I see the countdown has started for next years race. When can I register? Lets go racing....

i hadn't ben to Calumet sence Iwas kid.It was buteful the down town start we love'd it.butt we had to use the rest room didn,t know were to go down town even as paying costemers turnd away from the rest rooms. We have 2 kids so wedid not want to go into bar,So what I,m getting at I,ve ben to other races with Port-A-Potty's.Other than that wish we had more time(and maybe WINTER)I'm a rec. musher form Ironwood MI.but would like to try raceing so maybe some day I'll be looking down that buteful main street.Keep up the good work!

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I think we should be excited about the first Copper Dog and build on this years experience for the future. As far as loss of business in the downtown goes that"s something that can be worked out. Other communities are quick to see the amount of $$$ brought to the area. We only need to look to other areas to see how the downtown start can work with those businesses on that street. The area sure got a great boost from both the Copper Dog and the Great Bear Chase on the same weekend. Nice work to all. Walt Babcock

Having the copper dog on Fifth Street in Calumet I feel is foolish. It's one of the busiest streets in town, then you basically shut it down all weekend. I own Bucko's Party Store and my weekend sales are almost exact weekly, to a few dollars here and there. My sales, because of the race, were over $1,000 less than normal! I can not even afford to pay myself yet, much less lose that much in sales! I think the race should be kept right on the snowmobile trail close to 9th street by National Luthern Church. I doubt this will happen, but thats my opinion! So if they really need to keep it on fifth street, for a draw to downtown calumet, here are some options: Let us use the emergency lane for business one hour prior to the race and one hour afterwards, until they come back. I'd say 90% of my business comes from driving/walking traffic coming down fifth street. If people can't drive down the road, they can't get to the store. Yes, it's only for one weekend, but there's no reason that that lane can't be used, because its pleanty big enough for a one lane road. Also, my thoughts on keeping it on the trails: You wouldn't have to haul snow, watch it melt, and watch the villages check book get smaller, for paying labor to haul all that snow. With a weird kind of winter we had, they had to cancel the Calumet ending (hence we could of had fifth st back opened up late friday night instead of sunday!!) Obviously getting that much traffic in town should help a lot of the businesses, but from what I've heard from others too, it hindered them! Also for us businesses that don't have public restrooms, please get 'portopotties' outside because most people wanted to warm up and use the restroom! Also, I'd suggest giving the businesses a very detailed time and info sheet on everything we can possibly know on the copperdog; because we received some of the most bizzare questions that were not even close to answerable! Even some that probably were answerable, the info sheet wasn't specific enough to answer. Also parking space. My cousin was ten seconds away from calling the tow truck so he could leave work! He had two cars parked right behind him in the Bucko's party store lot. With the street closed off, 5,000 people in town, and not enough parking in town, something has to be resolved with that. I don't think I should have to pay a clerk to stand outside and redirect traffic out of the lot! There would be more lost money than we lost already! Honestly, I'd be more happier if we didn't even have this race in town period! But on that note, I'll quit venting, Thank you!

It was a priviledge to participate in the first Cooper Dog Race. I knoiw the weather did not cooperate but everyone went out of their way to make the race a good one for the dogs and mushers. THANKS

one more leg with only four hours rest to make more competitve for distance teams...gotta tire out those stagestop burners, eh;)

don't know if possible under current format which we all like...have final leg winner take all. start in order of actual time separation?

live race updates were the best of any race. they could all use cd150 as model!!!!! please do not change.

The organizers did a great job for a first-time race especially considering the unusual weather that was present for the weekend.

I helped organize your volunteers for the finish and restart in Copper Harbor. I was glad Sara Kimball was there as she had vests, paperwork for the timers and bag checkers and had the personality to be easygoing and flow with the changes and modifications. All the volunteers hung in there with the changes (like where the finish line was moved to on Saturday and the start line on Sunday in Copper Harbor) and most were willing to do whatever as long as they were working and helping out. Some came back on Sunday even though they were not signed up to help because they had so much fun on Saturday. It was great!

