Small roster so far for the Tustumena 200

Lance Mackey attended the
Iditarod BBQ in June 2016.

Ten names are on the list after the Tustumena 200 opened registration on Friday. Most names are unfamiliar, but 2017's second place team of Nicolas Petit and third place team of Dave Turner will be back, and four-time Iditarod Champion Lance Mackey looks to return to the T200. Mackey withdrew from the 2017 Iditarod due to health and family concerns, and has no plans to run the Iditarod this year.

Lance posted on facebook earlier this year that his kennel was downsizing - partially due to family needs, but also because he could not find reliable handlers - but was not leaving the sport. Throughout the summer Mackey raced cars, which has becoming his #1 passion of late, and shared glimpses into his home life (Mackey became a father to son Atigun in 2016) via social media.

Lance Mackey has run the Tustumena 200 multiple times, but has only taken the title once - in 2008. Mackey started his kennel on the Kenai Peninsula before moving further north and creating the Comeback Kennel (after battling and beating cancer). It's been nearly a decade since Mackey has raced on the Peninsula behind a dog sled.

Nicolas Petit barely lost to 2017's champion Cim Smyth, and no doubt has his sights set on taking the title this season. The bib numbers were drawn Saturday for those that registered Friday, and Petit will be first out of the chute. In a 200 miler, this can be an advantage (unlike the Quest and Iditarod where you don't want to be first but you also do not want to be last either). Petit will no doubt come out will all guns blasting.

Interestingly not on the list is Mitch Seavey. Seavey won the race in 2013 and had high praise for the race. In 2017 he came in fourth after having issues with his team out on the trail (someone *might* have forgotten the first rule of mushing: don't let go). The Tustumena 200 is a good training run for the top teams because of its hilly trail (it runs through the Caribou Hills). There's still a lot of time (and a lot of room on the roster) to sign up, so we may see Mitch Seavey on there soon.

Also off of the roster, but a little less surprising, is Paul Gebhardt. Rumors swirled early this fall when Gebhardt began selling and leasing out his kennel to other mushers - some of them top name mushers. Many believed he was retiring/getting out of mushing, but all of that talk was quashed with Gebhardt's announcement this week that he is battling cancer. His daughter started a gofundme page to help offset costs as Paul and his daughter will travel to Seattle for a stem cell bone marrow transplant in late February. Gebhardt has multiple myeloma, but is reportedly responding incredibly well to treatment. Paul is a fan favorite, and a familiar face on the T200, and will be missed, but it won't be surprising if he doesn't show up to show his fellow mushers support in January.

While the T200's roster is a tad anemic, the Tustumena 100 is already half full with five names on the roster. It could be that with the lackluster start of the Alaskan winter on the peninsula (they finally saw snow stick today) that mushers are waiting to see if there is any real chance of a race before planning to travel to the Kenai. Time will tell.




Who do you still hope to see on the roster? Who are you excited to see already listed? Comment below and let me know!