By Mike Simmons, staff writer

FREEBORN &8212; Thinking of the word competitor what image comes to mind?

How about Michael Jordan or Brett Favre? These guys are perhaps two of the greatest competitors of our time, but it can also be said that competitors come in all shapes and sizes and sexes for that matter.

For the people of the small town of Freeborn it would come as no surprise that a competitor with the heart of Jordan and Favre lives and works right in their midst. But for strangers walking into Accents, a beautiful floral and decorating shop in downtown Freeborn, it might come as a surprise that the petite woman behind the counter is that person.

Jolene Bute owns Accents along with her husband Patrick and she loves flowers and has been interested in decorating for as long as she can remember. But Bute is also a fierce competitor and she doesn&8217;t just compete in any old sport. She races snowmobiles that outweigh her by hundreds of pounds.

The races Bute competes in are not your run-of-the-mill races either. She competes in the Cross Country Snowmobile Racing Association, or USCC, a circuit that holds 500-mile, cross-country races on snowmobiles.

&8220;I guess it is just a matter of competing&8221; said Bute. &8220;I grew up with three brothers and always had to prove I could compete with them, so I think I have always had that competitive streak.&8221;

There is a difference though between just competing and being successful and Bute is definitely successful at snowmobile racing where she just finished first at USCC&8217;s Red Lake International 500 held in Thief River Falls Jan. 18-20.

&8220;We actually divide the 500 miles into three days,&8221; Bute said. &8220;It was rough.

We never saw temperatures above minus 10. Every morning when we left our hotel and got to the race site it would be minus 20, minus 17, it was like that every day.&8221;

With those weather conditions and the wilderness terrain this kind of racing is more than just speed, it could be a matter of survival. Bute sustained frostbite on her cheeks, as others did to numerous body parts, and there were broken bones and every kind of mishap one could dream of in snowmobile riding remote, unforgiving wilderness. There was even a head-on collision with a deer.

&8220;On day one, I finished 2 minutes, 15 seconds, something like that, ahead of the rest of the competition,&8221; said Bute. &8220;We would go through rivers and lakes, ditches, wooded areas, and most times the trail was no wider than your ski tip, I mean it is tight.

&8220;The second day I had caught two riders right before we got into a wooded area and stayed as close to them as I could because as soon as we got in the open I wanted to pass them. I was right on them when I hit a log and it sent my sled into the woods and I went flying off. After getting my sled out of my face mask, which was duck taped to my head, it didn&8217;t fit right and I knew 30 seconds down the trail that I was going to get frostbite on my face.&8221;

Bute was correct as she did get frostbite, but to the competitor in Bute that didn&8217;t matter. She was now going to start the third and final day of the race over two minutes behind and would have to make that up if she hoped to win.

Up to this point in the race, the riders are sent out on the trail in 30 second intervals with each rider trying to finish the course in the shortest time. But on the last day of the race the competitors are put in order of their times. Bute was in second so she started the day with first place right in front of her, but over two minutes in front of her.

&8220;When I left, by the time I got to my first fuel stop, I had made up the 30 seconds,&8221; Bute said. &8220;Then I passed her and actually gained four minutes so I won by over two minutes. But of all the 500 mile races I have done this was probably the most physically and mentally demanding.&8221;

Of course, having a hobby like snowmobile racing can be economically demanding also as Bute has been racing snow cross for over 10 years and has six 500-mile races under her belt. Bute said that her husband and her sponsors are what make it possible for her to not just enjoy snowmobile racing, but to do it at a highly competitive level.

&8220;I really want to thank my sponsors, Royal Sports, Studboy Stud Products, Scott Goggles, J&P Transport, Articat and a lot of thanks to my husband who preps my sled,&8221; Bute said. &8220;It&8217;s my husband that has to be the one out there at 21 below getting my sled started and ready for the race, without all of these people none of it would be possible.&8221;

The Red Lake International was the third 500-mile race of the season for Bute who plans to compete in at least six of the nine races in the circuit this year. While she dismisses her chances of making a run at the season title because of racing in only six, one can never count true competitors out of any contest.

After all, this is a woman who entered a 500-mile race in 2004 only to find she was the only female competitor. Some might have taken the trophy by default and put it on the mantle with pride. But not Jolene Bute, she entered to race with the men as the only female and whipped the vast majority of them with a fourth place finish.