You have a year to gather info on what worked and what didn't and how to do it the same or different next year. I was so thrilled to hear the positive feedback from the mushers and that so many are planning on coming back in 2011. I ran into Tim Vandermeulen in Marquette on his way to McMillan/the Stielstra's and he spoke very well of the weekend and all he experienced. I wish you well in the year ahead and hopefully I will be able to help you out again next year!

Wow, what a great read, all the positive comments and constructive ideas for next year. I hope to be on the trail next year with a 6 dog team! Thanks to all who took the chance and made it happen - it was a huge responsibility to go ahead and have the event, no matter what. Sisu, indeed!

I was unable to be there to see my husband in the race. Seeing all the pictures and hearing the broadcast was the next best thing! I followed the Copper Dog web site, twitter, facebook, and the links. Thanks! Great race! For sure to be there next year.

always wanted to see sled dogs "in the flesh" & had no idea there were mushers so close. look forward to it next year!

Even though I couldn't be at the event itself, I work at River Valley Bank, where I heard a lot of positive feedback. The Calumet area needs things like this to happen! I think that a lot of business and people benefited from this. Let's keep it here in Calumet!

The opening ceremonies were at 7 but the dogs didn't start until 7:30. Children had a hard time waiting that long. So maybe stating both times would make it easier for parents to get kids there without them hanging around and getting restless.

I was a timer that helped line up the teams on friday night for the start of the race......I had not a clue as what to do but using my organization skills from being in retail management for almost 30 years I soon had a good grasp on what needed to be done. I do have a few ideas how the line up can be changed to make things a little smooth on the timer persons job.

I need hear from one business in Calumet that was not happy that Main Street was closed for 3 days and that they felt that their business lost revenue on Friday/Saturday due to the race. Plus they felt that the race did not bring in anyone to help their business...and that "things/events" are aways up on the 100 block of Calumet and do nothing for the 300 & 400 blocks of 5th Street.....they wanted me to pass on this message and give a suggestion that they race can go down 4th Street and keep 5th Street open for the businesses.

Also heard that one of the TrailBlazers was not happy with the lack of advertising support for those that were TrailBlazers. They felt that the TrailBlazers did not get enough advertising on the radio or on the posters.

I was very very very impressed by the organizers of this Copper Dog 150.....you put together an AMASING event that I can say I was very proud to be apart of. My hats off to all for your acomplishment!!!!!!

I do have some ideas on marketing this event and on merchandising that could be done for the Copper Dog events.

I would be interested in helping with this in the future.

I hear that people were complaining about the lack of light in town! Pish -- it was perfect -- bright at the start then seeing the headlamp and the red light on the lead dog gives a real idea to observers that "that's all the lighing for the balance of the ride"

Hi, I helped to sell T-shirts & buttons Friday night. We had suggestions from spectators for Copper Dog baseball caps, lapel pins and car window stickies. Just some ideas to consider for next year.:)

We were volunteers at the Gay Checkpoint. We had never been involved with a race. We helped wrangle team trucks, timed teams going out to Copper Harbor, and hopefully calmed some nerves of team support, volunteers, spectators and race organizers.

Yea!!! to the Gay firefighters, and a big(hearted) guy Frank that was easy to pick out in the crowd. The bon fires were so wonderful and really a great place to warm up. The township hall was an amazing gathering spot and next year I won't have to bring my thermos of coffee and sandwiches. Thanks to the Gay residents who stopped by to volunteer and spectate. The volunteers that arrived at Gay were happy and helpful.

Next year, need first set of volunteers to wrangle the team trucks soon after the start in Calumet. First truck arrived about 8 p.m. so definately by then. Also vests and flashlights available by then.. For parking, volunteer Dave (computer guy) said he could string lights in parking lot. Would be awesome! Need lanterns on poles at checkpoint. Would really assist timers. Will be thinking about more by next year. Snow might be nice. (Just a suggestion.) Maybe a "SnowDance" party in Feb or March to raise awareness and get volunteers together. Great Job, John and Linda Kiefer

Gay Checkpoint Lead Volunteers.

