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FORT KENT – Ashley Simpson came to Fort Kent this past weekend intending to run the Can-Am 60 with the goal to someday run the event’s flagship 250-mile race.
On Monday morning the 18-year-old from Shirley had not only completed the Can-Am 250, she did it in just over 35 hours, finishing fourth overall and as the top woman finisher in the race’s 11 year history.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way.
Simpson handles and works dogs for John Osmond and Amy Dugan, owners of Mountain Ridge Kennel in Shirley.
The plan – right up until last Friday – was for the trio to drive to Fort Kent with two sled dog racing teams. Osmond would run the faster and stronger ‘A’ team in the 250 while Simpson took a less experienced team on the 60-mile race.
But on Friday a lingering back problem forced Osmond to step down and a decision was made to enter Dugan in the 60-mile race and have Simpson step on the runners for the 250 miles through some of the toughest terrain and most unpredictable weather northern Maine has to offer.
A poised, self-confident young woman with an engaging grin and bright, blue eyes, Simpson looked as relaxed sitting at the finish Monday morning as she did in the hours leading up to the race just two days before.
It was Osmond and Dugan who were looking a little worse for wear.
“It’s way, way harder being the handler and waiting than standing on the runners,” Dugan said. “We could not believe how focused Ashley was.”
“I’ve always wanted to do something like this,” Simpson said. “Pushing your mind and body to the limits and seeing what you can do.”
It was obvious from the start Simpson was well positioned to place in the top 10 as she maintained a steady pace on the trail and through each of the checkpoints.
But finishing in the top five seemed a bit much to hope for.
Simpson is quick to divide the credit for her impressive finish between the dogs and her mentors – Dugan and Osmond.
“These guys are incredible,” Simpson said of the couple. “There is no way I could have done this well without them.”
As for the dogs, “These are your vehicles when you are out there,” she said. “If you don’t take care of them, you’re walking home.”
And care for them she does. Simpson has worked at Mountain Ridge for just over a year and, with Dugan and Osmond, logged around 2,000 miles in training runs with the four-footed athletes.
“It was worth every minute of it,” Simpson said, recalling November training runs in cold driving rains and over muddy roads. “Hard work always pays off.”
Out on the trail, the hours Simpson had spent with the dogs paid off. Changing conditions over the weekend – from Saturday’s high temperatures in the 30s to a snowstorm Sunday night and severe windchills on Monday made for some tricky trails.
“I just kept watching the dogs and looking at their gaits,” she said. Every 40 minutes or so she would stop the team and apply a special topical cream and place a custom shoulder vest on any dog who looked like it might be sporting a sore or injured leg.
“The more you do for the dogs, the better they do for you,” she said.
This followed through to the checkpoints where Simpson spent little time on her own needs.
“That extra 10 minutes you take not doing what you want for yourself but working with the dogs pays off,” she said.
At Maibec’s Lumber Camp, the third checkpoint a little more than half way through the race, Simpson even turned down a warm, dry bed inside in favor of her canine companions.
“I pulled my parka over my head, curled up with the dogs, and got some good sleep,” she said.
In all, Simpson spent 35 hours, 15 minutes on the trail, averaging a little more than 7 miles per hour over the entire 250 miles. Starting with 12 dogs, she ended with nine after dropping three with shoulder and wrist injuries.
While the Can-Am 250 was not her first race, it was the longest. Earlier this year she won the Sherman 30/30 and came in second at a 60-mile race in Vermont. Last year she placed ninth at the Can-Am 60.
“The Can-Am 250 is a class act,” she said. “The trail marking was great and they do such a good job with everything.”
“This whole things was a dream come true,” she said, and considered a moment. “It’s kind of sad – a lot of kids out there never have a chance to have a dream come true. Maybe they need the motivation or someone to talk to.”
For Simpson, plenty of motivation comes from Dugan and Osmond, both veterans of the numerous races around New England and Canada, including the Can-Am.
“I was scared for her,” Dugan said. “I know how it can be out there [but] I’m so impressed with Ashley. She has some kind of inner strength and no fear.”
Despite a soft trail on Saturday which saw dogs punching through, wind-driven snow that at times blinded her and frigid temperatures, Simpson said there was really nowhere else she would rather have been.
“I was watching the sun set on Saturday night and I thought, ‘cool, I’m still out here.'”
As always, her thoughts quickly turned back to her team. “Rest, recovery and good food, that’s what dogs need,” she said.
“That’s my musher,” Osmond said with a huge grin.
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