Erin Letzring, of Skagway, Alaska, narrowly defeated 2020 champion Ryan Redington, of Wasilla, Alaska, to win the 37th annual John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon on Tuesday night.
Read the full story here.
Letzring, who was competing in her first Beargrease and was running nine dogs, arrived shortly after 6 p.m. at the finish, about 6 miles west of Grand Portage in Cook County.
Sarah Keefer, of Burnsville, Minnesota, was in third place and Erin Altemus, of Grand Marais, was in fourth.
Some teams left the Mineral Center checkpoint around 2 p.m. Tuesday. Other teams are still at the checkpoint or haven't reached it yet. All mushers are required to rest at the checkpoint for four hours.
Seventeen teams started the marathon. Bailey Vitello, of Milan, New Hampshire, dropped out Tuesday. Peter McClelland, of Isabella, dropped out Monday.
The race started Sunday in Duluth. No spectators are allowed this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Live tracking of the race is available at
beargrease.com/tracking-marathon
.
This story was last updated at 6:26 p.m. Feb. 2. It was originally posted at 11:59 a.m. Feb. 2.
1/7: Beargrease musher Ryan Redington nears the Arrowhead Trail in third place Tuesday morning. He had been the first racer to leave the previous checkpoint. (Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com) free card
2/7: Beargrease musher Erin Altemus nears the Arrowhead Trail on Tuesday morning. (Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com) free card
3/7: Beargrease racers Sarah Keefer (5) and Ryan Redington both peddle on a hill as they near the Arrowhead Trail road crossing Monday morning. The two were a couple minutes behind Erin Letzring. (Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com)
4/7: Beargrease musher Ero Wallin uses a ski pole to help his team along on the run from Devil Track Lake to Mineral Center on Tuesday morning. (Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com) free card
5/7: Beargrease musher Blake Freking passes the parking lot by the Arrowhead Trail on Tuesday morning. (Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com) free card
6/7: Beargrease marathon musher Erin Letzring waves to a bystander as she nears the Arrowhead Trail Monday morning. She was the first racer to reach the road crossing. (Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com) free card
7/7: Beth Ambrosen uses colored water to write an “Almost There” message to Beargrease mushers near the Arrowhead Trail on Tuesday morning. Ambrosen is a member of the Hovland VFD’s STOP Team, which staffed the road crossing. (Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com) free card