This was my first sled dog race and I worked at the Mayflower road crossing. I had fun and am definitely hooked!

My experince this year:

The volunteer training was good and gave us the information we needed for the race. Having the dogs there was the most helpful. Giving all of us a chance to work with the dogs took away any lingering concerns.

At the Mayflower crossing there were four volunteers assigned but about a dozen actually showed up (thank heaven!). I arrived about 10 minutes early and the coordinator for that site was just leaving. She told me that she had just done a mini-training and pointed out a woman in a vest who she said was in charge and would tell me what I needed to know. The woman in charge never did tell me or anyone who came after what we needed to do. We all decided together or individually. She didn't seem to have much idea of how to manage people. Luckily, everybody joined in and the crossing was a success. However, most of the volunteers (including the woman in charge) had not attended the volunteer training and didn't always know what to do. In fact, several of the volunteers actually did stop cars to let teams cross. Out in the boonies it wasn't actually a problem but it could have been.

All of us had some sort of light but only 2 or 3 people had reflective vests. It was so dark out there that it could have been dangerous.

Suggestions: Assign a coordinator to stay at each crossing and give that person some sort of identifying vest so volunteers know who to go to for answers and the volunteers who just show up know who to get assignments from. Since people do just "show up", have the coordinators do a mini training after the volunteers arrive and go over the procedures with all the volunteers so everyone is on the same page. Make sure the coordinator has attended a formal training.

Also, have reflective vests for all volunteers. I know that this year we didn't know how many volunteers to expect but should have a better idea next year.

These are really minor things because I thought the race was extremely well organized for a first race.

I've read all the feedback posted thus far on this site and wholeheartedly agree with most of it. Most importantly, I think Brian's attitude and determination and professionalism was outstanding. In his leadership position he set the tone for the whole event and I hope he's back next year. For a first year event of course there are things that could be changed but overall Copperdog150 energized people. I also want to thank the race Marshall. We talked to him a lot at the Gay checkpoint. I don't recall his name but he was friendly and informative and we learned so much. Such a great attitude from him and everyone else we encountered leaves us looking forward to next year. And YES, promote Copperdog150 year round!!! Start selling merchandize now!!! I want some T-shirts from this year's race!!!! PLEASE.

The race was great, after the start in calumet I was interested on how the dogs were crossing the main roads. So my boyfriend and I went for a ride. We saw them cross 41 and kept going north and turned right in kearsarge to go down to lake linden. Here the dogs crossed the road as well. As I came around the corned all we saw was a person with a flash light. My suggestion would be is to have there cars on with their flashers so is more of a warning for upcoming cars. Thanks again for a great weekend is was fantastic!

NEXT YEAR:

1)PORT-A-POTTIES at the Calumet start

2) Road signage in Copper Harbour - there was none ( but I think I saw a "welcome mushers" sign in a restaurant)

3)Viewing Points along the 150 and 30 mile routes identified on the roads (e.g. the Thermometer, road crossings, etc) and the website ("See teams cross here between ____ - ____")

Closing our main street for three days,giving the local business people a two day notice of the closing. I could not get my friday deliveries, Almost every business had poor or no sales during the weekend. Next year call it the Ghost town 150 , thats the nickname the local people in calumet call it now. Don't get me wrong I am for events in the calumet area, but there must be a better way so business in and around fifth street don't suffer during the events.

as a volunteer i realy enjoyed working on the copper dog 150 i think the start of the race was just awsom!!!!!

My family and I came up for the weekend from Chicago. We really enjoyed the race. Sunday was a beautiful day to be outside. Got some great pictures. I appreciate the warm weather challenges, but it was fun to watch none-the-less. Enjoyed the people, (great volunteer team at Gratiot Lake road crossing). Wanted a t-shirt but were sold out everywhere. Please do it again next year.

Tim was pleased with the whole race and will definitely be back next year. He thought you handled the "situation " on Saturday (the lobbying to call the race) very diplomatically.

