“She completed the race with dog power,” said trail boss John Edwards.
“She officially scratched about 10 miles (16 kilometres) before the finish line,” said race marshal Dave Young.
You want to do something, even if it’s not official, Edwards said.
“This was just a personal thing. It means a huge amount to me personally also, because I like to see people succeed in this sport,” he said.
In order to get her self and her team to La Ronge, she got assistance.
“Her handler went out and helped her change dogs,” Edwards said.
Having the assistance of your handler means you are choosing to scratch. However she still chose to make those final 16 km on her own, even if not all her dogs were up for the challenge this round.
“For her to be able to finish … she did it. And she endured the couple hours out on that ice with the tears and frustration and the team that wouldn’t go. And overcame it. And was able to cross the finish line,” Edwards said.
“She brought her dogs in on her own … she coaxed them into at least crossing the lake, which is amazing. And that was at 5:18 p.m.,” Young said.
Bolvin-Knudsen is experienced in sprint racing but new to the mid-distance sport.
While Bolvin-Knudsen certainly had a personal win, the man who will be taking home the purse this time is Jason Campeau. He made it to La Ronge with six dogs at 6:33 a.m., hours earlier than the following contestants.
Only an hour separated 17-year-old Elliot Clarke, who came in at 1:35 p.m. with his six dogs and Jackie Wepruk who came in at 2:30 p.m. with five dogs.
One musher from the 12-dog race is no longer in the competition.
Young pulled Nicholas Mears from the race after his dogs spent seven hours on the ice of Sulphide Lake.
“Nicholas didn’t scratch. I pulled him from the race for safety reasons. His dogs had laid down up at Sulphide lake and they weren’t moving and he couldn’t get them going and the weather was turning colder and colder … I was not going to allow him to sit out there all night with his dogs and himself in the middle of nowhere. So the decision was made for the safety of everybody,” Young said.
Mears was 20 miles (32 km) South of Grandmother’s Bay.
“He had seven hours to get his dogs moving and he couldn’t do that so that was my decision. Not his,” Young stated.
None of the dogs were injured and once they were turned around towards home they perked up, enabling Mears to scratch on his own two feet.
“He got out under his own dog-power,” Edwards said.
“Everybody’s healthy. They’re just tired and sometimes that happens,” Young said.
The leader of the 12-dog teams continues to be Stefaan de Marie.
“Stefaan is definitely in the lead. He got into Stanley Mission at 5:06 p.m. with 11 dogs,” Young said.
At this point he could arrive at the finish line as early as 4 a.m. after completing a mandatory five-hour layover in Stanley Mission.
“His team has been running exceptionally fast,” Young said.
