The Citizen, 2008-04-24, Page 9Being the best in North America
isn’t bad. Just ask Blyth’s 15-year-
old dog sledding sensation Mark
Siertsema.
He’s only been racing
competitively for three years and
he’s already on top.
This year’s sledding season ran
from early January until March, with
12 races offered to competitors,
races run all over Canada and the
northern United States. Siertsema
attended two races in Michigan, one
in Maine, one in Quebec and several
peppered throughout Ontario.
After the season’s last race,
Siertsema’s eighth of the year, he
found himself alone on top of the
four-dog category. Going into the
final race of the year he was in need
of 106.5 points and he came away
with 109, slightly edging out the
competition at the 11th hour.
Of his eight races, Siertsema
accrued three first-place finishes,
two third-place finishes, a second, a
fourth and a fifth-place finish.
Siertsema explains that it is up to
the sledder how many races he
wishes to attend, that only his four
best races will collect to form his
final total. Points are awarded with
several contributing factors,
including the level of competition,
length of the race, etc.
He says that while he edged out
the next best sledder, if the race had
been a two-day race instead of a
three-day race, he would have come
up just short. He also adds that the
amount of points he eventually
cleared the competition by could
have been made up in just a second
or two by his runner-up at a different
race, to shape the whole season
standings.
Adding to the number of decisions
affecting the outcome was the
Siertsemas’ decision to attend the
last race in the first place. The
decision was made on a Thursday
morning before Siertsema boarded
the bus for the hour-long trek to
London and District Christian
Secondary School, and Siertsema
and his father, Michael, were on the
road that night, sleeping in the
family’s truck on a pit stop.
Michael put over 1,100 kilometres
on the truck that trip and looks back
on his son’s successful year saying
that it was “a nice year together. We
really got to know each other.”
The year was full of hard work,
but it also had its share of adversity.
Just three weeks before the end of
the season, Siertsema’s lead dog,
Moose suffered a twisted stomach
and left the Siertsemas short one
“irreplaceable, special dog.”
Mark says Moose was the smartest
dog he’s had on his team and one of
the fastest, saying that he was “as
strong as a horse.” However,
Michael, who was asked by his son
to correct him if he made any
mistakes, corrected him, saying “he
was as strong as a moose.”Mark was never alone on his trek.Michael brought years of experienceto the table, but Lee Gilchrist,Mark’s mentor was an important partof the team as well. Michael callsGilchrist the best sled runner waxer
he knows. But having raced for over
25 years, his knowledge and
guidance certainly helped the
Siertsemas along.
Mark ensures that Gilchrist’s part
is not under-appreciated, saying that
a good waxer can make up to 30
seconds of difference in a race
depending on track factors. Any
edge they could get, would do its
part in the strenuous season.
The Siertsemas will be heading to
New Hampshire in mid-June to
collect Mark’s gold medal, yet
another long trip, but undoubtedly
worth the mileage.
Understandably, Siertsema found
himself worn out at the end of the
season, with aspects of his life, like
friends, family school and local
sports taking a backseat to the
sledding season; he plans to take it
easy in 2009.
The Siertsemas find themselves in
a bit of a transitional period. They
have five puppies that could see
serious maturation over the next
year, and with Mark having to skip
several Fridays from school and not
being able to commit fully to his
hockey team, some time off will do
them well.
While not racing at all isn’t an
option, the Siertsemas plan to attend
only half the races they attended this
year and taking some time to
regroup and take some time for
themselves.
Similar to the dogs the Siertsemas
run, dog sledding has been bred into
the family. Mark’s older brother
Luke also had his turn competing,
while they both inherited their
passion for the sport from their
father, who has been on the sled for
over 10 years.
Michael still races competitively,
but often in the six-dog division,
with races often matching the
number of dogs; four-dog division
races are often four miles, while six-
dog sleds often compete in six-mile
races.
The Siertsemas believe in
versatility in their dogs. Father and
son train their dogs together,
building enough strength and
stamina that they can often
interchange dogs. They can do this,
almost without exception to
accommodate Mark’s four-dog,
four-mile races and light weight as
well as Michael’s six-dog, six-mile
races.
Currently, the Siertsema camphosts 11 race-ready dogs, and fivepuppies. Light training andconditioning runs year round at theSiertsema house, but in the fall, strictrace training begins at heavierweights than the team may have to
pull in a race at 13-15 miles per hour.
Next the dogs get up to 17 miles per
hour, running longer distances than
they may in a race, to build stamina.
Eventually, the dogs will begin to
hit 20 miles per hour as they ready
for competition in early December.
However, the Siertsemas have
several dogs, they say, that can hit up
to 32 miles per hour, namely, Hubey,
Felix, Faith and Tom.
Dog sledding also follows the
same principles as horse racing,
where the lighter jockeys tend to
flourish, with Siertsema weighing an
economical 105 pounds.
While dog sledding often triggers
images of Alaskan huskies galloping
through the frozen wilderness, the
Siertsemas race in an open category,
which leaves them free to use any
combination and breed of dog they
choose.
Right now, the Siertsemas have
several Polish greyhounds and
German short-haired pointers, but
they are always exploring new
options, searching for the perfect
combination.
When looking for a dog, the
Siertsemas take many factors into
consideration - stamina, speed,
strength, good feet, good attitude
and focus.
When Michael first started
sledding, he raced Alaskan huskies
as well as some Alaskan malamutes.
The circuit was smaller, and he
competed against fellow local
competitors as part of a small dog
sled racing club.
He says that competitions got
bigger, rivalries developed and
before he knew it, he was racing all
over North America.
However, it is clear that the torch
has been passed. As part training,
part father/son competition, Mark
took on his father just this past
season, allowing his father to take
his pick of the family’s best dogs,
with Mark still coming out on top by
a margin of over two minutes in a
four-mile race.
While his eyes remain on the
prize, Mark leaves the door open,
saying that perhaps his younger
sisters, Meghan, Natalie and
Shannon may start racing.
This summer, after finishing up
the semester, Mark hopes to play
soccer in Blyth and spend some
well-earned time with his friends
and family.
THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 24, 2008. PAGE 9.
Paws to the powder
Mark Siertsema, a 15-year-old from Blyth, has captured top honours in the International Sled
Dog Racing Association’s adult four-dog category. He won by just two-and-a-half points, which
he achieved in his last race of the year. (Photo submitted)
Local teen’s team tops in sled racing
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The Citizen