A sled dog race is after all not just about running fast; it's about handling your dogs and adjusting to the trail.

From my perspective, the race was well organized, the website was great with current updates about everything. Congratulations to all of you. I hope you get lots of helpful feedback.

My daughter and I had a great time volunteering and following the race. The Gay checkpoint was a little chaotic, however. We had signed up to volunteer the checkpoint, but had a hard time finding the volunteer cooridinator. Once we did find them our jobs were not very clear. Handlers and truck drivers had a many questions about the trail head parking. Getting the musher out in the early morning was much more organized. All around good job.

Promotional item - copper dog paw pendants

From working the road crossings to being a dog handler at the end the whole experience was fantastic. I learned a lot about a sport I am passionate about. I especially liked getting to interact with the mushers and their dogs.

I have been very impressed with every aspect of the CopperDog. The website is one of the best I have ever seen, the organization of the volunteering groups and the amount of emails sent was perfect, and the mushers, organizers, and advertising made the event very exciting! I really appreciate everyone's hard work! The volunteer training was very helpful as well.

Loved being involved with the event. As a volunteer I didn't know who had which bib number. Any chance to find out by bib number who came in when? I can't find the timing sheets you were keeping on line during the race.

Please let me know when you are looking for help next year.

My volunteer supervisor (Doug Harrer) was terrific.

I'm hopeful that as the week progresses, my body will quit reminding me just how hard sled dogs can pull :>):>) In the meantime, I would like to share an idea which worked really well for me as a 'dog handler' at the start. Paula, whose husband wore bib #17, had short pink nylon straps with snaps to attach to the line for the handlers to hold onto. These were amazing!! Perhaps because of my height (not tall, but had to bend over to hang on to the line, or end up stringing the dog up :<( ), it was difficult to keep my balance, control the line and not do a face plant. Besides being easier for me, the strap kept the mainline at the dog's level, and allowed the dog to be free of someone in his/her space, thus reducing their stress level. With the strap, the 'dog handler' becomes part of a 'team control unit' leaving the dogs and musher to focus on what is ahead.

Additionally, it might be helpful to let the 'dog handlers' know that there are those individuals who think it is clever to bite through the ropes attaching them or their neighbor to the main line! Thanks to Truman sharing stories, it was pretty clear what one of the dogs on bib#5 team had in mind when she had her neighbor's neckline between her molars!!

The event was generally very well organized especially considering it was a first year event. The downtown night start is a real nice touch. The organizers, volunteers, participants, proprietors, spectators, and citizens of the area were most friendly and welcoming. The venue, distance and race format are excellent. The stage stop format is a refreshing break from the grueling checkpoint races. You have a real gem here. More merchandise especially posters, patches and hats need to be offered for sale. The proprietors in Calumet and Copper Harbor were most accommodating. The activities in Copper Harbor (i.e.: live music and buffet) were well attended and provided a great opportunity to socialize.

Keep it going and I would only recommend that:

1) more merchandise should be offered for sale,

2) restrooms need to be available at start, finish, and checkpoints, and

3) more educational material to be made available for children who may become interested in the sport.

Thanks, congratulations and great job

Next time I am sure the weather will cooperate.

could have used porta potties at other places as well -- maybe use Daves trailer in Copper Harbor and Gay as the volunteer sign in center, central informaiton location -- and yes, maybe even the merchandise sales center....fire up the generator, have the lights on and some activity around it -- easy to say when the temp is 30 may not be so easy to do wtih next years temps in the teens and a cool easterly breeze off the lake.....

Excellent job by everyone --

Vet check location was great. Gay check point hands down the best check point that I have ever been to for dog truck access, rest for the dogs, great facilities for the mushers and vet team.

Copper Harbor is awesome. The trail will be outstanding next year.

Great Job to Brian and everyone else.

