Newport sled dog races draw warm-spirited competitors

NEWPORT – Out of more than 100 sled dog teams that ran this weekend in the fifth annual Sled Dog Races, Eddie Clifford and his team of 17 came in first in the open class, but Clifford points out that this fast-growing, cold-weather sport is not about competition.

“This is a lifestyle,” he said Sunday morning while settling his dogs. “We don’t do it for the ego or the competition. We do it because we love the dogs.”

Clifford was still in the womb when he first went dog sledding with his mother, a skilled musher, and now his 2-year-old daughter walks among the huskies, patting some, talking to others – completely at ease surrounded by dozens of dogs. “Now it is three generations,” said Clifford.

As a young adult, Clifford said, mushing kept him out of trouble. “I saw some of the choices my friends were making, but I was with the dogs and on the trails on the weekends,” he said.

“Mushing is one activity that the whole family can do in winter,” said Clifford. “It gets us out, gets us hardy and teaches us life lessons.”

Over the weekend, as many teenagers and pre-teens were racing as middle-aged or older mushers, and as many women as men took to mushing. In many of the participating families, a member participated in one of the various classes. Sportsmanship overflowed. Mushers could be heard calling to each other, “Have a good race!” or “Good luck out there!” as they headed for the starting line.

Clifford said the sport is not like that portrayed in the old Jack London stories. “It was a crude time when it was 40 below zero in the Yukon in the 1900s, and you ate your dog to survive,” said Clifford. “That is not this sport. You don’t see anyone here with 20-foot bullwhips.”

The dogs themselves showed the most excitement as harnesses were broken out, sleds were readied and the countdown was heard from the starting line. Barks and whines echoed off the trees behind the Sebasticook Valley Snowmobile Club, which hosted the event, as the dogs anticipated each race.

Through woods and onto Sebasticook Lake the trails wind, ranging from four to 11 miles depending on the event and the number of dogs pulling each sled.

The Newport races are becoming more and more popular each year, according to Jane Briggs of the Sebasticook Valley Chamber of Commerce, sponsor of the event. She estimated more than $20,000 was pumped into the local economy over the two-day event.

Not all of that was spent on people. Clifford’s pack of 30 Alaskan huskies, a slimmer, smaller version of the traditional Siberian husky with an almost hound-dog appearance, eat 40 pounds of ground meat and 20 pounds of grain a day – twice a day for the pups.

The dogs average 20 mph during a race, compared with 10 mph for sled dogs participating in endurance races, he said.

“These are not bred for show or appearance,” he said. “They are athletes bred for athletic qualities.”

Do they love to run? Musher Jean Reed of northern Massachusetts laughed at the question. “Of course they love it,” she said. “You cannot make a dog run. If a dog doesn’t pull that sled, you aren’t going anywhere.”

Reed first became interested in dog sledding after seeing the movie “Iron Will,” which includes dog sledding scenes shot in Maine. Reed, gently entering her 60s, said she was immediately hooked.

In the seven years since that first experience, she has taken instruction, raced in a hundred races and volunteered at the famous Iditarod endurance race. She has spent most of every fall and winter training her seven female huskies, ranging from 3 to 11 years old. An entire team of females is unusual, she noted.

“I like the snow. I like the dogs,” she said. “I love getting out on the trail.”