harder I was surprised and deeply honored to be awarded the Best Cared for Team Award chosen by the vets!!!! They do such an amazing job I am just so thankful for all the wonderful vets at all the races. You guys rock! Thank you to all the race organizers and board, volunteers, sponsors and many thanks to my Dad for all his help training and caring for the team. I couldn't do this without his help!!! He was suffering terribly with his toothache so not a very fun time for him but he persevered and was able to get in to the dentist Tues. Thank you to my Mom for feeding the dogs remaining at home!!! And congrats to Rita on her amazing team's win and Mike for his super team's great finish, Joann's super team coming in 4th. It's always so much fun to get to hang out with such wonderful friends that we have to wait for winter races to see!!!! I haven't gotten to look at all the leg times yet but so proud of my team and how well they did despite being way behind in training this year for a multitude of reasons. Tamar, Laska, Katniss, Kodiak, Thor and Cobra finished with Nikita having led the first two legs and setting a blistering pace before having to sit the last leg out. All are happy and crazy to run our next race which we leave tomorrow, the Klondike Dog Derby! Oh and after we got home and unloaded dogs Monday we drove Bandit over to the awesome Ely Vet Clinic to get help. I am happy to report the meds seemed to have unblocked the saliva gland as it deflated most of the way down yay!!!!! (Surgery to remove the gland is the only other option:( )Crazy couple of days with working then squeezing in a quick fast night run in the blowing snow after work with the 7 dogs that didn't race, but some will race Klondike! Lots of late nights and early mornings but maybe I will get some rest at the Klondike lol:)
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