Matt Sturmer, DVM

Race Veterinarian

We had so much fun volunteering, even in the drizzle, in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere. My boys and I (along with other volunteers) were the first checkpoint on the 2nd leg. In other words, we were out on the Gay/Lake Linden road between 2:30am and 5:30am. Mostly we stood around, talking, until a light was spotted, then we sprang into action :) and we knew just what to do (mostly) from the previous weeks training!

The only complaint I have about that is that we weren't sure where the checkpoint was. There are 3 snowmobile crossings between Gay and Lake Linden... if we'd been the first people out, we'd have been driving up and down the road trying to figure out where we were supposed to be. A sign with "Checkpoint 18" painted on it in glow in the dark paint would have been VERY helpful.

I also volunteered for the setup. After the fencing was set up, before the dogs came, there were a LOT of people milling about downtown with nothing to do... also I think you needed more garbage cans downtown, as I was wandering around with garbage picked up and finally ended up putting it in my pocket.

We had so much fun doing this, and I've been talking about it since we woke up Saturday morning to everyone I've run into. We will certainly volunteer again next year, and will drag as many of our relatives and friends into it as we can. Nearly all of the mushers told us "thanks" as they went thru the checkpoint, and many of the support teams heading back on the road yelled "Thanks" as they drove by. Even my jaded, always-bored teenager thought it was a "blast" and is looking forward to next year. We were watching a report on the Iditarod and my boys both felt like they had really learned a lot... :) Thanks for all the work, and let us know what we can help with next year!

I thought it was a welcome addition to the winter events in Calumet. Our family enjoyed coming out for both the start and the finish, although we decided to watch on Sunday from one of the road crossings to get some better pics ;)

The weather was tough, and I'm sure everyone was a little frustrated with the changes that were made. I'm glad we had internet access or we would have missed the finish. I guess there isn't much you can do about mother nature.

That said, the updates on Twitter, Facebook and the website were great. I also enjoyed the live crossing updates. We used those to determine when we had to leave to get to a road crossing to watch some teams come through on Sunday.

As a spectator, my opinion is that I think the CopperDog 150 should be a yearly event. It was a very nice experience for our family.

I worked the vet checks on Friday a.m. In the beginning 2 vets were working on one team, way too confusing. A little hard to write down what each was saying. Next year I recommend having the mushers come in and register, meet us outside with their books already filled in w/their dogs name and age (just like it was being done towards the end of the checking) and have 2 people scribe/marker assigned to a certain vet. Those 2 people stay with their vet until it's completed. Also, the vets pretty much stuck by the schedule of check in's even tho some mushers were just sitting there waiting. So there was some standing around when other mushers could of been being checked out. Also,the scribes had books and then, as stated above, the mushers came out w/books already filled in w/dog names, age and vaccinations marked, so some mushers ended up with 2 books. Thanks for letting us submit suggestions!

I was a spectator for Friday nights start and it was great!! It was so fun to have all those people in Calumet on a Friday night to send of the mushers. I was pretty proud of our community. I volunteered as a dog handler at the finish on Sunday and felt like I couldn't get enough. It made my day to have the "hands on" experience of helping the mushers and their teams.

My friend and I felt sorry for the mushers & dogs with such warm weather and slushy trail conditions. I think that every volunteer spot should have ham radio communication with other spots. Maybe you could solicit ham radio volunteers on your excellent website and then pass them on to the proper people.

Couldn't find t-shirts before the race and after the race there were only two t-shirts left and neither in our size. Will you be selling them on-line at this site? I'll keep checking just in case. Saw dog sledding back in 1994 with my husband and this year we took our daughter (9yrs) and my mother (67yrs) to see it. Glad we had the chance to show them what an exciting event dog sledding is, even as a spectator. Please come back next year (with more t-shirts).

This was a suggestion from a musher while at dinner ...

"Race in progress" signs for at least major road crossings. It's great that we had so many volunteers at the road crossings. It definitely looked like something was going on. But a sign set out 300 yards before the crossing could give additional caution to the motorists, as well as a hint to what's going on.

