Icefest’s inaugural human dog-sled race fetches enthusiastic response

Reprinted with permission of the Journal-News

1-25-2004

From the JournalNews

By Jaclyn Giovis

HAMILTON — The dog biscuits were the worst part. The river wasn’t easy to cross. And it took a while to light the fire. Nevertheless, participants in Saturday’s human dog-sled race — a new IceFest event organized by the Great Miami Valley YMCA — managed to survive the course and cross the finish line in one piece.

“The dog biscuits were horrible,” said Lt. Brian Ruhl of the Hamilton Fire Department and a participant in the race. “It was like eating drywall.”

Seven teams consisting of at least five “dogs” — human pullers and riders — raced through an obstacle course fashioned after the famous Alaskan Iditarod competition. Each team, equipped with a compass, first-aid kit, tent and other items, guided their homespun sleds through a series of mandatory stops, where they performed various tasks. Some of the tasks required the teams to carry their sled over a mock river by creating a path of stones to step on, set up a camp fire, put up a tent and eat a dog biscuit.

“The whole idea is to have a blast doing it,” said Dave Schirmer, the event co-chair. “We hope for it to grow next year and maybe make it a corporate challenge, where one bank will compete against another one.”

The “Jamaican Bob Sled Team,” represented by members of the Fairfield YMCA, finished first in the race, which took about a half-hour to complete. “It was a lot of fun,” said LuAnn Young, membership and marketing director for the Fairfield YMCA. But, she said, “The dog biscuits were hard to swallow and the fire was hard to start in the wind.”

The Hamilton Fire Department team won an award for “Most Outstanding Sled design.” The sled was hand-crafted from an old roof ladder and took about six and a half hours to put together, Ruhl said.

Woody Fitton, who represented a team from First Financial Bank, was proud of his crew, which won the “Most Spirited” team award. “People think bankers are sedentary people, but we can get physical when we have to,” Fitton said, chuckling. “It required a lot of teamwork, stamina, strength and character to finish the race. “We did it and we had fun,” he said. “I anticipate next year there will be even more teams