By paNOW Staff

One man hit by sled during Canadian Challenge

Feb 24, 2015 | 4:43 PM

It was a rocky start for the Canadian Challenge Sled Dog Race, when a few spectators became involved in saving the race.

“We were watching the dog sled race, the dogs went off course,” spectator Trevor Dubois told paNOW. “The first team lost her sled and…she went straight instead of turning because the dogs got confused.”  

Dubois said they were right beside the boat launch when they helped the first racer, Laura Neese.

“While we were standing there, she got back on and then the other dogs just went off track as well and then this other team, it was like boom, boom, boom, like a collision,” he said. “Some of the racers were falling off their sleds as well like getting dragged by their sleds.”

According to Dubois there were no barricades which threw off the racers and the dogs as they went towards the river.

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“Pretty good conditions it was just… the turn was improperly marked,” he said.

Dubois was with his brother Ryan, his friend Becky Bird and a couple of other people when the crashing sleds caught one man off guard and knocked him to the ground.

“A [senior] citizen … got run over by one of the sleds,” he said, but the man was only a little startled, “we checked him over, he’s like ‘oh I ripped my pants, but I don’t [have] bruises.’”

It was only a minor hiccup in the race and Dubois said the racers did get back on their sleds, although they were frustrated. 

“The racers were just … mad and stuff but we helped them … everyone’s OK,” he said. “They [were] grateful and thankful that we were there.”

This was Dubois’s first year watching the challenge and he said he will “definitely” be attending the races next year after all the excitement.

“It was quite an adventure for my first time watching it,” he said, but his brother Ryan wasn’t as enthusiastic, “I’ll probably never do it again, I was kind of scared.”

Dubois also wanted to add, “I hope that number two wins this race, simply because during the incident he was the one most thankful for our help.”  

Every dog has its day

The 18th annual Canadian Challenge Sled Dog Race is officially underway.

The big race, the longest of its kind in Canada, got started a few minutes after 12 p.m. on Tuesday from downtown Prince Albert.

The 12-dog race covers nearly 500 kilometres, and goes up to Grandmother’s Bay and then loops back around. The eight-dog race, is more than 300 kilometres.

Both of the races will finish in La Ronge.

Race results for the 12-dog race can be followed here:

Race results for the eight-dog race can be followed here:

Warren Palfrey from B.C. won last year’s 12-dog event in two days and 14 hours. 

Christopher Wall from Libden, Alberta won last year’s eight dog event.

Jennifer Campeau, from Alberta, was the winner in the open category.

-With files from Kayla Bruch and Nigel Maxwell

news@panow.com

On Twitter:@princealbertnow