{"id":2723,"date":"2017-01-31T10:43:07","date_gmt":"2017-01-31T16:43:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dev.diamondpet.wearewoodruff.xyz\/?p=2723"},"modified":"2026-02-17T10:08:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T16:08:23","slug":"origin-breakaway-siberians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/blog\/performance\/training-performance\/origin-breakaway-siberians\/","title":{"rendered":"Cool Runners: The Origin of the Breakaway Siberians"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Diamond Naturals Presents the Breakaway Siberians\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4-e-AUI7j7g?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Richie Camden\u2019s goal was to find a dog who could run a few miles with him every day as he jogged the Michigan trails.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s eight years later, and that one dog has become 14. And those trails? They\u2019re 90 miles long and they cut through the frigid tundra of places like Michigan and Minnesota. When they\u2019re not training in the warmer Missouri climate they call home, that is.<\/p>\n<p>Goals, it seems, are destined to change.<\/p>\n<p>Richie now leads the Breakaway Siberians, a sled dog team made primarily of rescued Siberian huskies who live and train in eastern Missouri. To say the Breakaways aren\u2019t traditional is a drastic understatement. Siberians are no longer bred for the sport, after all. And even so, winning sled dogs are usually trained from birth as opposed to eased into the sport as stubborn adults. You also have that little geographical anomaly; Missouri isn\u2019t exactly a hotbed of arctic activity.<\/p>\n<p>But while the Breakaway Siberians always compete as hard as they can, they aren\u2019t in it only to win. They\u2019re in it for the love. The love of running. The love of camaraderie. And most importantly for Richie, the love of dogs.<\/p>\n<h2>Goals big and small<\/h2>\n<p>Richie\u2019s practical goal for his Breakaways is to finish a 90-mile race, specifically the Midnight Run held every February in Marquette, Michigan. Just finishing the race with a healthy team would be considered a huge success, but Richie\u2019s true goal is to provide happy, safe and fulfilling lives for Siberians that have been discarded by others. And he achieves that goal every day.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s so many dogs out there that people have given up on,\u201d he says. \u201cSiberians can be destructive, but it\u2019s not really their fault; it\u2019s just their personalities. They <em>have <\/em>to be doing something. If they don\u2019t have something to do, they\u2019re going to find something to do, whether it\u2019s destroying your couch, digging a hole under your fence, tearing down the trim around the door, eating drywall. Things like that. They can do all sorts of things that are super destructive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2747 alignnone\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Callout_WillFindSomethingToDo.jpg\" alt=\"breakaway sled dogs\" width=\"500\" height=\"351\" \/><\/p>\n<p>But Richie\u2019s contention is that it\u2019s not the dogs\u2019 faults: they\u2019re often put in situations where they have no outlet for their boundless energy. It\u2019s often a case where someone adopts a dog because he\u2019s pretty and fluffy, but they aren\u2019t prepared to give the dog the environment and exercise he needs. And Siberian huskies need lots of exercise.<\/p>\n<h3>\u201cThis was my dog\u2019s idea.\u201d<\/h3>\n<p>Back in 2008, when Richie was simply looking for a running partner, he found Koivu. Fresh out of college, Richie had plans to adopt a German shepherd puppy, but the breed was out of his price range. After some research, he decided to go with a Siberian, figuring that the dog would have enough energy to keep up on his \u201clong\u201d two- and three-mile runs. Richie traveled to Wisconsin to see some Siberian pups and left with Koivu.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven as a puppy, he would keep slamming into his collar, pulling as hard as he could,\u201d Richie remembers. \u201cAnd that was cute when he was 4 pounds. But then he got to be 40, 50 and 60 pounds, and it wasn\u2019t so cute. My shoulder sure didn\u2019t think so.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It quickly became obvious that two miles wasn\u2019t enough for little Koivu. The pair would get home from a run and Koivu would bound to the window and stare outside, wanting more, more, <em>more.<\/em> When left alone, Koivu\u2019s endless energy manifested as destruction. He\u2019d break out of his kennel, and good things never happened then! Angry neighbors would call the police and complain to the landlord. Not good times for man or dog.<\/p>\n<p>The two-mile runs quickly turned into 10-mile runs, and Koivu never stopped pulling. Richie even switched to rollerblades from time to time, just to give Koivu something to pull. \u201cHe just sort of convinced me,\u201d Richie says. \u201cHe was like, \u2018You know, I want to be a sled dog.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2725 alignnone\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Koivu-Comp.jpg\" alt=\"breakaway sled dogs\" width=\"1020\" height=\"426\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Koivu, the original Breakaway Siberian.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Richie\u2019s early experience with Koivu convinced him that he wanted dogs to be his full-time gig, and once that decision clicked in his brain, his life changed rapidly. Just before Koivu\u2019s second birthday, Richie went back to school to become a dog trainer. Not long after that, he took a job at a local dog kennel. There he met Leah, now his wife, and they bonded over a mutual love of dogs. The couple soon adopted a second Siberian, Fleury, from a rescue group.<\/p>\n<p>Richie, Leah and Koivu had started a sled dog team.