There weren't any mushers bragging about achieving a personal best time Sunday in February's Yukon Brewing Copper Haul Twister League race.

Warmer than expected temperatures and Saturday's heavy snowfall didn't make it easy on participants in any of the three sled dog categories.

Covered with fresh snow, the trail was thick and hard to navigate through, but mushers didn't let that ruin what was the league's first pre-Valentine's Day special.

Fitting enough, the race day sponsor for the pre-Valentine's special was Duffy's Pets and Tanzilla Harness Supply, which donated the first major league prize back in April 2006.

The prize given for the inaugural race was a head lamp, valued at around $100. Five entrants, including two skijors and three sleds competed for it, marking the beginning of what has turned into a very successful race series.

Since the trial race, the league has grown quite a bit and now, in addition to having a 12-mile sled dog category, also includes a pet dog and kids competition. The race is held off Fish Lake Road, near Icy Waters ltd.

Duffy's Pets is one of monthly race day sponsors. All race day sponsors donate $400 to cover some of the expenses and prizes.

Decorations, made by Laura Jane Lucas and Gene Ennis, were put up around the start line of Sunday's race.

Some of the decorations included balloons and hearts. A number of the mushers got into the spirit of things as well, wearing costumes and decorating their sleds.

Chili was provided on race day by Pinocchio's Springs Kennel and a bonfire was kept going for the comfort of volunteers and spectators.

Sunday's 12 mile race featured 18 competitors.

Mushing with five dogs from the Drag n Fly kennel, Lee Kirkpatrick posted the time to beat in Sunday's race, crossing the finish line at 1:02:47.

Kirkpatrick was nearly seven minutes faster than second place finisher Tony Radford, who also represented the Drag n Fly kennel.

Birch Kuch came in a close third and was less than 30 seconds behind Radford.

Jonathan Lucas, using two dogs, was the fastest skijorer, coming in at 1:11:59 to finish with the fourth fastest mushing time.

Participating in her second Copper Haul Twister race of the season, Atlin's Aileena Rueckenbach rounded out the top five. Rueckenbach, 14, finished at 1:12:56.

"It was good," she said about the race. "Slow and a bit sticky, but it was really good otherwise."

On Sunday, Rueckenbach used a team of young dogs, including four-year-old leader Hyper, who was the most experienced out of the five.

Rueckenbach currently has six points in the league's standings and is tied with Darrell Sheepway and Laura Jane Lucas for fifth place.

To be in the league, an individual must volunteer in some capacity for one of the 12 mile races. However, non league members are still welcome to compete in any of the three categories each month.

The most points that can be awarded in a race is 10. Currently, Yukon Quest veteran Kyla Boivin is in first place in the league's 12 mile standings.

After three races, Boivin, who volunteered Sunday, has an impressive 26 points and leads second place Lucas by four.

Radford is in third and Kirkpatrick moved up into fourth, thanks to finishing first on Sunday.

Jeff Diment continued a stellar season in the 5-km kids category, finishing first with a time of 14:52, while Larissa Rueckenbach placed second at 16:24. The kids category had two mushers on Sunday.

With 36 points, Diment has a commanding lead in the kids category and is 20 points ahead of Keagan Hopkins, who has sole possession of second place.

Larissa Rueckenbach occupies the third position with 14 points and Erin Spicer sits in fourth with 10 points.

Lucas' rottweiler, Asha, once again finished in the top spot in the 5-km pet dog division. With 40 points already, the dog is too far ahead to be caught and has clinched a first place finish.

The grand prize for the pet dog category is $125.

On Sunday, Asha finished with a time of 21:14, beating out Chance, who was run by Radford.

Chance is currently tied for second with Michael Pealow's dog, Nanuq.

More information about the Yukon Brewing Copper Haul Twister League can be found at www.copperhaultwister.blogspot.com.