Women's Cross Country | 1/29/2025 3:20:00 PM

  

CROOKSTON, Minn. - North Dakota doesn't quit, this is the motto followed by Minnesota Crookston freshman cross country runner Eva Robinson. While you would think the ultimate accomplishment of her career is being able to run collegiately at the NCAA level, it is not. Along with her dream of running cross country, Robinson has another passion and it is a little outside of the box for Northern Minnesota, and North Dakota. Robinson, a native of Cavalier, N.D., is a musher. The journey to Robinson's competitive mushing career, began back in the 1980's with her mother.

"It all started with my mom back in the 80's, around that time there was a big trend going around of mushing movies with Iron Will, and White Fang," Robinson stated. "When she was growing up she wanted a husky or an alaskan malamute. She wanted a sled dog. She grew up in Bismarck, N.D., in the business district, there were no options for that. Until my parents were married and I was two-years old, and they were living out in Cavalier, N.D., then she finally got to have her Alaskan malamutes."

When Eva was a young child, her parents would give talks about mushing, and the Iditarod, "The Last Great Race on Earth". It was during one of these talks to Robinson's class, that her goal would be etched in her mind for years to come.

"At five years old, I came up to my parents and said I am going to do the Junior Iditerod," Robinson recalled. "And they were like, 'that is great sweetheart. You are going to be a ballerina tomorrow, and a doctor the next day.' I came back at six years old, seven years old, and finally at eight years old they were like, 'this isn't going away.' They sat me down and were like, this is going to cost a lot of money and a lot of time. It is not just something you can wake up and do, and the dogs we have aren't going to be able to do it.

From there, Robinson set out a plan to make enough money to eventually race in the Junior Iditarod in Alaska, and she approached her parents with her idea. "I came back the next day with a business plan to sell dog treats. I was going to make $1,000 a year for eight years, I was going to save up the money and get my dogs and I was going to run the Junior Iditarod."

So Robinson's journey to the Junior Iditarod began. She knew she would have to work her way to the 160-mile race across the Alaskan wilderness, so she put together a race plan and set out to get herself prepared to accomplish her dream.

"My first-ever race, I was 11 years old, and it was an eight-mile family fun run, and I had two dogs. Then the next day I went out with four dogs. The first time I was with my Dad, and the second time I was by myself. I ran four dogs, and I had never run four dogs before then. This trend continued, at the same race, the Apostle Islands Dog Sled Race, I signed up for the Sportsman Class, which was 25 miles, and I had never run six dogs before. My parents put me on the sled, and said six dogs go. This continued again until I got to the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon, 120 miles, which was a 24-hour race in Duluth, Minn. I had never run eight dogs before, but they put me on the sled and had me run with eight dogs. I ended up winning that race. It was a tough course, and a tough race. The lack of snow pushed a lot of people, but we went out and finished it."

Robinson then made the trek North to Alaska, where she competed in the Willow 100, as a dress rehearsal for the Junior Iditarod. It would be her first race on her own, as she didn't have any handlers and couldn't have contact with anyone other than the other junior mushers on the trail. 

"I went and camped out with just me and the dogs. There were other junior mushers around, but it was the first time I had been truly independent. I got to the Junior Iditarod and I was expecting to camp out at Yetna Station and do the race I had dreamed of my entire life, but there was so much melting that didn't happen. We moved to Cantwell and had to race around Denali (Mount McKinley), which was really cool. It was also very grueling and the dogs got very bored and discouraged. The first day we went out on the trail and I actually had to leave first. I pulled my bib, and I was leading first. For anyone else that would have been great, because you have a head start by two minutes. But for me I like to follow people. I left first and we were ripping through the trail. It was a hard fast trail, and I felt amazing, and the dogs felt amazing. I thought for a brief moment, maybe we could win this. And the next day I got my slice of humble pie because it took 10 hours to get from Point A to Point B. We were on the trail from sunrise to sundown. My team had been reduced from 10 to eight, and I only had one dog that would lead and her name was Frost. She ended up receiving the Blue Harness Award, which means the dog was the best lead dog at that race, and she absolutely deserved that."

The sport of mushing is much different than other team sports, as Robinson's teammates aren't human, so understanding them is a much more complex situation than your typical team environment. "It is like having a dairy farm, is the best way to describe it. You are out there two times a day, feeding them, and checking in on them. Making sure everyone is doing well. Your teammates can't talk to you. You have to learn all of their body movements, and what is going through their heads, since they can't communicate with you. If you see them limping you have to go through their entire leg. They can't tell you. It takes a while to get to know the dogs, learn the dogs, and trust the dogs."

Robinson was able to do the Junior Iditarod a second time at the age of 17, where she was able to finish in the time she wanted, and was able to finish with 10 happy dogs. Now that her junior mushing career has ended, she has focused her attention for the time being on pursuing her degree from the University of Minnesota, and racing cross country. Robinson sees a lot of parallels in mushing and cross country, that have helped her in her career.

"The biggest stereotype with mushing is people think you just stand there and give the dogs command," Robinson stated. "You are running up hills, you are running next to the sled. You are shifting your weight constantly. You are always moving, always on your feet. What has helped me the most is mental toughness. You are out there in isolation for 30 hours at a time taking care of 10 lives you have to focus on. What has helped me the most with cross country, because I am not out there in isolation for 30 hours, it is a 20-minute run. It is the matter of being like the dogs. The dogs don't know if they are going out for 50 miles and coming home, or going out for 50 miles and keep going. They just know they are going to run, and run well, and they trust me to guide them for that. When I think about cross country, I put myself in the dog's position. I don't know if I am going to go out and do a six-mile run, or three miles very fast, but I am going to do what my coach tells me because I trust he knows what is good for my training. When I get anxious about my times, I just have to think that the dogs don't know, so I don't need to know."

While her mushing career has taken a step back, Robinson is still racing in lower-mileage races in the lower 48. The dream though is not dead, she hopes to eventually finish the great Alaskan race. So keep your eyes peeled in the future for the North Dakotan musher, and her "Diva" dogs, as she calls them, as they run across the wilderness trails chasing their dreams. Proof that your dreams don't have to be held back by your geography.