Defending Champ Wins Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon
DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — Defending champion Nathan Schroeder has won the 30th running of the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon.
The Chisholm native crossed the finish line in Duluth just before 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, four days after setting off on the 374-mile race up the North Shore of Lake Superior and back to Duluth.
This is Schroeder's third Beargrease Marathon title and his second consecutive win. He said beforehand that he was using it as a warm-up for Alaska's Iditarod.
A new management team took over the Beargrease and rebooted the Minnesota tradition after the previous volunteer crew announced in October they were canceling the race.
The race is named for John Beargrease, an Ojibwe Indian from Beaver Bay who delivered mail along the North Shore by dogsled in winter from 1879 to 1899.
(© Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)