<\/p>\n<h3>Gimme shelter<\/h3>\n<p>Professional sled dogs are bred for the sport and begin socializing and training soon after birth. Richie and Leah, well, they went another way. Of the 13 Breakaway Siberians now living in the Camdens\u2019 home, 10 are \u201crescue\u201d animals, some of which had never been around other dogs or even been potty trained. So in addition to training the pack to be proper sled dogs, in many cases Richie has to continuously train bad habits away. The degree of difficulty is off the charts, but he wouldn\u2019t have it any other way.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile working with rescue groups, I saw so many dogs who had lost their homes for various reasons,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019d see firsthand when owners who couldn\u2019t handle their dogs would come in and just\u2026say goodbye. It was super hard for the owner, obviously, but the dog would know, \u2018I\u2019m never going to see my person again.\u2019 I see every day the toll a long-term stay at a rescue can take on a dog. I just watch their sprits break as they realize that they no longer have a human who loves them. That just makes me more motivated to rescue as many as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll never have another dog who\u2019s not a rescue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Camdens\u2019 dogs come from an array of diverse backgrounds, and many of them had rough times before finding Richie. Backes, for instance, had been tied to a tree for his whole life, never even given a name. He was three years old when sympathetic neighbors turned him in to a shelter. Some of Richie\u2019s adoptions sat in shelters for months, if not years, getting just two pee breaks per day. Hard times for dogs with boundless energy.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2727 alignnone\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Backes.jpg\" alt=\"breakaway sled dogs\" width=\"720\" height=\"974\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Backes had it rough before being adopted by Richie and Leah.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Wherever they come from and whatever they\u2019ve overcome, once they become Breakaways, the Huskies\u2019 lives change for the better. Richie recalls the first time he took Spezza, a (now) six-year-old and the fastest dog on the team, out for a run. \u201cSpezza gently pulled on his leash and when I gently told him \u2018good boy,\u2019 he stopped and looked back at me with an expression that said \u2018Wait. You actually want me to run and pull?\u2019 And with very little encouragement he took off, pulling and leaping with such happiness that he looked like a puppy with the zoomies. No intention to ever stop running.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2746 alignnone\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Callout_NeverHaveAnotherDog.jpg\" alt=\"breakaway sled dogs\" width=\"500\" height=\"346\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Safe at home<\/h3>\n<p>Having 14 dogs in the house (13 Siberians and Leah\u2019s little Pomeranian) would be a tall order for any household. Mix in an intense level of energy and a bunch of behavior issues, and the Camdens have their paws full.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2728 alignnone\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Dogs-at-home.jpg\" alt=\"breakaway sled dogs\" width=\"720\" height=\"569\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>A happy, healthy home for everyone. (<\/em><em>photo credit: Tim Camden)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s everyday life for us,\u201d Leah says. \u201cSometimes, I forget how not-normal it actually is until someone asks about it. But most of the time, it\u2019s just our life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Training makes that life much more manageable. Richie quickly realized that routine and exercise is the salve that cures many behavioral issues. \u201cOnce these guys get the exercise and consistency of a daily routine, they excel and their bad habits disappear,\u201d he says. \u201cOnce we start training for the season, they almost become like regular house pets.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>The big one<\/h3>\n<p>In early 2017, home life is calm for the Breakaways, because the team\u2019s sixth racing season is in full swing. In addition to the Midnight Run in February, the team is running the Ironline Sled Dog Race, a 56-mile run in Iron County, Michigan, and the White Oaks Dog Sled Race, a 12-mile run in Deer River, Minnesota.<\/p>\n<p>The Midnight Run is the big kahuna, the race that Richie is most looking forward to. The 90-mile trek brings the team full circle in a way, because it\u2019s held in the town where Koivu grew up. It was also the first race that Richie and the Breakaways ever attempted. \u201cFive years ago, we were incredibly undertrained,\u201d Richie says. \u201cBut I was convinced we could finish a 90-mile race with six rookie sled dogs and a rookie musher.\u201d Back then, not a single member of the Breakaways had been to a sled dog race before. For Mandy, the team leader at the time, the race marked the second time in her life she\u2019d even seen snow.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2729 alignnone\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/First-Midnight-Run.jpg\" alt=\"breakaway sled dogs\" width=\"720\" height=\"885\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>The first Midnight Run (photo credit: Leah Camden)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That race, well, it didn\u2019t go so well. On the introductory one-mile loop, the team ran up into the crowd twice, because Mandy and Koivu (ever the friendly pups) possibly wanted to meet a group of kids. Or it might have been because the dogs were trying to get to the sidewalk, because they\u2019d never run on snow before! Richie took the team\u2019s cue and dropped down to the shorter race that weekend, the Jack Pine 30. They finished the race with just five dogs (the sixth, a lab mix borrowed from another owner, decided to hang back at the starting line with Leah). Koivu, Mandy, Spezza, Jared and Fleury won the Red Lantern trophy, the prize for coming in dead last.