JR is returning to race from Cook, MN. His kennel, River Rock, has 42 dogs from seniors to puppies. His lead dogs are Man o' war, Blackhawk, Citation, and Aberdeen.

JR's family was into dogs and he learned about mushing at a young age. He still enjoys it very much and also enjoys teaching his kids about mushing!

His favorite CopperDog memory was about his daughter, Sara; she slept her first night through in Copper Harbor in the 2011 CD150. The next day was a race full of energy!

This year she is JR's chief handler!

Joanna is returning for her sixth CopperDog from Grand Marais, MN. Her lead dogs are Viva, Tamar, Nikita, and Vader.

Joanna was hooked on dog sledding when some friends of hers took her for a ride. She's always been a huge animal lover, loves the outdoors, adventure, and competing!

She would like to thank her sponsors Agimac River Outfitters and Home Hardware.

Coming from Saint Cloud, MN, Mike Bestgen is returning for another CopperDog! He has been to all of them! While up here for the race, he certainly enjoys the festivities in Copper Harbor. If you want to see a musher cut a rug, come up to Zik's Bar on Saturday night!

His lead dogs are Summit (as in the beer) and Serena.

Mike is married to Vicki and they have four grown children. They also have six grand kids and another one on the way.

He has worked for Miller Chevrolet in Rogers, MN for 25 years. His sponsors would be everyone who buys a car from him. That's how he finances what he calls his "crazy sport."

Rita has been running dogs for 25 plus years! Her favorite CopperDog story is when her team got really close to winning it with Ross Fraboni on the sled but Anny Malo beat them by two (2) seconds! Talk about a close race!

Her lead dogs are Clyde, Foxy, Mitre, and Aramis.

Rita was introduced to mushing by an ex-professional wrestler, Paul Ellering, from her hometown. She has since competed in races from Minnesota to Main and she has enjoyed them all.

She currently has 36 dogs in her kennel which she runs along with her husband, Bill, on the beautiful north shore of Lake Superior in Tofte, MN.

Al Borak and his team are joining us from the Caribou Creek Racing Kennel in Roscommon, MI. His lead dogs are Gemma and Pfister. Al started mushing about 15 years ago with Lloyd & Mary Gilbertson.

He would like to thank Lloyd Gilbertson and Bruce & Monica Magnusson.

Welcome back to the CopperDog, Al!

Tom Bauer is the owner of the Otter River Sled Dog Training Center and Wilderness Adventures in Tapiola, MI where they offer sled dog rides, tours and camping trips!
Together, he and his wife, Sally, care for a whole lot of dogs!

He's back for another CopperDog 150! His lead dogs this year are Tri-Force and Scooby. This year, along with running his own team, his dogs will also be ran by three additional mushers from the Mushing Club at Michigan Tech - the only college club in the country by the way! Good luck to all of Tom’s teams of dogs in the CD150, CD80, and CD25!

Ask Tom how he got into mushing; it has to be the best story ever! Serious!

CopperDog would like to thank the Bauer’s for all they do to help the race with all of their community support. They give free sled dog rides in Calumet during Christmas and free rides again on Saturday afternoon in Copper Harbor the weekend of the race. They also bring a team to volunteer training each year and help educate our volunteers on dog handling and road crossings.

Thank you so much Tom and Sally for all you do for our community, the CopperDog, and mushing as a sport!

Tom would like to thank his sponsors, Keweenaw Sauna, Woodland Firearms in Baraga, Heikkinen Firewood, Jerry's Auto Service and Super 8 in Houghton.

Frank Moe, from Hovland, MN, is returning to Calumet for his sixth CopperDog. Calumet has become his adopted town; he and his family love coming back, staying with and visiting so many good friends that they've met along the way.

His favorite memory is the first time he crested Brockway Mountain and looked out over da Yoop and Lake Superior. His craziest mushing story is giving CPR to a dog in the 2018 CD150.

Hi lead dogs are Cinder, Colt, Pony Girl, and Clover.

He would like to thank his sponsors NutriSource Performance Dog Food, which is made right in Minnesota!

Kevin Vandenbussche will be running the CopperDog 150 for the very first time! He's traveling from Vandenbussche Kennels in Moosonee, Ontario!

His kennel currently has 12 working dogs and a few pups. His lead dogs names are Everest, Abby, Vegas, Torino, Zuma, and Frank 'The Tank.' He got into mushing simply for his love of dogs and nature. Almost all of his dogs are born and raised in his kennel in the company of his family.

Welcome to the Keweenaw Peninsula, Calumet, and the CopperDog Kevin!

