the local favorite, John Kaleta, from Eagle Lake.
Veteran musher Georges Theriault of
Sarsfield, Ontario, an officer with the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police, acted as race marshal.
In answer to a question about headlamps,
Georges said “If you want to hold a flashlight for
250 miles, that’s up to you!”
That first year, Scott Johnson was chief
veterinarian, and Joan Kassof, Nick Pesut, and
Eric Hunter were the trail vets. In later years,
the race has became so popular among the
veterinarians that we regularly have ten or more
veterinarians anxious to volunteer. Several have
come from Ontario, one flies here from British
Columbia, and two make the trip from Colorado.
We have also had veterinarians from Quebec,
Washington, Wyoming, Michigan, Minnesota,
Wisconsin, West Virginia, Pennsylvania,
Connecticut, Massachusetts, Florida, and, of
course, Maine and New Hampshire.
Weather conditions became very severe
during the first 250-mile race. Beginning with a
relatively mild te \\