Marquette, a town filled to the brim with wildcats was overflowing with joy and anticipation as dogs took the center stage on Washington street.
The UP200 sled dog race leads mushers on a thrill 228 mile trek to the finish line in Harvey. Each year a portion of West Washington Street in downtown Marquette is closed off for the race’s start line. This amazing spectacle brings in a large crowd of locals, visitors and NMU students.
One attendee had never seen the race take off before. Michigan Technological University graduate Cameron Arnold said it was exciting to see the dogs take off for their races.
“I thought it was super awesome,” Arnold said. “As a husky myself I felt a strong connection to my boys out there. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
While Arnold never traveled to Marquette to see the dogs zoom off prior to his graduation, he says in hindsight the trip would’ve been worth the experience.
“I was up in Houghton for four years and I can’t believe I didn’t come here [Marquette] to see it,” Arnold said. “It’s not often you can attend an event like this, and now that I live downstate I wish I would not have taken everything the U.P. has to offer for granted.”
Drawing such a crowd can make an event like this stressful.
Megan Voorhees, who was on scene got the chance to speak with one of the pups racing, and when asked about the anticipation of racing they responded with a short and simple answer.
“Woof,” The husky said prior to take off.
Unlike Arnold, not everyone watching the UP200 launch is new to the event. After attending last year’s UP200 start, Mandy Koskela fell in love with the event and had to return to watch this year’s.
“In my opinion the UP200 is definitely the coolest event in the U.P.,” Koskela said.
Some attendees check out the event out of excitement to see the dogs that pull the sled, but Koskela says a different component of the sled dog team catches her eye.
“My favorite part of watching the dogs take off was actually watching the mushers,” Koskela said. “When I saw the mushers my mouth dropped open each time. The trust that they have in their dogs shines when they’re surrounded by thousands of Yoopers supporting them.”
The UP200 draws in a hefty crowd, a crowd that Koskela says is like no other and is sourced from people all over the world.
“The energy is insane,” Koskela said. “The vibes are so good the entire night, and it brings an entire region of people together to support these awesome teams. I met a woman from Alaska who flew here just to watch the mushers take off.”
If you couldn’t make it to this year’s UP200 there will be another one next year, you can keep an eye out for an official date on the UP200 website.
If you’re thinking about attending the next UP200 Koskela has pro insight to ensure your night is as awesome as hers was. She says getting to the track as early as possible helps ensure you get a barricade spot near the start of the line. Doing so can help you take great photos and videos, so you can look back and enjoy that night you had cheering on the competitors.
Koskela has one more word of advice to guarantee you have a good experience.
“Dress warmly!” Koskela said. “Dress like a musher… the more layers the better.”
