MARQUETTE, MI-- The pups are ready and waiting for the start of three annual sled dog races in Marquette County this weekend.
Nineteen mushers from around the U.S. and Canada are signed up for the 12-dog UP200, which runs from Marquette to Grand Marais and back. Opening ceremonies begin Friday at 6:30 p.m. in front of The Mining Journal. The race itself starts at 7 p.m.
A whopping 21 mushers are due to compete in the 8-dog Midnight Run, which takes racers to Chatham and back to Marquette. The race starts 30 minutes after the last UP200 team has left the chute, but not before 8:30 p.m.
And 15 mushers are signed up for the 6-dog Jack Pine 30, which starts 10 a.m. Saturday at the First Baptist Church in Gwinn.
Race coordinators have been clearing trails of branches and tree tops from a November snow storm. They say the trails will be up to par once the races start.
For more information go to up200.org.