I was in Gay for the checkpoint and I thought it would have been nice to have a set of lights set up where the dogs came into the field. Maybe a set like there was on 5th street if possible. They wouldn't have to shine down the trail but just so spectators could see bib numbers and the dogs. It was a little dark. But it was a fun experiance!

Jane DiMartini (a volunteer) said to me that she had gotten the following feedback:

"Next to the Ititarod's website, this is the best race website I've seen!"

Even though you have all the maps logically placed throughout the website. It would be nice to have one page dedicated to all the different maps and map links. Like a directory.

I also heard someone (volunteer ... but can't remember who) mention that the maps were a little buried in the site.

I didn't know what to expect working as a dog handler and I loved it! I will be a lifetime volunteer for this event! I have heard only good things from our customers(I work at River Valley) about the race...One said that they heard the race might start in Hancock next year. I hope this doesn't happen. It was such a fun experiance!

This event was awesome, and in the second year might need to extend the blue snow fence all the way down to pine street! I was a part-time volunteer and spectator. Very enjoyable. Seeing Calumet that full with an old school event was by far the best.

Thank you for creating an awesome experience. My participation, as a fairly brief spectator, was exhilarating and inspiring. I am certain that our more common winter atmosphere could bring about an even more extraordinary Keweenaw experience. If it happens again next year I intend to be more immersed in it.

The ongoing online presentation was a key that got us out there to be 'in' it. Nice work And I like the format here as well Sincerely Len Novak

Have a booth at bridgefest, have floats in the parades (Strawberry Festival, Bridgest, 4th of July), participate in Chassell Strawberry Festival. Do presentations for the schools. You have a great logo, and good brand awareness. Keep it in front of people, keep it fresh.

It seems one of the reasons the race started in Downtown Calumet was to bring visitors yet none of the businesses took advantage of the wonderfully large crowd.

The unlikley weather was an obvious dissapointment to many.I give alot of credit to the constant efforts made to improve/cnhange trail conditions. Allthough i did not run It was a decision made months back. If I would have entered months back, I would have run it and would have encountered the trail first hand. When listening to others describe it as horrible, or ******, that translated as challenging to me.Miles of the Iditarod are lined with no snow,rocks, tree stumps, overflo, and other dangers. People get hurt,dogs get hurt, and yet every year there is a race, and rarely is it held in "perfect" conditions. I applaud the efforts of everyone involved with putting on this race. And yes it was not perfect conditions,but if the prize money is more important then having fun running your dogs, and changing strategies with various conditions for the safety of YOUR dogs, then I think maybe they should get out of dogs and take up bowling or bingo.And they definatley should give up on any future plans to run the Iditarod or yukon quest.

Had an absolutely wonderful time helping out on Sunday at the finish. My daughter and I both volunteered. It was very exciting. We both would like to volunteer next year. If there is anything else you need help with through out this year let me know. This was the most fun I've had volunteering ever. Needed bigger trees or a porta pottie near finish.

handlers, family at home kennel want to know how their

mushers are doing

great job!!!

What an outstanding race for it's first year. The race director, Brian and volunteer coordinator Brad had a top notch framework. Thanks for working so hard to puyt on the best race possible with the spring warm up. It will be a great event to return to next year. THANK YOU everyone!

A suggestion for next year in the radio communications area. I think it might be simpler to ask the local club(s) for permission to use their repeater, but then draft someone to handle the volunteer coordination in-house. It also seemed like HQ and net control could be efficiently combined, as most traffic was to/from HQ. Lastly, there are some (ham) radio technologies that might allow real-time tracking of sleds along the trail -- could be interesting for a website.

I worked a Calumet crossing, and the instructions changed several times over various training sessions. The 41 crossing was way overstaffed, and I didn't feel like I really contributed much as a volunteer. It's the first year, though, and it won't stop me from volunteering next year.

AWESOME JOB!!

It was not easy to determine a time/place for a spot to watch the race. place more emphasis on that on your webpage and your press releases. you could have really had a lot of free press had you notified every media asap about the change in finish line also! They all would have been announcing it since Sat nite.

