Who was John Beargrease? What is the John Beargrease?
By ! Tom Carroll
1 Feb 2008
John Beargrease was the son of a Chippewa chief; born in Beaver Bay, Minnesota, in 1858; and who delivered the mail by dog sled along Lake Superior's rugged North Shore in the late 19th century.
Launched in 1981, the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon is the premier sled dog race of the Upper Midwest, drawing world-class sled dog teams from across the nation and around the globe. The Beargrease, run along the North Shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota, is the longest and most challenging of sled dog events in the lower 48 states.
The 2008 25th Anniversary of the Beargrease consisted of 568 sled dogs distribute across 73 teams. Mushers gathered from across the Upper Midwest and as far away as Australia, Ireland, and Finland. The full marathon traces a route in northern Minnesota along the North Shore State Trail from Duluth through Two Harbors, Finland, Tofte, and across the Gunflint Trail to Poplar Lake and return for a distance of 381.2 miles. The 2008 Beargrease marathon was won by Jason Barron from Lincoln, Montana, with a total time on the trail of 34:43:26 (h/m/s) and a mandatory rest time of 32:04:00 for an average speed of 11.0 miles per hour.
