Every year during the third weekend in February, the town of Marquette, Michigan hosts the annual U.P. 200 Dog Sled Championship.
Championship Dog Sled Race
Now entering its 20th anniversary, over 15,000 hundred visitors will come to Marquette, Michigan to watch the U.P. dog sled race competition. This is a competitive, 12 dog, mid-distance sled dog race that is approximately 240 miles in length. A maximum limit of 40 mushers are allowed to compete in this sled dog race.
Race History
The U.P. 200 Dog Sled Championship began when three families began putting together ideas for an annual dog sled race in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The idea of an annual sled dog race drew much support from local communities, and local businesses began to offer financial support for the event. The initial proposal of an annual sled dog race soon became a reality, and in 1990 the first U.P. 200 Dog Sled Championship race was held.
Terrain of the U.P. 200 Sled Dog Race
This dog sled race begins and ends in downtown Marquette. There are a series of 3 checkpoints the mushers must go through during the course of the sled dog race.
Checkpoint 1 is in Wetmore, at the Best Western Motel. This is an unassisted check point where the mushers prepare the sled dogs' food and water, and prepare their bedding. The unassisted checkpoint is good experience for a musher who wants to compete in a long distance dog sled race like the Iditarod in Alaska, where the rules in that race stipulate that no musher can receive assistance or coaching anywhere along the 1,000 mile course from Anchorage to Nome.
Check point 2 is in Grand Marais, a town on the shores of Lake Superior. This is the halfway point of the race, and many mushers develop their racing strategy from this point on using the knowledge they have gained during the first leg of the race. Mushers head back to Wetmore from this point.
Check point 3 is again at Wetmore, and mushers continue towards the finish at Marquette. Mushers finish the race on Sunday afternoon or evening.
Sled Dog Safety
The location of Chatham, Michigan, along the sled dog race-course, has been designated as a drop off point for any sled dogs that might require care. A volunteer vet team is on stand-by, ready to assist any sled dog that may require medical attention.
Volunteers of the U.P. 200 Sled Dog Race
While it is said that the mushers and their dogs are the stars of this event, it is the volunteers who are the real heroes of this sled dog race. This event would not be possible if it wasn't for all the hard work of over 500 volunteers, who take on a multitude of jobs to make the sled dog race a reality. They begin their work months before the actual race begins.
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