Close finish gives Anderson UP200 win; Wehseler first in Midnight Run

Ryan Anderson won the UP200 dog sled race this past weekend, finishing at 9:41 a.m. with a total trail time of 22 hours, 9 minutes, 35 seconds.

Erin Aili placed second, less than six minutes behind Anderson, with a total trail time of 22:15:31.

The close finish mirrored the pair’s performance in the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon last month, where Anderson and Aili also finished first and second, separated by about 2½ minutes.

Local Cook County musher Matthew Schmidt finished in third-place, with a total trail time of 22:50:01.

Cook County was also well represented in the Midnight Run sled dog race.  Rita Wehseler took first place with a time of 06:36:48 and Joanna Oberg finished third at 6:43:34. The Midnight Run is an eight-dog, 82-mile race that gets its name from its late start time.

The UP200 is one of the top 12-dog mid-distance races in the Midwest and serves as a qualifier for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. The course covers about 228 miles of challenging terrain from Marquette to Grand Marais, Michigan.

WTIP’s Matthew Brown served as a race judge for the event.

“The UP200 and Midnight Run is a great race for the Marquette, Michigan, area that attracts mushers from the lower 48 and Canada,” Brown said. “The trail was wonderful again this year, as the area has received between 120 and 160 inches of snow to date.”

Josh Hinke February 17, 2026