N.B. musher wins award for exemplifying spirit of Yukon Quest

When New Brunswick musher Remy Leduc completed his first Yukon Quest – a dog-sledding race from Whitehorse to Fairbanks, Alaska – he was just happy to cross the finish line.

It took the Glenwood man 12 days, three hours and 25 minutes to finish the 1,000-mile journey, coming in 21st out of 30 teams.

While he didn't win the race, Leduc did win the Challenge of the North Award, which goes to the musher who best exemplifies the spirit of the Yukon Quest.

But in the middle of the race, Leduc was thinking seriously about giving up. His entire dog team came down with giardia, a gastrointestinal infection that causes diarrhea, vomiting and weight loss.

Leduc waited for an extra 28 hours at a checkpoint while he gave his dogs medicine and coaxed them to eat.

The 34-year-old said he's lucky he was prepared with a wide variety of food, so he had options for each dog.

"I managed to always find what every dog was feeling like eating, cause they were getting picky."

While they were losing their position, Leduc knew he needed to give his dogs time before getting back on the trail. He said he wouldn't have finished the race at all if he didn't wait for them.

Once the dogs stomach's were feeling better they got back on the course, overtaking nine teams from last place by the time they reached Fairbanks.

"When they were ready to go, they were more than ready to go," Leduc said.

Leduc said other teams were impressed with the way he handled the situation and was able to motivate his dogs to finish strong after they had been sick.

He said he felt he received the award because he didn't give up, but still put his dogs first.

Leduc has been running dogs for 13 years, and is a member of the Akkada Kennel in Glenwood. When he's not racing, he is a helicopter pilot.

He and his dogs are on their way back to New Brunswick from Alaska, all recovered and already planning for next year.