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Headwinds make for an exciting start to Day One of Chuck & Don’s Skijoring Loppet

“The headwinds made for a great race” is not something often heard after a ski race. But according to Dallas Johnson, the winner of the 2015 Chuck & Don’s Skijoring Loppet and Subaru National Skijoring Championship, the headwinds during the first kilometer of Saturday’s Chuck & Don’s Skijoring Loppet made the top group of dogs stay together longer.

“Normally, the bigger dogs speed ahead but they couldn’t get ahead of the skiers with the smaller dogs, keeping the group together,” explained Johnson. “It made for a better race!”

Johnson continued to explain that Mike Christman, who placed first in Saturday’s 10K one-dog race “is really fast and just might win the entire national championship.” Christman, 35, won the race in a time of 20:54.22. Adrian Swanson, 26, came in second place with a time of 21:12.47, while Ms. Jamie Johnson, 38, came in third with a time of 22:56.32. Sierra Anderson, 29, came in right behind J. Johnson with a time of 22:56.77.

Dallas Johnson noted that Anderson, who is running with two dogs on Sunday, has a good shot at the national championship. Johnson explained that men and women can race pretty evenly in skijoring because women have a good power-to-weight ratio that works in their favor. Johnson also noted that skijoring with two dogs makes a difference as he noted that skiers with one dog are at a disadvantage.

View 2016 Chuck & Don’s Skijoring Loppet and One-Dog National Championship Results »