2025 Midnight Run Mushers - Upper Peninsula Sled Dog Association - UP 200

Melissa grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio where she was enamored with sled dogs from a young age, first learning about them from an artist she followed online. Through two trips to Alaska, she learned about the Alaskan Husky. In 2015, she met a local musher in Ohio and discovered dryland and urban mushing, and was instantly hooked. After a season bikejoring her friend's dogs, Melissa purchased her first Alaskan husky Ziggy and the rest is history.

​In 2021, Melissa moved to northern Wisconsin to pursue her mid distance goals.
 

Tahquamenon, Copperdog, Northern Pines, Beargrease

In early 2022, my dog Flounder got deathly injured on a training run. Too much excitement and his partner jumped him and shredded his rear leg. Thanks to some amazing vet care in Minneapolis and generous friends and the #uglydogs, Flounder kept his life and his leg. I never expected him to run again, but that fall, I threw him on the line to see what would happen. And he has still been on the race team since, like nothing ever happened. His long scar snaking down his leg is just a memory for him and doesn't hold him back.

Enjoyed outdoors cross country skiing then began skijoring in 2004. Started handling and running young dogs

Yukon Quest 300, Midnight Run, Beargrease, CopperDog, Tahquamenon

Best memory racing Yukon along the vast Yukon River

I was introduced to dog mushing in 2013 with the Cascade sled dog club on Mount Hood in Oregon. Looking for something to do with my two herding dogs.

I've raced in West Yellowstone, Canada and Alaska

Training dogs in the early/green years with my best friend Geneva. We could probably write a short story about a tag sledding run and all the laughter and "oh s***" moments we had that day.

Beargrease 40, Copper Dog 30, various sprint races

We had a 'girls day' a few winters ago and several friends not actively involved in dog sports came over and we got to run small teams together on our home trails. Super fun and rewarding introducing others to the sport & the dogs.

Fun of going to races and meeting other people

Bear grease. Midnight run. Mail run. Wolf Track Classic.

No

A friend introduced me to the sport almost 30 years ago.

John Beargrease Marathon and 120, Klondike sleddog race, UP 200 and Midnight Run, Can-Am Crown, Northern Pines, Copper Dog

My favorite memory is giving a young autistic child a ride and every hill we went down he would flap his arms and laugh with such  joy. Oh to see the world through those joyful eyes is a blessing.

My wife made me!! I was just a handler for years until she got the flu and I had to race the Beargrease Mid. I got 4th and rookie of the year...I was hooked :)

Tahquamenon, Beargrease, CopperDog, Midnight Run among many others.

Too many adventures and memories. I try to forget the scary stuff. Maybe someday...you can read my novel.

I was always interested in sled dogs since watching Susan Butcher win the Iditarod on the news in the 80's. I got my first sled dog in 2000 and the rest is history. I've been losing lots of money ever since, but I've never been happier lol :)

Tahquamenon, Beargrease 120, Midnight Run, Ironline, Copper Dog, Mackinaw, St. Ignace, Pellston, Apostle Islands and many other races over the last 25 years.

I will never forget racing the 2015 Midnight Run during that epic blizzard. 70+ mph winds blew me and my entire team off the trail repeatedly when we passed the visitor center right next to Lake Superior. I couldn't see much on that leg and was very thankful for my awesome leaders, Poppy & Daisy for keeping me on the trail.

Many many years ago, I decided I wanted to be broke

Minnesota, WI, MI, Canada, ND, WY

Love coming to the UP and seeing the beautiful race trail, and seeing all the wonderful people

Based in CO as an inflight line instructor, I found myself exploring the places I admired from 38k ft. now on foot, with a boy named Bleu. He came to me from an unplanned litter of Siberians that needed homes. After I took a trip to AK for the Yukon Quest and a couple of opportunities to drive teams that had covered those miles and territories, I knew I should give that life to the dog I took in.

Après mushing tour I found myself chatting with a new acquaintance that was sizing Bleu up. She said to me "You know, with a couple more dogs you could..."

We are good friends to this day and I do not hold her responsible for why I am still here trying to make this "musher interrupted" life work.

The challenges of training dogs while having an out of state occupation are many. Some may continue for the next 576 days or until that "one bad day at work" when I decide I won't be flying any longer.