Becky is returning for her sixth time racing the CopperDog. Her lead dogs are True Grit and Driver. Her kennel currently has 32 dogs, nine ducks, and three cats. She got into mushing when she started handling for Kelly Jo Engle in 2012 and thought it might be fun! She had been "mushing" with her Golden Retrievers and a kick sled!

Her craziest mushing story is a long one but the gist of it is being stranded in the woods during a blizzard with no headlamp and wolves all around. Sounds scary!

Her favorite memory of CopperDog is being out in the back country in Copper Harbor and seeing eagle wing prints in the new fallen snow.

Becky works as an ICU / ER RN to help pay for all of her critters and she would love to give a huge thanks to her family who are patient and tolerant of her mushing madness. We hear it is a very contagious and incurable disease!

Martha fell in love with Huskies and mushing when she was 15 but she didn't really get to do mushing for real until 2003.

Her craziest moment was during a year in the Midnight Run in the Marquette, MI area when her team had to go under the boom of a logging truck - AS IT WAS IN ACTION!!! She said it was super scary for all! :-O

Martha would especially like to thank a group of beautiful dog lovers called the Ugly Dogs. And also 10 Squared Racing - and they love dogs too!

Her first grandson, T-Boone [yes, we have that right], was recently born so when you see her this weekend be sure to congratulate her!!

Good luck at the CopperDog, Grandma Martha! We promise no logging trucks... but watch out for those snowmobiles!

Larry Fortier has raced every CopperDog with the exception of 2015 when his wife, Joann, raced in his place. This year they are both racing - who will beat who?!? Larry beat his wife in the Midnight Run by 32 seconds this year. Payback at the CopperDog, perhaps?!?

His lead dogs will be Nelson and Summer.

His craziest mushing story was the Midnight Run blizzard of 2015. All four major highways were closed for the first time in history and there were 72 mph winds and he was mushing 100 feet from Lake Superior!

Larry's favorite memory of CopperDog was the first one. He had a "smoking third leg" of the race and, well, finished third overall!

He would like to thank UpNorth Land Company and Wittock Supply.

Ryan Anderson is back for his second CopperDog 150 joining us from Saint Croix Falls, WI this year. His kennel has 40 dogs includinbg puppies! His lead dogs this year are James, Tito, Elm, Bunker, Rose, Muskie, and Oak.

His favorite memory of CopperDog last year was the Calumet start of the race on Friday night. Cheer him on big time at the start so he'll be even more impressed this year!

Welcome back to the CopperDog, Ryan!

Mary Manning, and Doodledog Kennel, are returning for their second CopperDog. She has 32 dogs in her kennel in Hovland, MN. Her lead dogs will be Mimas, Slider, Luck, and Waupaca.

Her favorite memory is the start! She says it's "outstanding" and "the crowd is great!"

Mary's craziest mushing story goes something like this; she was training her team on a forest road. A neighbor’s guard dog was barking at them as they passed and suddenly three goats and a llama burst from the woods on the opposite side of the road and charged towards her team.

They ran right at the dogs, then fell into a line running next to the dogs. Her dogs were trying to figure out what kind of weird dogs they were. She stopped the team to run off the interlopers, but the goats and llama turned and ran back to the woods and her team got back to work!

She would like to thank Canine Health Forward & 10 Squared Racing.

Good luck in the CD150, Mary!

Jake Golton returns to the CopperDog 150 for the seventh time. Golton Racing Kennels currently has many dogs from puppies up to some retirees. He got into mushing because of his dad. Jake finished in the top five in the last five years, including winning the CD150 in 2014!

He says he has too many good memories about CopperDog to pick only one. He LOVES everything about CopperDog, especially the many race volunteers and the race organizers.

Welcome back Jake!

Brady is joining us this year for CopperDog, and is racing with the Golton Racing Kennel from L'Amable, Ontario.

Brady does not come from a family of mushers, but he got contaminated with the "incurable disease" at a very young age. His neighbor, a grade school teacher, asked Brady’s parents to come feed his sled dogs while he and his wife were away at a race. Brady came along for the ride and was enchanted!

With now many races under his belt, Brady’s goal is to run the Yukon Quest. The Quest is a daunting 1,000+ mile race that starts in Whitehorse, Yukon and ends in Fairbanks, Alaska. It is considered by many to be much tougher then the Iditarod!

His mom has been quoted in saying; “It doesn’t matter how his race goes, he always comes across the finish line with a smile." And "He’s making a name for himself just with the respect that he has for his dogs and his care for his dogs, and the respect that he has for other mushers.”