In
the Outdoors
Part of a bigger whole: Behind the scenes of the U.P. 200
by Becky Greiner
On February 1, 2012, there are fifteen days left until the annual U.P. 200 sled dog race. According to the Upper Peninsula Sled Dog Association’s Web site, there are currently twenty-four teams registered for the race. The maximum number of teams that can participate is limited to forty.
The temperature was below zero for a few days; a source of displeasure for many people, but good news in terms of maintaining the blankets of powdery snow covering the trails. The less melting, the better.
The U.P. 200 has been a Yooper tradition since its first run in 1990. The current trail runs 240 miles from Marquette to Grand Marais, followed by a return to Marquette along the same path.
The trail covers several kinds of terrain, from heavily forested land to creek crossings. Some teams are local and do sled dog racing for recreational purposes, and some travel from other states in order to compete in this Iditarod-qualifying race.
While the mushers are readying their gear and dogs for race d ay and the fans are forming plans of attack in order to get the best seats for the action, something big is happening behind the scenes – volunteers of all ages and abilities are coming together to see that the race, from start to finish, operates smoothly.
Between the U.P. 200 and its two shorter counterparts, the Midnight Run and Jack Pine 30 races the same weekend, about 1,000 volunteers are needed. Anna Sanford, volunteer coordinator, organizes them all.
“We need several hundred volunteers to run the races – 100 just for crowd control alone,” says Sanford, who became volunteer coordinator in November. “In addition, we need people to sell merchandise, do indoor and outdoor jobs...there’s something for a broad range of abilities and interests.”
Sanford says she began volunteering just this past fall, but she has a daughter who is a musher, so she and her husband, Doug, always have been involved with the sport. As for how she is able to coordinate hundreds of volunteers, maintain a volunteer database and pass names and contact info to other coordinators at every aspect of the race, she says she has “an organizational background.”
“I’ve been a nurse since God was a boy. I’ve worked as a professor at NMU and a nurse practitioner, so it’s like doing clinical placements for students. That experience was very helpful,” she says.
Sarah Kimball, Midnight Run coordinator for the past four years, is responsible for “the whole race from start to finish,” she says. Kimball not only makes sure the volunteers are where they are needed, she also makes sure the mushers are all there and each one has fulfilled his or her requirements.
Her secret? The help of her husband.
“He’s my right-hand man. He helps with the set up, and over the last few years since I took over as coordinator, he helps a lot,” Kimball says.
They began volunteering about five years ago as dog handlers at the Jack Pine 30.
“We have three of our own Siberian Huskies and I mush myself in the woods by my house. So when there was  a call for volunteers, I thought I’d see what I could do,” she says.
Carol Steinhaus, associate professor of business at NMU, has been volunteering for the past eleven years.
“I started out as a volunteer at the Carp River on a Sunday afternoon, then on the Bayou bridge on Friday nights, then created a management class that took on management aspects of the race,” Steinhaus says. “This race couldn’t run without the hundreds of volunteers who do things ahead of the race weekend, during race weekend, and after race weekend. I feel like I’m part of a bigger whole, helping the musher, area families, and tourists enjoy the outdoors during the races. This also helps the economy.”
Because of the number of people who buy gas, rent hotel rooms and purchase other things necessary for travel during the race weekend, the U.P. 200 has quickly become an important winter boost to the U.P.’s economy, says Kimball.
“It’s part of our community and it’s good to increase the popularity of what Marquette has to offer,” she says.
Steinhaus says being part of such a large, organized team of volunteers has helped in planning one of her courses.
“My main course is organizational behavior—how people behave in work organizations. The focus is on topics like motivation, leadership, communication, teams, groups, etc. I also teach an event planning course in the fall, and the event management class in the winter focuses on helping to manage the Noquemanon and the sled dog races,” she says.
She adds she has always had dogs but never knew much about sled dog racing until moving to Marquette in 2001.
“I think it’s a great outdoor sport – interesting, and exciting. The times I enjoy best are when I’m watching a team go by at night, and it’s so quiet and beautiful,” she says.
Steinhaus says her students also have been a big part of the race.
“My students love participating in helping manage various aspects of the race. Several from past years have gotten jobs because interviewers have been impressed with their reports of what they did for the race, and various race coordinators and I can give them good references about their reliability, quick decision making, and so forth. Several alumni of this class come back each year and help,” she says.
It’s those volunteers that come back, says Sanford, who make organizing everyone a little less stressful.
“We don’t have to start from scratch; there are a lot of people that come back every year and make it happen.”
Fifteen more days of planning, collaboration and communication to make it all come together during the weekend of February 16. Will we have enough snow?
“We’re hoping so,” says Kimball. “It’s looking good, according to the trail boss.”
Vacant volunteer positions as well as updates and additional race information are located on the Web site: www.up200.org
––Becky Greiner
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