Jason Barron crossed the finish line this afternoon for an impressive second consecutive win in the 2009 John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon:

Barron, of Lincoln, Mont., said he put “money in the bank” when he let his two top dogs rest in the sled during the first 120 miles of the 380-mile race. Then, when Barron needed to make a comeback after the midway point, he used “a bailout clause” to embark on a long-distance run.

With that deft strategy employed, Barron crossed the finish line about 2:30 p.m. with 10 dogs in a total trail time of 42 hours, 36 minutes and five seconds to win the 26th running of the Beargrease. Runner-up John Stetson of Duluth finished about an hour later after 44:29:09 on the trail.

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Early morning found only 6 remaining dog teams in the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon. Exceedingly low temps and a hard trail have caused all 15 other teams to scratch. Maybe they wouldn’t have dropped out, if they’d known a portable sauna had been set up for mushers at the Finland checkpoint. Wow, sounds like an Immunity Challenge prize from Survivor…

The lineup now looks like this: Defending champion Jason Barron has now pulled into the lead. John Stetson of Duluth is second. Blake Freking is in third, Jennifer Freking fourth, with Peter McClelland of Ely and Colleen Wallin of Two Harbors trailing behind in fifth and sixth.

The last hours of these races are by far the most dramatic and it’s usually when mushers’ strategies are tested. Mushers are expected to arrive at the finish line, mid-day today. Good luck to all and please – do remember to return those sauna towels after the race.

Finland, Minnesota mushers Blake and Jennifer Freking pulled to the front of the pack around mid-day. Only seven mushers remain, including defending champ Jason Barron of Lincoln, MT. Blake and Jennifer now hold first and second spots, respectively.

Don’t miss our interview with Blake from just before the race; the Frekings’ story is quite memorable.

The race looks tight on this third morning of the race, but leading the pack are teams almost entirely from Northern Minnesota and Wisconsin. Can I hear a WOO please!

Those in the lead are between Trail Center and Devil Track Lake. Currently in first is Matt Rossi of Herbster, Wisconsin. Featured mushers Jennifer and Blake Freking are in second and fourth places respectively. One of the favorites, John Stetson is in fifth, but if you’re unfamiliar with sled dog races, standings like these can switch up very quickly. And at times, very dramatically.

Stay tuned for further updates here!

[Long pause] …Just waiting ’til you’ve gotten the jokes out of your system. That behind us, — [more jokes, waiting again. waiting...] Ahem. Yes, this is the real thing. Jamaica has a dog sled team, and you may even see them next year at Beargrease ’10.

And Yes, I sure do see this as a positive. When a sport attracts athletes globally, it will attract followers globally. Which just may help get some media coverage for Beargrease that’s halfway caught up to the 21st century. Plus, I love an underdog, even if it’s one of the wild street “mongrels” they train with. Niiiice doggy.

Yesterday’s weather conditions were optimal for the start of the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon, and it shows:

Dave Turner of Sandy, Ore., won the 150-mile John Beargrease Mid Distance sled dog race from Duluth, arriving at the finish line in Tofte just after 8 a.m. today.

That’s a great run; Turner, 38, is up from placing 9th last year. Congrats to Dave, but good luck to the Full-Distance Mushers — race officials have upped the ante and added 50 miles to the course. Good thing they’re allowing 2 additional dogs per team to help with that…

By the way, if you want to follow along, there’s a semi-decent interactive map of the race course you can refer to.