Saturday’s race was beautiful, sunny and clear skies [...]]]> We finally were able to race close to home, so very nice to sleep in your own bed! The weather was very warm this weekend, in the upper 30′s to low 40′s, almost too hot for dogs. Good thing we only had to race 4 miles!

Saturday’s race was beautiful, sunny and clear skies with little to no wind. Great spectating weather! Our run didn’t go so smooth though, we came up on our 1:00 team within the first mile. Toivo and Magnus were running lead with Ari and Seppo in wheel. The dogs tried to pass on the inside but they punched through the deep snow causing Magnus to tangle on his neckline. Then we tried another pass which succeeded only to have Ari slam on the brakes on a short downhill causing another tangle and me taking the sled right into the woods to avoid running over the dogs! Finally we got back up and going again only to have Toivo looking at all the cutoffs! He wanted to take the short way back since he knows the trail system pretty well, silly dogs. I think we stopped at least 6-7 times, not good for a sprint race!  I think we ended up in 6th place in the sport class for the first day.

Sunday’s race went much better, even though the trail was chewed up and in terrible shape.  All the dogs must have punched through at least a half dozen times, no one was hurt though!  Jaana did an awesome job, she’s going to be a superstar!  The run was almost perfect, Toivo only stopped once at the main cutoff making me set the hook down and steer him in the right direction.  Seppo ran lead with Toivo and had a rock solid performance, he’s going to be doing more lead from now on!

We moved from 6th to 4th posting the 2nd fastest time of the day for our category.  It was fun to have a hometown race, thanks to all that made it happen and thank you VERY much to my friends that came out to help.  William, Seth, and Laddie!

A Fully Loaded Jeep and a Wonderful Race Weekend in Wisconsin! With the sled strapped to the roof, kibble in the cab, and beef, bags, and booties bunched in behind the buckets seats, we were almost set to go. The only thing missing in the tightly packed Jeep were [...]]]> written by Anna Beltrame & Tone Coughlin

A Fully Loaded Jeep and a Wonderful Race Weekend in Wisconsin! With the sled strapped to the roof, kibble in the cab, and beef, bags, and booties bunched in behind the buckets seats, we were almost set to go. The only thing missing in the tightly packed Jeep were the dogs. “Load ‘em up.” The dogs were walked, one by one, from their dog house in the yard to their weekend home in the Jeep. Toivo, Valor, Magnus, Seppo, Jaana, and Ari were compliant little beings, not fussing about their tight quarters. One Jeep, six dogs, two humans, a sled, and all the essentials needed to make for the successful completion of a sled dog race. Off to the races!!!

We spent Friday evening at Tone’s family’s home in Ashland WI, a midway point between Duluth and our destination of Land O’ Lakes. Here the dogs were excited to get out of the Jeep to stretch their legs and mingle with the resident dogs, Duke and Rex. Tone’s family served us a hearty dinner, which we were both so grateful for. Later in the evening Toivo and Valor did not refuse an invitation to spend the night with us indoors. With full bellies and fresh blankets and straw Magnus, Seppo, Jaana, and Ari were happy to spend the night resting in the cozy Jeep.

After a delightful pancake breakfast on Saturday morning, prepared by Tone’s step-mom, Mary, we started on our 1:40 hour drive to the race site in Land O’ Lakes, WI. The drive went smoothly, despite the fact that the only radio station with clear reception played nothing but Country music!

Upon our arrival to the race site the dogs were watered, new plastic was put on the sled runners and Tone suited up in his racing attire.

Our starting partner was Bob Bzdok who we’ve trained with before up in Taft. He got out of the 200 meter chute just ahead of us, but we were going the same pace. Valor tried to pass on the inside of his team but when he got to Bob’s wheel dogs they closed the door and snarled a little making Valor back off and the gangline go slack. Toivo stepped over the center line and had his front legs on Seppo’s side. So we decided to stay behind until there was enough room to pass since were going the same pace anyways. The trail was soft and punchy from all the teams that ran before us and the warm weather. We dipped down in a ditch and that’s when Toivo punched through and fell, wrapping his rear leg around the tug line. I stopped the team to untangle losing about 20 seconds or so. Bob’s team was just out of sight. The corners were empty of snow and were a virtual skating rink. You would just slide sideways and hope you didn’t end up hitting any big trees. The dogs saw Bob’s team on the long straight away that was almost a mile long. We started to gain some time back cutting it back to 12 seconds or so. Then the corners and twists and turns started again and the team lost some interest. We ended up finishing in 17th, 30 seconds behind Bob.

