UPDATE: Schouweiler wins 2018 Beargrease mid-distance race

UPDATE: Three-time defending champion Martha Schouweiler of Irma, Wis., has won the mid-distance race this year.

Hovland’s Frank Moe came in second in the mid-distance race.

It was a chilly morning along the Gunflint Trail, with a resident on Poplar Lake reporting a temperature of 15-below zero as of 6 a.m.

Click here to view the full leaderboard. 

An expected cold front should have participants in the 2018 John Beargrease Dog Sled Marathon operating under ideal conditions.

Mushers from around the region and beyond will compete in the race, which starts at 11 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 28, at the Lake County gravel pit on Highway 2 outside Two Harbors.

Other key dates and times for this year’s Beargrease include:

Monday, Jan. 29
• Mid-distance race finish at Trail Center Lodge on the Gunflint Trail, 30 miles from Grand Marais. The winner typically arrives around 6:30 a.m.

Tune in to WTIP at 8:10 a.m. and 9:40 a.m. to hear live updates from the Beargrease. WTIP's Sterling Anderson will be at Trail Center reporting live from the scene.

• 1 p.m., mid-distance awards banquet at Skyport Lodge at Devil Track Lake, Gunflint Trail.

• 2 p.m., halfway checkpoint for 400-mile race at Grand Portage Lodge & Casino, meet the race leaders as they arrive.

Wednesday, Jan. 31
• Beargrease Marathon finish line at Billy's Bar in Duluth. 

Thursday, Feb. 1
• 11 a.m., marathon awards banquet at Superior Shores Resort in Two Harbors.

More information on the Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon is available here.

A map of the 2018 race can be found here.