Kuskokwim 300

The Kuskokwim 300 is considered one of the the Big Four of Alaska distance mushing, along with the Copper Basin 300, the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod, and there's a great article about the Kusko by reporter Mike Campbell in the Jan. 13th Anchorage Daily News:

...as usual, the Kusko field is stacked. Entrants include:

• Four-time Iditarod champion Jeff King, whose eight victories in Bethel make him the winningest Kusko musher in history;

• Fellow four-time Iditarod champ Martin Buser, who has prevailed twice at the Kusko;

• Defending champ Mitch Seavey of Sterling, who last year earned more prize money in a single season than any musher in history. In addition to the Kusko ($20,000), Seavey was seventh in the Iditarod ($48,000) and won the All-Alaska Sweepstakes' $100,000 winner-take-all jackpot.

• Ken Anderson of Fairbanks, whose second place in the Yukon Quest, followed by fourth in the Iditarod, suggest he's poised for a championship breakthrough.

All are chasing the winner's $20,000 share of the $100,000 purse, mushing's biggest prize after the Iditarod and Quest.

The more interesting part of Campbell's article, however, is about the many Native distance mushers, both those entered in the Kusko and it's related shorter races - the Bogus Creek 150, and Akiak Dash, and those who've now retired. It's a good article, and the Kusko 300 is going to be a great race!

Knik 200 Coverage

Knik 200 Joe Redington Memorial Sled Dog Race coverage and photos can be found at the Northern Light Media Journal, the Go Mush website, and of course at the Knik 200 site.

Musher's Tales: Sheep Mountain 150 Part 3

Jamaican musher Newton Marshall's blogger Susie Rogan had an interesting update and perspective on the Sheep Mountain 150:

It was like Sundance Film Festival of dog racing with mushers such as Jeff King (4 time Iditarod winner), Ken Anderson, Sebastian Schnuelle, Gerry Willomietzer, DeeDee Jonrowe (second place Iditarod), Aily Zirkle (1st place Yukon Quest), and Hans of course (3 times first place Yukon Quest and champion of many other races), etc. etc. Many were running this as a first race of the season, being careful and checking out their dogs under race conditions. The race could have been a lot more competitive if these people were giving it all they had, but they were preserving their teams for bigger races later in the season.

Also a great note about Newton's race effort:

Newton also could definately have gone a lot faster but instead ran a perfect race and finished with all his dogs in great shape. The race vet approached me and said, "In case I don't get a chance to talk to Hans and Newton, would you pass on to them that Newton looked extremely good out there. Very professional. He had his check point routine down almost perfectly. You could tell he was having to think, but he didn't miss a thing."

Mush, Mon!

Sheep Mountain 150

Ken Anderson, photo by Helen Hegener

Initial reports from the Go Mush news team on the start of the Sheep Mountain 150 provided news, numerous photos and a race update scoreboard:

Mushers started rolling into Eureka Lodge, 50 miles, at 5 pm today, with Jessica Hendricks in first place, Sebastian Schnuelle second, and Allen Moore third. As of 8:54 pm all mushers arrived at Eureka for their first 5 hour layover. Trail breaker Stan Smith said "the trails are in great shape this year, we have a good amount of snow for the mushers, and we are out there working on them to be sure they are well marked and trouble free."

In an article titled "Hendricks leads Sheep Mountain 150 pack," with the subtitle "Schnuelle, Moore, Gatt and Little are right behind," the Anchorage Daily News staff noted:

The talented young Hendricks has finished as high as 15th in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Two years ago, she finished second at Sheep Mountain, just 21 minutes behind winner Lance Mackey.

Initial photos from the race start can be found at the Go Mush gallery, and discussion of the race is going on at the Go Mush forum.

ADN: Sheep Mountain 150 is Back

The Anchorage Daily News posted an article by Kevin Klott, "Sheep Mountain race is back," which details this weekend's 150 mile race from Sheep Mountain Lodge to Eureka Lodge and back. The Sheep Mountain 150 was cancelled last year due to minimal snow conditions, but this year the snowfall has been good and the trails are ready for the largest field of mushers in the race's four year history:

The field includes big-name mushers such as four-time Iditarod champion Jeff King of Denali Park, perennial top-10 Iditarod finishers DeeDee Jonrowe of Willow and Ken Anderson of Fox and three-time Quest champion Hans Gatt of Canada. Missing is two-time Iditarod champion and four-time Quest winner Lance Mackey -- the 2006 Sheep Mountain champion.

Klott's article includes a listing of the mushers entered.

Yukon Quest article

In an article headlined "Anderson enters the 1000-mile sled dog race for second time," the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner feature writer Matias Saari outlines the racing field for the upcoming 2009 Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race, which starts Feb. 14 in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada.

The article focuses on newest entrants Ken Anderson and Jason Mackey, noting:

...Anderson needs to determine a race goal, which requires solving a dilemma: Does he use the same dogs for both 1,000-mile events, in which case he’d hold something in reserve during the Quest, or does he race separate teams and mush more aggressively from Whitehorse to Fairbanks...