Teams Getting Ready For Beargrease Dogsled Races

DULUTH (AP) -- Mushers are getting their dog teams ready for the 28th running of the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon.

The race runs more than 400 miles from Duluth up the North Shore of Lake Superior to Grand Marais, midway up the Gunflint Trail and back to Duluth. It's a prequalifier for Alaska's Iditarod.

The race starts at 1 p.m. Sunday and the marathon winner is expected to cross the finish line back in Duluth sometime Wednesday. The mid-distance race is expected to finish Monday in Tofte.

The event is named for John Beargrease, an Ojibwe who carried mail along the North Shore by dogsled in the late 1800s.