January 29, 2010
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A Big Dog Race and a New One
We are only one week from the start of this year’s Yukon Quest. It’s an even-numbered year, so the race will start in Fairbanks, AK, US, and end in Whitehorse, YT, CA. Last year, it ran the other direction, and next year it will go that way again.
Twenty-five teams are signed up, and more than half of those mushers are rookies, having never before finished a Quest. That doesn’t mean they’re new to the trail, only that they never made it all the way to the finish.
Six of the entrants in this year’s Quest are women, only one of whom, Kelley Griffin of Wasilla, has finished the Quest before.
Last year’s Quest Champion, Sebastian Schnuelle, is not on the list for this year, but 4-time Yukon Quest Champion / 3-time Iditarod Champion and only musher ever to win both thousand-mile races in the same year, (drumroll please) Lance Mackey, is.
Last year, Lance did not run the Quest, but spent the time training the Jamaican rookie, Newton Marshall. Marshall finished a respectable middle-of-the-pack 13th place. He is not registered for this year’s Quest, but does plan to run the Iditarod.
Yukon Quest is the big race of my title. The new one is Jeff King’s, The Denali Doubles Invitational, two weeks from now. It’s a mid-distance race, with all racers expected to finish in 3 days, with a total of 16 hours of mandatory rest along the way. It runs from Cantwell, AK to Paxon Roadhouse, and back.
It is not the length of the race or the magnitude of the purse ($10,000 for 1st place, with four lesser prizes for 2nd through 5th) that sets this race apart. The distinguishing feature of The Denali Doubles is the “doubles” part: “The race teams will consist of two mushers and one dog team. Potential configurations include single sled, tandem sleds (drag sled), gee pole sled, or a sled and an attached skier. At no time can a team be changed into two separate units.” I’m guessing this could provide some great video opportunities.
A quick scan of the musher listings shows eighteen men and eleven women entered, with the second members of five out of seventeen teams remaining undeclared. One of the teams includes Sebastian Schnuelle, shedding some light on his absence from this year’s Quest, since the Doubles comes right in the middle of Yukon Quest.
I’ll surely be back with updates. It’s that time of year, and I’ve got the dog race fever.
Comments (5)
Mush!
I am glad to see you writing about this, Kathy. Please message or tag me so I can catch your updates. Hugs to you!
I had a dog who’s father was a sled dog. The only sled he used to pull was a recreational one that we let him pull uphill after we slid down. Or I let kids use the sled for a little while with him pulling it. Do they still feed sled dogs”slunks”( the owner of my dogs father used to tell us about that) I think it’s a great idea since it keeps the dogs healthy
I envy you. I only get to watch parts of the Iditarod race on Discovery channel here. And its not even the latest race. =) Looking forward to read your updates.
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