In the end, it’s for the dogs

“After the injuries, I knew I had to make the decision whether or not to pull out of the race,” she said.

Vogel has a running goal to beat her own race placings. Last year, she finished eighth in the Beargrease, and this year, with an under-experienced team, she didn’t know if she’d be able to top that.

Putting her goal aside, she chose to use the 150-mile Beargrease track as a training experience for the dogs.

“I looked at it as an opportunity to give other dogs a chance to lead,” she explained.

While Vogel didn’t top last year’s finish, she placed 16 out of 33 finishers.

“I did better than I thought I would and I am proud of that,” she said.

Vogel’s interest in racing sled dogs came 10 years ago after she bought an Alaskan Malamute and a German Shepherd.

Knowing she had two energetic dogs, the first-time dog owner looked to the Malamute breeder for tips on how to exercise the lively canine. She was told to buy a sled and see if the dog would pull her.

“I hooked her up and she pulled me down the road,” Vogel said with a laugh. “I loved it. I was grinning ear to ear like a little kid.”

She added that she hooked the German Shepherd up, and he pulled her, too.

Almost instantly, she was addicted to sled dog racing.

Vogel spent the next few years learning to be a musher. As she put more time and money into learning the sport, she was ready for the trail.

“I bought my first six pack of dogs and it goes from there,” she said.

Because sled dog racing doesn’t run in Vogel’s family, she said it was a challenge to learn all she needed to know on her own. Nonetheless, she has transformed into a competitor.

Her first competitive race was the Midnight Run in 2006. Since then, she has been racing in more widely-known races like the White Oak Classic in Deer River and the Beargrease.

This year’s Jan. 6 White Oak Classic was shaping up to be Vogel’s best race to date. Despite the -30 degrees temperature leaving her with frostbite on her fingers and toes, Vogel said she clutched second place through the first half of the race. With 25 miles left to the finish line, one of her dog’s pulled a bicep.

“I had to pull over and carry the dog home in the bag,” she explained. “Looking back, there are things I would do differently when this happened, but now I know.”

Vogel said while she finished seventh in the White Oak Classic, frustration still got the best of her.

“I just have to look back and not question it,” she said. “In all the years I have been racing I always have to remember to stay focused. I can’t let another team throw me off, I know my dogs, I know this sport, I know what to do. I need to remember I always do what is best for my team.”

The White Oak Classic set the stage for doubts about the John Beargrease race that followed three short weeks later.

To go along with the injured dog from the race, Vogel came home to a back-up dog also out of commission. She owns a very small team — only 17 dogs — which is not enough to be truly competitive at some races, she said.

“These dogs break, they’re athletes,” she said.

Vogel said this year has started out as a transition period and she is doing the best with what she has. All in all, she had eight dogs she was nursing back to health the week before Beargrease.

“It was a lot of extra work, but they deserve it,” she said.

The decision to race Beargrease turned out to be a positive one for Vogel.

“I started with eight dogs and crossed the finish line with eight dogs,” she said of the 10 hours she spent on the trail.

She added that she didn’t push the dogs and diligently paced the team.

“It was good for this group of dogs to work on the hills, get used to checkpoints and get their heads used to the fact that they can do it,” Vogel explained.

Vogel said she will be right back in action in a week when she and her team travel to Detroit, Mich., for the Motown Winter Blast race. She will also participate in the CopperDog 150 in Calumet, Mich,. and then on to Mush for a Cure, a non-competitive race in Grand Marais to raise money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Vogel said she loves the lifestyle involved with racing sled dogs and is so thankful for everyone who has supported her and “for making this expensive sport possible.”

In the end, it’s for the dogs, she said.

“Every time I’m behind the dogs, I’m in awe of them and their athletic abilities. I am amazed at what they do.”