Erin Letzring wins Beargrease in near photo-finish
Alaska musher beat her ex-husband by just 7 seconds to become the first woman to win the marathon since 1998. 2:31 pm, Feb. 3, 2021 ×
Erin Letzring hugs a lead dog and handler and former Beargrease marathon champion Keith Aili after winning the marathon by 7 seconds. (Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com)
MINERAL CENTER, Minn. In a near-photo finish stolen from the mushing movie Iron Will, Erin Letzring won the 37th John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon Tuesday evening by just 7 seconds over her fellow Alaskan Ryan Redington.
The two battled back and forth for the final leg of the 302-mile race, swapping the lead multiple times before Letzring pulled ahead for the final few hundred feet, emerging out of the dark to a stunned crowd of media and race officials bathed in television floodlights.
After finish-line battle, musher becomes 1st woman to win John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon in 2 decades
By FOX 9 Staff
First-time musher becomes 1st woman to win John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon in 23 years
First-time musher Erin Letzring of Skagway, Alaska won the 2021 John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon on the North Shore Tuesday night, become the race s first female champion since 1998. Video courtesy of FOX 21.
GRAND PORTAGE, Minn. (FOX 9) - The 37th annual John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon came down to the wire Tuesday night, with only seven seconds separating the winner and the second-place finisher.
Rookie musher Erin Letzring of Skagway, Alaska beat out previous champion Ryan Redington of Wasilla, Alaska, becoming the first female musher to win the Beargrease Marathon since 1998.
She and 2020 champion Ryan Redington were neck-and-neck during the final leg of the race.
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Erin Letzring hugs a lead dog and handler and former Beargrease marathon champion Keith Aili after winning the marathon by 7 seconds on Tuesday evening in Mineral Center. (Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com)
Erin Letzring, of Skagway, Alaska, narrowly defeated 2020 champion Ryan Redington, of Wasilla, Alaska, to win the 37th annual John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon on Tuesday night.
Letzring, who was competing in her first Beargrease and was running nine dogs, arrived shortly after 6 p.m. at the finish, about 6 miles west of Grand Portage in Cook County.
Erin Letzring of Skagway, Alaska, edged out defending champion Ryan Redington to become the first female musher to win the Duluth-to-Grand Portage race since 1998.