By Derek Cornet

Sled Dogs

Last year’s eight-dog Canadian Challenge winner scratches out of 2019 race

Feb 20, 2019 | 4:49 PM

The 2018 eight-dog Canadian Challenge champion Marcel Marin of Yellowknife has scratched out of the this year’s race.

That’s according to Canadian Challenge President Stefaan De Marie who stated Marin and Ralph Herzog have both scratched out of the eight-dog race, while Darren Haas is out of the 12-dog race. De Marie noted due to the condition of their dogs and injuries they could have sustained, the mushers felt it was in their team’s best interest to exit the race.

“With the softer trails, there might be a few more injuries popping up and they felt not comfortable finishing the race,” he said.

In the 12-dog race, Jennifer Campeau of Rocky Mountain House, Alta. is currently in the lead as of 4 p.m. and was four miles away from Fafard’s Cabin. She’s being trailed by Coady Lee who isn’t far behind followed Lisa Joinson in third. In the eight-dog race, Jerry Joinson is in the lead and is about 12 miles from Fafard’s Cabin. Joinson has a substantial lead over Craig Rogerson who is 15 miles behind.

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De Marie expects the first 12-dog team to come through La Ronge around 9 p.m. and the winner of the eight-dog team to arrive some time tomorrow morning. He also added the 12-dog team winner will likely finish the race Friday morning, while the remaining mushers will reach La Ronge and complete the race throughout the day. The awards banquet will be held Feb. 23 at La Ronge Hotel and Suites.

“Weather conditions now are ideal,” De Marie stated. “The southern part of the trail has been soft, so it’s a little slower going for the dogs. I’m not quite sure how good the lakes and portages are.”

De Marie also invited the public to visit the La Ronge checkpoint at Patterson Park to watch as the mushers come in. All the mushers are tracked using GPS, and the public can watch the race online and head down to the checkpoint when teams are approaching.

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno