Østigård and Edland won Gausdal Marathon

It was tough going in the Gausdal mountains, but the open-class turned out to be something of a thriller. Østigård crossed the line only one minute in front of Kjetil Backen. Once again, the ladies dominated the 8-dog class, with Edland winning and Mona Kolstad finishing as a good runner-up.

Gausdal Marathon is a popular race in the lead-up to the main race season. The first race was held in the 1980s, with participants from Norway, Sweden and Finland. Musher legend Sven Engholm won the first race in 1984, but only two more races took place before the whole arrangement was put on hold. It took nearly twenty years later for the next race to be held, in 2004.

The 2008 race saw 83 dog teams registered to race in 4 different classes (open- and 8-dog classes) over distances of either 240 or 120km. The full 240km marathon includes an mandatory rest of 6 hours, halfway in the race.
At the halfway stage in the open-class race, it was Team Norway’s Bjørnar Andersen and Kjetil Backen who were placed respectively first and second. There were only 15 minutes separating the leading four mushers - Backen, Andersen, Østigård and Pete Jahnsen.

Østigård drove out hard from the halfway stop, and at one stage, had over 20 minutes lead on the Team Norway mushers. However, Kjetil Backen never lost hope, and made up good time on Østigård. At the finish, it was Østigård who managed to hold out, with only one minute separating him and Backen. Bjørnar Andersen finished 9 minutes after the winner, whilst the local hero, Trond Ørslien, finished in fourth place, 26 minutes after Østigård.
In the 8-dog class, Elisabeth Edland was the deserved victor. She led for the whole race, and at the finish, was 14 minutes ahead of Mona Kolstad. Ronny Frydenlund took third place, whilst the youngster, Ola Brenodden Sunde, finished in fourth. It is worth noting that all top three finishers in the 8-dog class had better race times than the winner of the open-class.

For the full result table, see here: http://www.gausdaltrekkhundklubb.com/gausdal_maraton_resultat.htm

Photo: Bjørnar H. Østigård, winner of the open-class      Winner of the 8-dog class, Elisabeth Edland