My first 1st place finish!!! What an incredible experience this race was!!!! The downtown start in Marquette was amazing!!! Leaving Chatham for the restart it was a thrilling ride in the dark on the curvy and interesting trails! The competition was fierce but we had a fast and fun run the first leg passing all but 2 teams ahead of us catapulting us into 1st place!!! The dogs did not rest very well at the checkpoint but ate/drank good and all were healthy and happy with the exception of a few sore feet. Left on the second leg in first place with a few minutes separating the top 4-5 teams. Got off to a slow start and had to stop and switch leaders not far out... a few more stops for minor tangles and was caught and passed by the 2nd place finisher. We drafted off him for a bit, got held up twice more with different problems but was able to catch back up and pass to regain and hold the lead. Dogs took off and we never saw anyone again!! My dogs and I had so much fun running the twisty, narrow and exhilarating trails it was just a blast!!! My Cooper sled steered like a dream, especially wonderful to have in that last really narrow and tight turns stretch before the finish:) I am so proud of my team, they did fantastic and all looked great at the finish, like they hadn't even run!! Wagging tails and some still leaping to go! This was their first race of the season and five of the eight had never raced before! Many thanks to my Mom for being an awesome handler, helping me win the Best Cared for Team Award, the Cooley Challenge which is a huge honor!!! I will always treasure it! Also sharing equally in our victory is my dad who went on almost every training run with me!!! Thanks everyone for all your prayers and support and encouragement!!! Also many thanks to my sponsors Agimac River Outfitters, Steger Mukluks and Home Hardware!!! Thanks to all who help put on such a great race!!!! It is a ton of work to put on a quality event like this and we mushers truly appreciate it!!! Thank you to Shannon Millers handler for the great photo of my team crossing the finish line!