Like a fresh spring breeze, southerly winds blew away the cold snap and 19 teams lined up for Oscar’s Electric Race Day.
Not a single sled hit The Post, which has been thankfully removed, or whacked Lee’s Tree. In fact, several mushers reported exceptional runs, like Colin Morrison. He ran a puppy team and midway switched out his leader. From there the gang made a smooth finish in 1:21:35.
After placing third on skis in 53:44 Darryl Sheepway said, “This is the first clean run I’ve had all season. I didn’t hit anything, go the wrong way, or lose my dogs.” Only four-dog drivers Lee Kirkpatrick and Sheryl Wishart were faster. Kirkpatrick finished in 49:27, followed by Wishart in 52:50.
The kids’ race, though, offered plenty of spills in the turnaround. First, Erin Spicer’s dogs dumped her in the snow and gave her a long run to catch up. Then, Jeff Diment’s team tossed him off the runners on their way out of the trees, and Sarah Diment lost her string while hawing into the home stretch. That let Nicholas and Justin McDougall take first and second place two seconds apart in 10:35 and 10:37, followed by Jeff 1:31 later, Erin in 12:43 and Sarah in 14:07.
Volunteer dogcatcher Jamie Pirnie gave chase by snowmobile to collar the free runners. “Those dogs were really flying,” he said. “It’s a lot of work to stop and hold them.”
In the pet dog class only skijorers Jonathan Lucas and Mark Manolis competed. Asha thundered around the course in 17:44, while Pika set a more leisurely pace to finish in 23:23. For live action footage we are trying to load a video clip.
The snow is holding so meet for the final Twister, sponsored by Icy Waters Ltd., at 9 a.m. March 29 on the Fish Lake Road.
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