Please give bib #s SOMEWHERE on your webpage!! perhaps with the results. I took pics but not sure what musher it was because you do not list bib #s with a name anywhere.

Plan to volunteer next year so PLEASE come back

From a musher's point of view, the race organizers and committee did a wonderful job. The weather is something that no one has control over and you did the best with what you had. I ran the 6 dog race, so I didn't see the rest of the trail. Probably, if it had been much worse, the race would have needed to be postponed or cancelled as there wasn't much snow. The volunteers at the road crossings were outstanding. Please pass on how impressed I was with them! If the trail had snow, it would have been perfect. Suggestions: porta-potties at start. If you have more mushers in the future, you'll need more vets. Race was too spread out over the weekend, maybe less time in between. In the future, pick a cancellation date before the race and let mushers know that you will stick by that date. We spent money in the area, so I think that this race is good for the communities. Thank you for all your hard work!

This was my first race(Volunteer) I was really impressed with the support and organization. I have never seen that many people in Calumet in the 39 years I have been here. Lets keep this thing going. CONGRATULATIONS on the start of what I hope is an annual event. A short 5mi. skijor race would be cool with the same downtown start. Say to Mohawk.

Thanks for all your hard work!!

I can not find anywhere on your webpage or the Gazette newspaper where and when and what time people can watch this race. it just says in the paper "saturday" activities will be in Calumet but what time? morning? afternoon? evening?

maybe add info on your webpage for "Spectators" next time.

In the mean time when and where do we watch?

Thanks for all your hard work!!

cj

You have lots of information on your site to allow us to keep track of teams. All are referred to by bib number. I can find no listing of mushers with bib numbers on your site.

GREAT JOB following through and making this race happen despite horrid weather conditions. The Copper Country should be PROUD!

I volunteered the entire day on Friday and worked many points, so have some good feedback.

Vet checks at the bank Friday morning: Not much direction was given on who was doing what. Lots of people walking around, talking and eating instead of assisting. We just followed the vets around and listened to what they wanted from us. Most teams had 2 vets checking the dogs at the same time, which didn't work so well when there was only 1 scribe and 1 marker. We had a hard time listening to both vets at the same time and scribing and marking both dogs. One vet, one scribe and one marker per team would have worked out a lot better. Assigning a specific scribe and marker to each vet beforehand would help going forward.

Musher bag check: Going forward, note on the musher bag list which items are for the 6 dog teams and what items are required for the 10 dog teams. For instance, the 6 dog teams didn't need the sleeping bag, food, etc. We had one of the 6 dog mushers show us their list of what was needed, which was different than the 10 dog musher list.

Dog handlers: Bringing the dogs to the shoot was awesome, chaotic and perfect. Parking area for the teams could have been larger and numbered more in order. We spent a lot of time trying to figure out where each team, via bib number, was located in the parking area. We didn't have much time between bringing teams to the shoot to get the next team, so numbered order would have helped.

Road crossing: We needed more people to stand across the road to create a "barrier" for the dogs so they would keep going straight to the trail and not want to veer down the road.

All in all, this was an awesome experience for me. I am in awe of how well it all went down when I'm assuming that the majority of volunteers have never been to or worked at one of these events. Kudos to Brian T, Doug H, Sarah and Laurie. I cannot wait for next year and am ready to sign up to volunteer!

Met 2 riders on the trail that said there wasn't not enough info out before arrival to the Keweenaw that the sled dog race was going on over the weekend. They were very nice, stopped to watch, but said it would have been helpful to have more info a head of time.

Hello,

I just wanted to say how grateful we were for the opportunity to participate as volunteers in the Copper Dog 150; next year we'll volunteer for the whole weekend. It was thrilling to see the teams coming down the trail. Tough luck about the weather, but that's the Keweenaw...maybe next year the race could be scheduled for an earlier weekend in March (or February?) so as to ensure good snow and no conflict with the Great Bear Chase?

Congratulations to Brian and all the other organizers--it was wonderful!!

Jane Casper and Sergey Minko