Story & Photos: Emily Wicklund
The prominent 500 mile race is one of those events that all racers want to finish and check off of their bucket list. This year it was debated as to whether or not the 500 would even take place, but the Goodridge community and volunteers asked what was needed to be done to run the event in their town, doing everything required, and more, to make this race possible.
The race was a two-day event with riders running 250 miles per day. Other years it has been a three day event so having to run 500 miles in two days is very demanding on riders. Taylor Bunke said in an interview, “This year was a lot more demanding being that its only two days and 250 miles a day. It’s a lot more physically demanding, mentally and physically.” Both days racers ran 2 laps of a 125 mile loop with junior riders only competing with 1 lap. Each day consisted of 3 fuel stops which let riders make quick adjustments.
On day one, racers took on the Goodridge/ Thief River Falls loop. The course consisted of multiple ditch sections, and slushy rivers. Riders took off from Goodridge at 10 A.M. We had some early battles with Taylor Bunke and Dylan Stevens being the first two sleds into the fuel stop. Wes Selby made his way into 3rd after starting 6th and Zach Herfindahl working his way from 10th to 4th. Sleds continued through the fuel stop of hopped onto the river. When sleds reappeared, Sleby worked his way to the front with Stevens, Herfindahl, and Bunke behind him. After one lap, Herfindahl took the lead followed by Selby. Bunke and Stevens came through 3rd and 4th with semi pro rider, Dan Revering, following close behind. Defending I-500 champion Aaron Christianson made his way from 14th to 6th in the first lap. Pro rider Chad Lian was one rider who was forced to retire from the race on lap one. Herfindahl had about a 20 second lead on Selby but he was closing in. Selby was soon 10 seconds behind the leader and appeared to have dropped a cylinder which slowed him down substantially. Soon after, Herfindahl completed day one with a 27 second lead over Christianson. Bunke came around in 3rd and Selby limped his sled in to take 4th. Semi Pro riders Dan Revering and Cale Anseeuw came in 5th and 6th (1st and 2nd in semi pro). Pro rider Ross Erdman also was a DNF after day one.
Riders were given a one hour work period after the completion of day one. They were able to make any repairs to their sled within the allotted time. If teams exceed the time frame, all extra work time would be tacked onto their final time after Sunday.
On Sunday, sleds made their way around the Grygla loop. Herfindahl took off with a 27 second advantage over Christianson. Bunke started three minutes back with D. Revering behind him. Herfindahl and Christianson remained 20 seconds apart through the fuel stop. The 312 machine started to extend his lead to 37 seconds after completing lap one. Taylor Bunke had an off after hitting part of Saturdays course during the final stretch of lap one. Despite the broken visor and windshield, he managed to stay in front of Revering. Bunke changed his clutch, belt, and hood in the work area and managed to hold the 3rd place spot. Christianson backed off a bit on lap two which let Herfindal stretch his lead to over one minute. Riders maintained their positions through the last 125 miles and fuel stop and made their way toward the finish line.
D. Revering, Anseeuw, Hetteen, Tate, Kallock, Brown, and C. Revering rounded out the top 10 of the Pro class. Being able to double enter classes, Dan Revering became the semi pro champion followed by Cale Anseeuw. Timmy Kallock had a very impressive day two by finished third after starting the day in 12th. Another battle that brewed further back was in the Womens class. Lydia Sobeck took the victory over Alicia Martin by 26 seconds. With seven-time I-500 champion, Jolene Bute, in thrid. Arctic Cat rider Paul Brown also dominated all his classes winning Sport 600, Junior 14-17, and Expert 600 Limited. One rider that check the I 500 off of his bucket list was Jeffery Dahle. He is currently battling stage four cancer and decided to compete in grueling event.
Zach Herfindahl will continue to lead points with a 28 point lead over Alex Hetteen and by 61 over Justin Tate in third.
