CRAIG HOUGHTON
2015 UNDERDOG CHAMPION!!
Craig Houghton 3:44
Marcel Marin 3:57
Dyan Bergen 4:39
Sean Houghton 4:45
Paul Hamlyn 4:55
It was a fast paced race this
year. -30 degrees at the race start
without the wind chill. Dyan Bergen led
the pack followed by the Houghton teams.
Paul Hamlyn and Marcel Marin were the last ones out of the blocks. Craig Houghton took the lead by the end of
the Ice Road and never looked back, his team was led by “Quarter”. His single lead white hound, his team
consisted of 6 Males and 1 Female. He
pulled away from the pack and smoked the competition. His team peaked and fine tuned for the
Underdog. He set a new track record of
3:44
13 minutes later, Race organizer
Marcel Marin rode in to claim 2nd prize.
Yukon Quest Veteran Dyan Bergen and her super
steady team came in 3rd and also claimed the Best Cared For Team
voted on by the Race Officials. She also
claimed the Sportsmanship award, which was voted on by all her fellow
mushers.
4th place went to
“Rock Star” Sean Houghton, the crowd favorite, he grew quite a fan fair from
the local media interviews, including CBC’s Northwind and the Edge Magazine. At only 11 years old, this remarkable young
man took his team of 5 dogs around the 50 mile track in a time of 4:45. For his efforts, Sean took home a $500.00
cheque from Aurora Telecom, $250.00 prize money, A $400.00 Arctic Cat Jacket
donated by Yellowknife Chrysler Motor Sports.
And Countless other prizes. WAY
TO GO SEAN!!!!
Rounding off the top 5 was Paul
Hamlyn and his team of Sepalla Siberians after racing in the Yukon this
winter. Pauls team hardened by many
miles and other mid-distance races, came in at respectable time of 4:55. All the teams finished under 5 hours and 2
teams finished under 4 hours.
Not bad
for a little 7-dog race.
Then as a tradition of the
Underdog, we all went back to the Hamlyn’s and ate for 5 hours! Thank you Irene Vasa for the Chilli J
The Underdog thanks its awesome
crew of volunteers which makes this race possible. The professional crew kept the racer’s safe,
on the trail, and informed the rules.
Jerry, Ian, Zach, Kane, Wayne,
Brena and Rachel. This race couldn’t of
happened without the volunteers. Thank
you so much.
So, a big thank you and shout out
to the Sponsors, Volunteers and Mushers.
See you all next year.