<\/p>\n<p>It was the happiest day of Richie\u2019s life.<\/p>\n<h3>Training Day<\/h3>\n<p>Richie and the dogs have put in a lot of time on the trails since that first race, but training isn\u2019t easy. Living in Missouri means that there isn\u2019t a lot of snow, and the warmer temperatures eliminate many days from being training days. Still, either riding behind the dogs in an ATV or on a specialized wheeled sled that doesn\u2019t require that pesky snow, Richie keeps the dogs in racing shape as much as possible.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDuring the season, we usually run three or four times a week,\u201d he says. \u201cJust being out there alone in the woods with the dogs and seeing them do what they\u2019re bred to do\u2026It\u2019s an incredible experience.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When the weather doesn\u2019t permit the long runs the dogs enjoy (Koivu in particular needs a 40-mile session to even approach satisfaction), Richie and Leah keep the dogs stimulated by visiting schools and churches, giving educational presentations about the sport and preaching teamwork and discussing rescue dogs. They attend local events and maintain a positive presence not just in the St. Louis area but in any state they travel through, from Minnesota to Michigan.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2731 alignnone\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/School-Event.jpg\" alt=\"breakaway sled dogs\" width=\"611\" height=\"538\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>When not racing, the Breakaways visit schools, churches and hospitals (Photo Credit: Richie Camden)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe dogs love meeting people and people like meeting the dogs,\u201d Richie says. \u201cIt\u2019s all part of providing a well-rounded life.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Here and now<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2730 alignnone\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Dogs_BagShotComp.jpg\" alt=\"Dogs_BagShotComp\" width=\"720\" height=\"450\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>The Breakaway Siberians are now sponsored by Diamond Naturals, makers of their favorite food!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Breakaway Siberians have come a long way since that first race six years ago, when they\u2019d never even trained on snow. They have a few dozen races under their collars, and while they still haven\u2019t come close to winning, Richie is constantly told that he has the happiest team on trail.<\/p>\n<p>Even though they don\u2019t win many races, being a happy and well-cared-for team has attracted the right kind of attention. And for the 2017 season, the Breakaways earned an official pet food sponsor thanks to a photo Richie posted on Facebook. The dogs burn a lot of calories while training, which means they consume a lot of food. A LOT of food. More than 2,000 pounds of food per season, in fact. A photo of the dogs posing on their yearly supply of Diamond Naturals earned a response from Diamond Pet Foods, who will be with the team for 2017.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis sponsorship means a lot,\u201d Richie says. \u201cDiamond shares our vision. They could have ignored our post and we would have continued to feed their food because it\u2019s a great food and fit our budget. We are beyond thrilled and thankful to be teaming up with such an awesome company.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Michigan-bound<\/h3>\n<p>When the Breakaway Siberians suit up in hopes of finishing a 90-mile race for the first time, they\u2019ll have a fresh sponsorship in their pocket and never-ending optimism riding shotgun. Koivu and Spezza are the only \u201coriginal\u201d Breakaways who will make the run, but Fleury, Mandy, and Jared will bark along in spirit. Will they cross the finish line, placing a metaphorical bow on this first six-year chapter of the story? Will they finish higher than usual and avoid that special last-place trophy?<\/p>\n<p>It doesn\u2019t matter. Because Richie Camden and the Breakaway Siberians will carry on no matter what.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cObviously, I want to see where we stand with the other teams, but I do it more for the happiness of the dogs,\u201d Richie says. \u201cAs a pet owner, seeing the dogs so happy and excited\u2026that\u2019s all the motivation I need.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Koivu, Spezza, Fleury, Mandy, Chara, Roenick, Cookie, Mikko, Backes, Marleau, Kaiya, Bure, Balto and Bebe all howl in agreement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Richie Camden\u2019s goal was to find a dog who could run a few miles with him every day as he jogged the Michigan trails. It\u2019s eight years later, and that one dog has become 14. And those trails? They\u2019re 90 miles long and they cut through the frigid tundra of places like Michigan and Minnesota. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5297,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"Cool Runners: The Origin of the Breakaway Siberians | Diamond Pet Foods","_seopress_titles_desc":"Richie Camden&#039;s goal was to find a dog who could run a few miles with him every day as he jogged the Michigan trails. It&#039;s eight years later, and that one dog has become 14. And those trails? They&#039;re 90 miles long and they cut through the frigid tundra of...Missouri. ","_seopress_robots_index":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[158,322,686,268],"tags":[213,13,10],"class_list":["post-2723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-performance","category-training-performance","category-working-dogs","tag-breakaway-siberians","tag-culture","tag-dog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2723"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2723\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}