I was really happy with the performance of the dogs, although I do believe that I am too heavy to be running the 4 dog class since all the finishers in front of me were under 130 lbs and the soft trail conditions.

Saturday evening, after the race, we enjoyed a spaghetti dinner at the Gateway Lodge in Land O’Lakes, before retiring to our hotel in Eagle River, WI. Boy, did it feel good to finally rest after such a busy day. Toivo thought so too! He got his own queen-size bed and fell sound asleep within seconds of lying down.

Sunday’s race was hopefully going to be faster. We started with Hanna Marsh who was in 2nd place, I figured the dogs would try hard to stay with her…boy was I wrong. Out of the chutes she was 3 yards ahead of us and within the first mile she was out of sight! Seppo had to poop on the long stretch and then Magnus about a mile before the finish line! When your leader has to poop the whole team stops, I thought I could have stayed on the sled and he would get going again, but no, he had to smell the snowbank and mark it too! Seppo also stepped over his neckline so I had to hook down and untangle and restart the team. Then I saw Jenna Dittmar coming up behind us, she started two minutes back! I let her pass us after we got going, as she was passing Seppo freaked out and ran in the deep powder taking a dive and getting full of snow…silly dog. After she went by they decided, hey, let’s race again! Valor wanted to pass her team but I stood on the brake and let them stay out front. She made up two mins, I’m not going to be a jerk and cause trouble in the last 1/2 mile.

I really couldn’t complain, somehow we made up two spots after having a slower time than Saturday finishing in 15th out of 30 teams. It was a good experience for the dogs and the team as a whole. We came in with no expectations so we couldn’t be disappointed no matter what happened or what place we finished!

We could not have asked for better driving conditions on Sunday for our trip home. The sun was out, the roads were clear from snow and ice, and the wildlife of Wisconsin stayed clear of the roadway! About a half an hour into the ride home, Valor found a comfortable spot lying on top of Toivo. Other than a slight growl, Toivo displayed no real objections to Valor‘s chosen sleeping spot. Maybe Toivo really didn’t mind Valor’s 62 lb body smack dab upon him or, more likely, maybe the dull lull of Country music had him in a trance.

The ride home on Sunday gave us time to reflect back on our race weekend. What a wonderful time we truly did have! We also discussed what we will do at our next race to make more efficient use of our time. Tone talked about what he will do in the future to improve the performance of his athletes-What a Super Coach! We arrived home late Sunday night, tired after the long weekend. We unpacked most of the Jeep and walked the dogs, one by one, to their spots in the yard. Off to Bed!!!

Skijoring In The Twin Ports – duluthsuperiormagazine.com by Chris Godsey

Josh Tesch

Such horrific screams were coming from Josh Tesch’s truck, parked in a Superior Municipal Forest ski-trail lot, that a concerned citizen called the cops. When Tesch returned from skijoring (which is skiing and being pulled, in this case, [...]]]> Here is a link for the full article.

Skijoring In The Twin Ports – duluthsuperiormagazine.com
by Chris Godsey

Josh Tesch

Such horrific screams were coming from Josh Tesch’s truck, parked in a Superior Municipal Forest ski-trail lot, that a concerned citizen called the cops. When Tesch returned from skijoring (which is skiing and being pulled, in this case, by a dog) the responding officer was waiting.

Tesch, a 32-year-old, world-class dog-skijoring racer, smiles while telling the story. “It was Verdi,” he says. “I was doing short out-and-back training runs, switching back and forth between dogs, and when I put Verdi in the truck and took the other dogs, he just about turned himself inside out.”

Like many people who work or compete with dogs, Tesch exudes a reticent, unsentimental, intense affection for his partners. “There’s the old man,” he gently says with a melancholy grin when, while scrolling through computer-photo folders, he unexpectedly finds a shot of him and 10-year-old Aero, his first dog, in their last race before Aero’s retirement. It’s a form of affection not (usually) expressed in “Who’s a good dog!?” baby talk and under-the-table treats; it’s more about reciprocal accountability and respect, and the inexpressible camaraderie built while sharing hard work.

Well-treated competitive dogs don’t run if they refuse to or shouldn’t. Mindful, experienced guys like Tesch and Tone Coughlin, a 32-year-old sprint musher and bikejorer, can discern exhaustion, coyness, passive-aggression, illness, joy and many other states in their animals. They know when hard work means damage, and they tolerate no action that approaches mistreatment.

“They want to run,” Coughlin says of dogs Helena, Toivo, Åsa (pronounce it oh-sah), Magnus, Valor, and Seppo, the sinewy crew he’s acquired from well-regarded sled-dog breeders. “They want to please you.”

