Mushers revel in 'mint' conditions for Laconia Sled Dog Championship

LACONIA — Almost as if she knew an apology was in order, Mother Nature has gifted the Lakes Region with near-perfect conditions for this weekend’s Laconia World Championship Sled Dog Derby.

In 2020, the pandemic forced a relocated version of the race. In 2022, poor trail conditions cut the event short by a day. Conditions were so poor in 2021, 2023 and 2024, that the championship couldn’t be held at all.

But if it’s best to focus on the present rather than dwell on the past, this year’s conditions are “mint,” as Jim Lyman, trail boss, told drivers during the pre-race meeting Friday morning.

“Conditions are perfect for all weekend,” he told the drivers. “It’s going to be a fast course.”

Lyman is a descendent of the race’s founder, Charles Lyman, a local barber and musher who organized the first sled dog race in Laconia in 1929. Leonard Seppala won that first race, a famed musher who completed a pivotal leg in the 1925 serum run to Nome, Alaska, which delivered life-saving medicine to a remote community experiencing a diphtheria outbreak.

In a different climate era, there was enough snow to cover Main Street and start the races downtown. Now, the event is set in fields on the north side of the city, with the start and finish line located across North Main Street from the former State School property.

“It’s a great spectator course,” said Luann Walsh, another of Charles Lyman’s descendents. “There’s several vantage places, plus the starting line.”

There’s no fee to watch the action, anyone who can find a spot is welcome to cheer on the teams taking to the courses, which are up to 5.5 miles in length. Walsh said there are 10 teams entered in the unlimited field, and 13 in the six-dog class. That’s a smaller race than usual — there was a time when 40 teams would compete in Laconia — but there are some strong teams, including some from Canada and Western U.S. states.

Walsh suggested watching the race from the main starting line, located in the field between the Ahern State Park entrance and Lake Opechee. Some spectators prefer to park along North Main to watch the starts and finishes from an elevated point of view. There are also road crossings on North Main, Meredith Neck and Parade roads.

“We’re really excited to be here,” said Brittany Colbath, who is competing in the six-dog class this weekend, as is her husband Lee Van Dorp. They live in Franklin. Colbath, niece of late, great musher Keith Bryant Jr., has been racing in Laconia since 2001. “It’s a special race for us,” and a special year, she noted, since this year’s running is in memory of Tony Roux and Doug Butler.

Colbath said her team “looks really good,” coming off a good showing in Quebec. “I have some young leaders, so I’m nervous about the road crossings. So we will see how it goes.”

For another musher, Fernando Ramirez, who is running in the unlimited class, it’s only the second time running in Laconia.

Ramirez and his team, who are from Utah, came to race for the first time in 2022.

“Our goal is to race a World Championship every year,” Ramirez said. He and his team have competed in championships in Sweden and Canada. “This is such a well-organized race, we love the caliber of teams that come here. We are glad to make the trek to be a part of it.”

Sled dog racing is a “dying sport,” Ramirez said, and the less people have a first-hand perspective of the event, the more likely they are to harbor misperceptions. One common misunderstanding is that dogs are forced to run, but anyone who watches a team get hitched up can plainly see sled dogs are elite athletes who can’t wait to attack the course.

Having spectators on the course is welcome for that reason, Ramirez said, also because of the energy they bring to the atmosphere. “It’s nice to have that extra go-get-it,” he said.

There’s a right way and a wrong way to spectate, Ramirez said. For what not to do, Ramirez said in 2022, “there was a gentleman who was five feet off the trail grilling burgers and dogs,” which proved to be distracting to his team.

“A good spectator cheers on your dogs, they’ll provide moral support, and also tells you how far ahead the other guy is,” Ramirez added.

More race information, including results and a trail map, can be found at lrsdc.org.

Sled dogs team will be set out on the course, one-by-one, starting at 10 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 22-23, with the unlimited class starting at 1:30 p.m. on both days.