Schroeder captures 4th Beargrease marathon title

Musher Nathan Schroeder
Musher Nathan Schroeder puts a ring of flowers around the neck of his lead dog after the team reached the Beargrease marathon finish line shortly before 6 a.m. Wednesday near Duluth.
Paul M. Walsh | WDIO-TV via AP

Nathan Schroeder has captured his fourth John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon title with a pre-dawn surge over the finish line near Duluth Wednesday.

The musher from Warba, Minn., and his dogs arrived at Billy's Bar in Rice Lake just before 6 a.m. to win the 32nd running of the sled race.

WDIO-TV says Schroeder picked up speed as he neared Billy's, widening his lead in the final 15 miles of the 383-mile race. Jason Campeau was about a-half hour behind and took second place. Defending champion Ryan Anderson rolled in third.

The marathon along Lake Superior's north shore started Jan. 31 near Two Harbors. The marathon is named for John Beargrease, an Ojibwe Indian from Beaver Bay who delivered mail along the North Shore from 1879 to 1899 by dogsled.

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