Coughlin, a Denfeld graduate, spent his teens and twenties as an elite endurance runner, skier, and cyclist. He’s now a swim coach, for Cloquet High School and the UMD Rec Sports Program’s North Shore Swim Club.

“I didn’t swim till I was a student at UMD,” he says. “But the discipline required for cross-country ski technique definitely applies to swimming, which is also a very technical sport.”

That taste for mastering combinations of demanding technique and physical exertion led Coughlin to try skijoring a few years ago.

“After having Helena for about three years,” he says, “I got Toivo to keep her company. He kept growing and growing”—Toivo is a tall dog, with legs long enough for him to trot at 14 mph—”and I was curious about skijoring, so I got him into a harness.”

Skijorers wear a hip belt that’s connected to a bungee-type line that clips onto a harness that allows the dog to run and pull safely and comfortably. “It was so much fun to have a training partner,” Coughlin says. “My friends used to just whine, but Toivo never does.”

He eventually transitioned to bikejoring—the dogs still wear a harness, but the bungee line is attached to the front of his mountain-bike. Sometimes he runs one dog, sometimes two. Never on sidewalks or roads.

“We run at 4:30 on summer mornings,” he says. “If it’s more than 55 degrees, we do maybe one loop through Hartley then everyone goes in the pond to cool off. We had a hot September, so on most of those days I’d get on the bike and just let the dogs run for five or six miles.”

Coughlin says that a common first impression of both skijoring and bikejoring is that the dog is doing all the work.

“But one dog can barely pull you from a dead stop. If you’re up to speed on a flat, you might be able to hit five or six miles per hour without pedaling.” He does say that once, Magnus and Valor topped out at 23 mph on a flat.

“Obviously,” he says, “the more dogs you have, the faster you can go. And the more dangerous it becomes.”

Dangerous for the human on the bike, that is.

“Your bike-handling skills have to be very good,” Coughlin says. “Especially in corners. You always have to anticipate. I’ve had a couple friends, good cyclists, try it, wipe out, and not want to do it again. I’ve had some good crashes, too. Once last year, while heading downhill into a left-hand turn, the dogs took off after a deer. It wasn’t pretty.”

Coughlin is the team’s coach and Toivo is the captain. “Toivo’s good at stopping if he hears something crazy going on behind him. If he looks back and I’m not there, he’ll stop.”

Tesch, a Wausau, WI, native whose past also includes a lot of high-level ski racing, and who teaches physical education, health and wellness, and basic exercise science courses at Lake Superior College, says teaching dogs to pull can be challenging.

“Looking back,” Tesch says, “and knowing what I know now, I see how much I was asking of Aero, physically and mentally, to understand what I wanted him to do. Every dog that’s added to a team makes it easier for the whole team to stay out front, not turn around, and have confidence.

“My dog Ulu won’t pull if she’s by herself. She gets confused. But if she’s hooked up with another dog she’ll go, even if it means dragging the other dog. Aero did a really good job. He was a confident guy. Now he’s a huge asset. The best way to teach a dog to skijor is to put it next to a dog that knows what’s happening.”

Coughlin adds, “Don’t get frustrated with a confused dog. Be patient. Work with them. Make it fun and positive. Dogs see anger and frustration, and it affects them.”
Tesch says any willing dog can be taught to skijor.

“You don’t have to have a special kind of dog,” he says. “All they need to be able to do is stay out in front of you. The best way to start is to go with someone who knows what they’re doing, and borrow equipment. The initial setup can be expensive, and using a regular dog collar and leash, or a static rope, is unacceptable.”

Tesch and Coughlin have full competitive winters planned. Tesch and his wife, Karen, will do some cani-cross (trail-running while hooked to a dog) this fall, and skijoring events most weekends once it snows. Since winter bikejoring races don’t exist, Coughlin bought a small sled that he’ll hook four dogs to for sprint races, which are usually a bit more or less than five miles.

Tesch gets pumped up talking about his plans.

“Some people look at mushing sports and wonder if they’re humane,” he says. “But if you watch these dogs before a race, you’ll see they’re not sitting still. They’re vibrating. I call it sizzling. We get into the parking lot, and it becomes a dog party. It’s noisy and exciting, and the dogs just quiver with anticipation.

“Then there’s something about being out there with a dog you’ve raised and trained. You’re both working so hard, and the dogs aren’t making any noise, and it seems like they know exactly what you’re doing. It creates a unique bond, working with them to do this thing.”