I'm thankful for the people and connections that I have made and the ones that have been made on my behalf. I feel I have finally found my tribe both the furred and the skinned sort. Forever and ever amen. 

WI, Keweenaw Upper Peninsula MI, SK Canada

More than a few for each of these categories. Included are the usual ie; suicidal deer and grouse. Not so common 7ft cottonmouth and tusked wild hogs. Add curious puppies, brakeless scooter and helmetless driver. Fast fwd learning curve. We all LIVED and are making better choices whilst having enough content for the book that I write. HA.

If you were a spectator or participant at Northern Pines you witnessed and cheered on Bleu in our first time race follies as he directed the team off the beautiful trail start loping into the wide open spaces of snow that buried everyone on the line. Not all teammates agreed with his course so tangles and my embarrassment were dealt with in record time. For me. What did I have to compare it to. Nothing. I look up to see a hill full of people clapping and realize I should continue and am not disqualified for Bleu's joy ride. 

There were only 2 people to witness my breakdown into tears after crossing the finish at our 2nd race at Copper Dog. I was overwhelmed with two steadfast puppies TinMan and Summit, just over a year old, that never shut down. After a snowmachine came inches from their faces while cresting a hill I thought they would perform "The Great Parking". They didn't and I made sure that I busted my butt to help the team up those BEAUTIFUL KEWEENAW hills.

I rescued a Siberian in 2013 that I decide to try bikejoring with as an outlet for his energy. That grew from bikejoring one Siberian, to bikejoring two, and so on as I fell more in love with the sport. That eventually led to the kennel I have today.

Wilderness 35, Can Am 30, and various smaller sprint races

My favorite memory was running Wilderness this past season. It was a pretty sketchy trail as warm temps and low snow made for plenty of bare and slick spots in the beginning, but the effort that was made into making the trail as good as it could be despite the weather was clear and we had a lot of fun. I am very thankful the club managed to get it to go off. I stopped a few times letting my Siberians cool off to roll in the snow as we were climbing the mountains under the direct sun, so it wasn't our fastest run, but it kept the dogs in good spirits and we came in strong at the finish.

I liked Jack London books.

Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Yukon Territory, Alaska

All of those. Too many to put here. I need to write a book. The scariest was starting the UP 200 in 1994. Ran through Marquette parking lots and railroad grades with no snow.

Lots of Places

No

Watching a race and said I can do that 

MN, WI, MI, ME, Manitoba

Too many adventures

Beargrease, CopperDog, Mid Minnesota, Ely Wolf Track Classic

My lead dog Roy caught a pine marten and fought it during a training run last year. He also catches skunks and chases hunting dogs whenever he sees them.

I fell in love with sled dogs when I was 9 through a homeschool project to follow the Iditarod!

I have raced in Alaska, the Yukon, Saskatchewan, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, Minnesota, Michigan, and Maine.

I always love watching my dogs do what they love to do and travel down the trail!

I fell in love with the concept watching Iron Will in 1994. I enjoyed working with family dogs and an old wooden sled as a child, but the dream became a reality in 2020. From one dog, to four, to now 12 rescued Malamute crosses.

Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Wisconsin

Training in Montana we hit whiteout conditions and the team started to slow up as a result…all but one little white dog. Rags came to me when Gwenn Bogart retired, originally Doug Swingley bred, and she had only ever been a team dog. But that day, she was pushing harder than all the others, so I tossed her up front. From that day forward, she has taken the team over 1,000 miles in training and is one of the most reliable leaders I have ever had the pleasure of working with. She is also 35lbs soaking wet - most of her team mates are 60-70lbs. 

My wife, Jana, started out with a small team within a few months I joined her on the trail. Now we are both training 10-12 dog teams.

Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Michigan and Wisconsin

One of my favorite races was Warm Lake Stage Race - this was a 54-mile race, with two days of 26 mile out and back. The first day, the trail was marked wrong and the teams all turned around at the 13-mile turn. The second day, we were directed onto the correct trail, and it was 7 miles straight up from the valley. My dogs pushed hard, and we placed 2nd against some very strong competition - I was also only racing 6 dogs against the other teams of 8.