FORT KENT (AP) – An unexpected snowfall that dumped up to a foot of snow produced the slowest finish ever in the 250-mile Can-Am Crown International Sled Dog Race across Maine’s North Woods.
A haggard Martin Massicotte of St. Tite, Quebec, crossed the finish line Monday afternoon with a running time of 36 hours, 16 minutes. Mushers also have 14 hours of mandatory layovers during the race.
“It was very hard, extremely hard,” Massicotte said of the fresh blanket of snow that slowed dogs and mushers to a crawl. “It was the hardest race I’ve done here.”
This year’s runner-up was Rene Marchildon of South River, Ontario, who finished one hour, 16 minutes behind Massicotte. Marchildon hit a tree and rolled his sled after leaving Allagash on Monday and struggled the rest of the way to keep the sled going straight.
Normand Cassavant of Quebec, was third, followed by Amy Dugan of Shirley, the first Maine finisher.
and the first of four women to complete the race.
Nine of the 30 teams that began the race Saturday scratched.
It was the third Can-Am Crown victory for Massicotte, a 36-year-old paving contractor who finished first in 1998 and 2002. Don Hibbs of Millinocket is also a three-time winner, while Andre Nadeau of Quebec won the title four times in the early 1990s.
The race, now in its 13th year, had a purse of $20,000.
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