Trail is great for racers, By John Pepin

WETMORE — In an exciting finish, Minnesota’s Don Galloway won the Midnight Run Saturday for the second year in a row.Spectators cheered as the frost-covered faces of Galloway’s orange-booted lead dogs could be seen rounding a corner through the cold early morning darkness in Wetmore.With temperatures sunk to near 10 degrees below zero, Galloway of Makenin, Minn., crossed under the wooden arch and over the blaze orange finish line painted in the snow at 7:24 a.m.“It’s great,” Galloway said. “I won last year so it’s fun to come back and be able to retain the title.”The mushers race 49 miles to a layover at Deerton in Alger County before continuing on another 42 miles to the Wetmore finish line, located just south of M-28 about four miles east of Munising.Galloway said his eight-dog team performed well. Temperatures were cold and the trail was hard and fast. There were a couple of icy hills near Marquette, but the rest of the trail was good, he said.“The dogs were just awesome, and they’re what it’s all about,” Galloway said. “They were dog-o-mite.”