TOFTE -- With snowy eyebrows, Dave Turner congratulated each of his eight dogs that led him to victory Monday morning in the John Beargrease mid-distance race from Duluth to Tofte.
Turner, of Sandy, Ore., was running second to Dawn Breedlove of Bryant, Wis., at the Finland checkpoint about 5 a.m. Turner, then passed Breedlove about 6 a.m. and held off defending champion Don Galloway over the final 32 miles to finish shortly after 8 a.m.
Tuner, 38, covered the 111-mile trail in nine hours, 53 minutes and 32 seconds. Galloway was second in 10:05:51 and Breedlove third in 10:18:02.
"It's great. It's the pinnacle of my racing career," said Turner, who last year finished ninth in his first Beargrease mid-distance race. "Right now, I'm numb because of the race and winning."
As his sled was checked for all required survival gear, including an axe and a sleeping bag, Turner also noted that he had two "seriously cold hands." A wind chill advisory blanketed the region Monday with readings of 25 to 35 below zero.
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The bitter cold didn't detract from Turner's jubilant mood.
"Way to go, boys!" said Turner as he petted his dogs.
The eight-dog team included a revolving leadership role. Kryptonite and Quigley led the first 41 miles to Highway 2. Then Fosters and Outlaw took the lead the next 37 miles to Finland. Kryptonite and Outlaw were in front for the final 32 miles into Tofte.
"His team performed really well on every run," said Galloway, who has four straight top four finishes in the mid-distance race. "I never saw him out there. He was my mystery competition."
When Turner began dog sledding four years ago, he looked up mushers to emulate. One of the mushers he wanted to learn from was Galloway, of Markham, Minn.
Turner visited Galloway's kennel and was given advice on training and what makes for a good sled dog.
"I kinda invited myself to visit," Turner said laughing. "Don and his wife, August, are very nice people, and I hung out for a couple of days and they shared strategy."
In addition to running his dogs, Turner, who lives about 30 miles outside Portland, laced up sneakers and ran road races including the Seattle Half-Marathon.
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"I knew I was not going to win unless I was running up the hills," said Turner, a software engineer.
Turner slept for three hours after departing Ordean Middle School in Duluth on Sunday afternoon. He now plans on racing in Michigan and Maine later this winter.
r Curt Perano of Christchurch, New Zealand, finished 15th in 11:14:06. The race was Perano's second after receiving tutelage from Beargrease great Jamie Nelson, who has four marathon wins.
