FORT KENT, Maine — Just moments after experiencing the excitement of crossing the Can-Am 100 finish line, longtime musher and Can-Am medical team leader Fayth Weed got a life-altering surprise.
Her partner got down on one knee and proposed to her on the finish line.
Organizers for the Can-Am Crown International Sled Dog Races reported the event on social media. Weed has served as the medical team’s lead since 2022 and for several years she has worked tirelessly to make sure everyone at the race is safe, Can-Am officials wrote.
Weed crossed the finish line around 11 p.m. on Saturday night. She was incredibly tired and had no idea that her partner, Nate Priebe, would be proposing, she told the Bangor Daily News on Monday.
Priebe told her she forgot something and should go back to the finish line, but she just wanted to focus on going through her gear and bags, Weed said. The race marshal had to step in and ask her to come back outside near the finish line.
Even after Priebe knelt down and presented the ring, Weed said it took her a moment to register what was actually happening.
“I think my first words were ‘Shut up,’” Weed joked. “And then I turned to the race marshal and said, ‘Did you know about this?’ And poor Nate was like, ‘Can you answer the question?’ And I did say yes.”
She was already feeling proud of her dogs after they crossed the finish line and the proposal came as quite a surprise, she said.
Can-Am Vice President Sarah Brooks said Weed has been part of the Can-Am for 15 years. She started as part of the support staff, but soon started mushing herself. She has worked her way up to the 100-mile race and hopes eventually to race the Can-Am 250.
Weed had hoped to race the 250 this year, but snow conditions in New Hampshire, where she is from, prohibited her from practicing as much as she would have liked, Brooks said.
Priebe told Brooks in October about his idea to propose, so she kept the secret for months. They originally planned it for the finish line of the 250-mile race, but once Weed switched to the 100-mile race, Brooks had to tell some other coordinators and arrange for photos.
The surprise is definitely reflected in the photos, she said.
“It was not expected,” Brooks said. “Nobody knew about it.”
And to add to the unexpected nature of everything, Brooks said the proposal almost didn’t happen because the ring didn’t arrive until just a few days before the race.
As far as Brooks knows, no other proposals have happened during the Can-Am’s 33-year history, but there one year a wedding was held in Allagash. Brooks started working at the races in 2011 and has never seen anything like this before.
When not helping the medical team or mushing, Weed works as a flight nurse and certified veterinary technician. According to her biography on the Can-Am website, she enjoys spending time with her retired sled dogs — three Siberian Huskies and two Alaskan Huskies — as well as hiking, camping and spending time with Priebe.
Weed, who was still working with the medical team on Monday afternoon, said that she already speaks with quite a few people after the race, but since Saturday she and Nate have had countless people approach them and congratulate them on the engagement.
Race organizers expressed their support for Weed on social media.
“She crossed the line, earned her Red Lantern, and walked away with her happily ever after,” the Can-Am page read. “We think that makes her a winner in every sense of the word.”
Weed said coming to the Can-Am is like coming home. Each year she gets to reunite with people she’s known for years and close friends.
“I couldn’t ask for something more perfect,” she said. “Can-Am is like a second family for me.”
