The UP 200 concluded the two-day long race with an awards breakfast in Marquette on Monday.
MARQUETTE -- UP 200 mushers gratefully ate their eggs and pancakes inside on Monday morning, rehashing with their family and friends how their dogs persevered through several inches of fresh snow on the trails this weekend.
"The dogs did great!” exclaimed fourth place prize winner Rebekah Chapman. “They just plowed through all that snow. They started seeing teams in front of them and they just went out and got them!"
Fifteen mushers in all shared similar tales from the 241-mile trail after accepting their prize money at an awards breakfast at the Holiday Inn in Marquette. Even Eric Morris, who took home the $6700 first place prize, admitted he was surprised by the course.
"That slow trail just adds a different challenge to the race,” said Morris of Port Wing, WI. “It makes you a little slower, but it forces you to find out more things about yourself and about your dogs."
While the grueling two-day race is highly competitive, most mushers couldn't help but compliment one another on a race well-run. “We're all rooting for each other when we pass each other and that's what makes it so much fun!” Chapman said, a 24 year old from Cook, MN.
Although they're the stars of the UP 200, the mushers didn't forget to applaud the volunteers and residents for helping make this year's race simply unforgettable.
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