Jennifer Campeau of Rocky Mountain House, Alta., is the Canadian Challenge 12-dog-race champion. (Facebook/Canadian Challenge Sled Dog Race)

By Derek Cornet

12-dog-race

Albertan declared winner of Canadian Challenge 12-dog-race

Feb 22, 2019 | 10:05 AM

The third time was truly the charm for Jennifer Campeau of Rocky Mountain House, Alta., who crossed the finish line shortly after 7 a.m. this morning to become the Canadian Challenge 12-dog champion.

“I’m so excited to finally win the race,” she said, noting she placed second in 2017 and 2018. “This is my third time doing the 300-mile race. I came in second both other times and this is kind of sweet because it’s my first win here.”

Campeau attributes the win to several factors such as the endurance of her dogs and all the training they’ve done to be champions. She also planned campouts to better distance her runs instead of doing so at checkpoints. The effort involved bring hay during the race and sleeping outside, Campeau said, but she was able to eliminate an entire run by going up to 55 miles at a time instead of 40 miles.

Her closest competitor in the race, Lisa Joinson, reached the La Ronge checkpoint for the final time around 9 a.m. and both mushers had a considerable lead over other competitors. Last year’s 12-dog champion Gerry Walker was about 38 miles from La Ronge as of 10 a.m. and just behind Dee Eaves who is currently in third place. Coady Lee, Randy MacKenzie and Anna Bolvin all appear to be at the Grandmother’s Bay checkpoint.

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“I always love coming to the Canadian Challenge,” Campeau said. “It’s like a family of mushers because we see each other all the time. It’s so well done, the trails are well marked and the people are great. The hospitality was great at all the checkpoints of the race.”

(Facebook/Canadian Challenge Sled Dog Race)

There were some challenges with the southern portion of the trail, however, as Campeau noted soft snow led to unstable conditions. When her dogs would hit a soft patch, they would sink down to their shoulders and need to pull themselves back on the track. She added the northern portion was less hazardous as the trails were solid and there were fewer signs of snowmobile damage.

Many of the dogs in her team were also either two or three years old, with two dogs competing in their first long-distance race. Campeau stated her dogs responded and performed very well during the event, and she’s excited to be this year’s winner.

“It was harder because I had to bring all the straw and there was no handler to help me out,” she said about the campouts. “I didn’t sleep a lot because it was really cold, but I had a great time and it’s the best part of being outdoors. I enjoyed it.”

The remaining mushers will reach La Ronge throughout the day and those who are interested can follow the race online.

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno