| SKIJOR SERIES
You don't have to be serious to have fun at this series
By Mark Parman
It was difficult to tell who was having more fun – the dogs or the humans. Everyone at the Duluth Pack Skijor Series race we attended last January sported face–splitting grins. The contagious joy of the dogs infected everyone that Sunday night at Snowflake Nordic in Duluth – skijorers young and old, spectators, volunteers, friends and family. I had never seen such unbridled joy at a ski race, and I've done hundreds of ski races.
We entered the 4–kilometer race. Susan skied behind Ox, while I skijored with Gunnar. Gunnar and I finished less than 15 seconds ahead of Susan and Ox, who had the advantage of chasing us the entire race. She and Ox drew the starting spot right behind us, taking off one–minute after us in the interval start. Ox smelled us the entire four kilometers and pulled like he was a huskie from a prestigious Iditarod kennel, whiplashing Susan through the tighter corners.
We had so much fun racing under the lights that icy January night. We returned for another race in mid–March, the season ending 12–kilometer marathon. If we lived closer to Duluth, we would have participated more often.
The series, like skijoring in this country, is relatively young. Mark "Sparky" Stensaas, marketing director at Duluth Pack, started the series the winter of 1997–1998.
"We were seeing a lot of interest at the store," he says. "People were
coming in and buying skijor belts, dog harnesses and dog booties. Organizing the series grew out of that budding interest."
He's also quick to credit others for getting the race going: George Hovland, owner/operator of Snowflake; Dave Johnson, ski coach at Duluth East; and Chris and Ingrid Evavold, who have also pushed for skijor trails in the Superior, Wis. area.
Since the first year, the series has developed into a full–blown schedule
of nine shorter, four–kilometer races on Sunday evenings. They begin this year on Jan. 6 and run through March 3. The following Sunday, March 10 the traditional 12–kilometer marathon wraps up the season. The series races are scored using the World Cup points system, which awards points based on the number of competitors in a given race.
Skijorers compete in several classes. There's a half–kilometer race for children under 12. The one–dog category is divided into beginner and
advanced classes. When a skijorer wins two beginner races, he or she is automatically moved into the advanced category so others can have a chance to win.
According to Stensaas, most of the top competitors race in the two–dog class, where another dog typically means more speed, which complicates matters like turning, and the Snowflake course features numerous sharp turns. Skijorers running two dogs obviously need more
cross country skiing skills than those in the one–dog classes. They need better dog handling skills as well.
Whether entered in the beginner or advanced class, Stensaas hopes no skijorers get carried away with competitive fever.
"I refuse to let anyone get too serious. Last year we had someone get too serious, and I just ignored him," Stensaas claims.
Skijorers were coming to Stensaas and asking to be seeded in certain
spots. It's extremely helpful to chase your competition in a skijor race with an interval start.
Stensaas organized the Duluth Pack series as "fun races." He describes the Sunday night atmosphere at Snowflake as "casual," where "a lot of families participate. We keep it fun and unintimidating."
One of the main reasons the series draws so well is this fun atmosphere.
The inaugural series in 1997 drew five to six skiers per race, while last
year's average neared 20 per race. Over 75 different skijorers skied in the 2001 series.
From the start, the series has had the cooperation of a local ski area. Dogs aren't welcome at many cross country ski areas in the upper Midwest. Many skiers and groomers feel that dogs punch through the trail, leaving paw–sized divots. And dog poop on ski trails is a public relations nightmare.
Fortunately, Snowflake's owner George Hovland has spent time in
Norway, where skiers and skijorers mingle on the thousands of kilometers of trails in that country without problems. It also helps that Hovland owns and loves two dogs. According to Stensaas, Hovland is even considering building a skijor specific trail. Right now, though, the Duluth Pack series runs on one of the most challenging skijor courses in the area.
Most skijor races in the upper Midwest are run in conjunction with
sled–dog races, organized by the Wisconsin Trailblazer or the North Star clubs. At those races, skijorers and skijoring are, at best, a sideshow. Mushing is the main event. Consequently, courses get designed to suit mushers, who tend to like a relatively straight, wide and level course, so skijorers end up skiing on pretty tame courses.
Snowflake's course, however, is anything but tame, with its four kilometers of right, left, up and down. The steep uphills and downhills,
short straightaways and 180 degree turns test the skills of the most accomplished skijorer. In fact, it's a challenging course without a dog out front pulling.
The series draws well also because it's become a social event, a Sunday night date that skijorers mark on their calendars. Some nights everyone brings a dish to pass for afterwards in the chalet while results get printed. Friendships form, and pleasant rivalries develop.
To promote more friendly rivalries, last season Stensaas started the traveling trophy, a bronzed dog bone, which he describes as a "highly desirable trophy." In 2001, the Twin Ports Club "squeaked out a victory" over the Twin Cities and Bemidji clubs. Only the two–dog teams were counted in the traveling trophy competition.
Interestingly, all four of last year's individual champions were female. Katie Tholke, pulled by Sandy, won the kid's class; Jen Johnston, skiing
with Annie, won the one–dog beginner class; Ingrid Evavold and Pale captured the one–dog advanced; Sierra Jefferson, behind her team of Fir and Dart, won the two–dog class.
Duluth is a long way from Wausau, but we hope to take Ox and Gunnar back to Snowflake again this winter for a skijor race or two. It's just too much fun to miss. Our dogs certainly agree.
Duluth Pack Skijor Series begins Jan. 6 and ends March 3. These
four–kilometer races cost $8 for adults, $5 for kids. Cost for the entire series is $50 for adults, $30 for kids. The 12–kilometer championship is March 12. For more information call 800/849–4489 or 218/722–1707 or www.duluthpack.com.
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