Volunteers play important role in Can Am success
By Susan Feeney-Hopkins
Special to the Star-Herald
Sixty-three dog sled teams were ushered out of the starting gate to a rousing send-off during the 20th Anniversary Can Am International Sled Dog Races. The teams took to the trails on the stormy morning of March 3 from downtown Fort Kent. The falling snow made it a picturesque day for a dog sled race.
With a total purse of $40,000, the stakes were high, and the teams were raring to go.
The races began with the Willard Jalbert, Jr. Memorial Can Am 60-mile event beginning at 8am followed by the Pepsi Can Am 30.
John Pelletier and Miaja Jackson, both of St. John, served as the Race Marshals for the 30- and 60-mile races. Georges Theriault of Ottawa served as the Race Marshal for the 250-mile race.
Due to the hazardous road conditions, the crowd of spectators was a bit slim at the start of the race, but grew to par within an hour. By the time the Irving Woodlands Can Am Crown 250 race began at 10 a.m., the streets were jam-packed.
Howling and yips echoed over the town as the dog teams lined the side streets in anticipation of their opportunity to run. Once their harnesses were on, they knew it was time and just went mad! It’s easy to see these canines are truly loved by their human counterparts as many of the mushers were seen kissing, hugging or hi – “pawing” them at the starting gate before the race. You could see the enthusiasm and pure delight on their faces as they pulled and dug down the opening procession for the trek that lay ahead.
The Can Am Crown was founded in 1992 as a way to boost tourism and to provide a mid-distance dog sled race to the growing community of mushers in the region. In the 20 years since, the Can Am Crown has continually grown and is the longest sled dog race in the eastern United States. The Can Am 250 also serves as a qualifying race for teams wishing to compete in the Yukon Quest and Alaska Iditarod dog sled races.
Northern Maine has attained a respectable position in the dog sled racing community, fundamentally due in part to the dedication and hard work of the hundreds of volunteers, past and present. From the board of directors to the dog handlers, each volunteer plays a vital role in the overall success of the race. The first 250-mile race took place in February of 1993 with the 60-mile race being added in 1994. The 30-mile race was introduced in 1997. Each race is limited to 30 teams to best provide a high quality racing experience.
The 30- and 60-mile race teams began arriving at their Lonesome Pine Lodge finish line around noon. Placing first in the Pepsi Can Am 30 was Anny Malo of St. Zenon, Quebec in 2 hours, 59 minutes and 40 seconds. Marco Rivest also of St. Zenon, Quebec was first in the Willard Jalbert, Jr. Memorial Can Am 60 at 6 hours, 43 minutes and 44 seconds.
The 250-mile racers began arriving at their first mandatory checkpoint in Portage Lake around 6:30 p.m.; close to an hour later than what has been typical. The trail conditions were described as “sticky” with the warmer temperatures and fresh morning snowfall contributing to the delays.
Sarah Brooks served her first year as the Portage Lake Check Point Coordinator. Brooks, who has volunteered with the Can Am races for years, displayed her usual calm demeanor helping to keep others on an even keel, even in moments of seemingly chaos.
“Everyone’s working together — people are out — it’s great to see,” said Portage Lake Town Manager Holly Umphrey, who was present to lend her support and watch with the rest of the community as they congregated in front of Coffin’s store.
Honor Society students, Phi Theta Kappa from Northern Maine Community College served as dog handlers, and did an impressive job with some students doing so for the first time. All were professional and took their roles seriously.
Portage Lake ATV Club members Ken Fones, Milton Jandreau, Don Belanger, Sonny Demerchant, Darry Gagnon and Gary Hafford were instrumental in assisting race officials in keeping the in-coming and outgoing times. Members of the club used their own ATV’s to hold back the dog sled teams while the official times were registered before the teams departed for the next checkpoint.
The Portage Lakers Snowmobile Club also played a vital role in keeping the trail system well groomed. Jim Dumond of Portage Lake who has been one of the lead trail keepers for years, earned special recognition at this year’s Can Am banquet being awarded the “Outstanding Volunteer Award” for his years of dedication and service to the Can Am.
A “special thanks” also went out to Rudy Boutot of Portage Lake for preparing the grounds in the parking and bedding areas in the town.
Inside the town hall, a hot meal awaited the arriving mushers, prepared by town volunteers Kathy Gagnon, Rena Belanger and Kathy Hoppe. Sleeping quarters were set up for the human team members, while hay beds were made outdoors for the dog teams.
The veterinary volunteers checked the dogs. Chief Veterinarian, Dr. Nick Pesut, MD has served as a trail vet or Chief Veterinarian at every Can Am since it’s beginning.
Portage Lake’s own musher Jessica Holmes, 21, was in attendance to lend her support and welcome the teams to their first checkpoint.
Holmes, who raced in and completed the Can Am 30 said, “It was a hard, but good race”.
Holmes’ motivated by last year’s finish was clearly more confident in her abilities as a musher.
The sport of mushing, is in a lot of ways like life. It’s exciting and scary. It teaches you to face the unknown, to rely on your own instincts and abilities. It teaches you to be alone with yourself and like it. A life lesson well learned in your twenties. Holmes who left the starting gate that morning as a novice, was clearly exhilarated and proud of her accomplishment as she completed her race.
From Portage Lake, the teams raced to Rocky Brook, the second, out of the four mandatory check points in the 250-mile race. At each checkpoint, the teams were provided with a hot meal, 2 way radios, shelter, first aid and veterinary care. The dogs were checked to ensure their health and ability to continue on and team gear is checked to make certain the teams are in compliance with race regulations.
Each team was required to take a total of 14 hours rest with five of those hours being spent at the Allagash check point, the last required check point on the route. The other hours were divided up between the first three checkpoints at the mushers’ discretion.
Crossing the finish line on Monday morning, Ryan Anderson, age 30, of Ray, Minn. took first place in the Irving Woodlands Can Am Crown 250 in 31 hours, 22 minutes and 16 seconds.
