New Mid-Distance Sled Dog Race Announced

In a year where everything seems so up in the air comes news that a new 250 mile sled dog race is happening this winter in Alaska. The "Sweeps Sleddog Race" will run out of Caswell, and promises to be a difficult and challenging race. According to the race's newly created website, the "company" is "headed up" by Renee Crawford and the race is "facilitated by an advisory board". Iditarod Rookie of the Year's Mille Porsild heads up the rule committee, and Sam Crawford is the trail boss. 

Teams of 8-dogs will run the 250 mile course that "will be well-marked, but not necessarily broken" stopping in three checkpoints for 15 minutes each for a mandatory dog check. Teams must start with no more than 8 and finish with no less than 6, with no substitutions along the way. There are no mandatory hours of rest, however teams must spend at least 15 minutes in the checkpoint upon entering for a mandatory vet check of the dogs. There are a total of 49 rules, and a note at the end on possible trail conditions and hazards:

"Sweeps urges Racers in the race to fully prepare themselves and their team for possible hazardous trail conditions and challenging weather conditions. Part of the trail will be in remote lightly traveled areas and racers who lose the trail must be prepared for survival in such an emergency situation. The trail will be marked and the progress of racers will be closely monitored. However, weather may prevent a Racer from being helped in the event Racer is lost. Please plan accordingly."

The race could go to 300 miles, depending on trail and weather conditions, or could be shortened. The official trail and mileage will be decided closer to the race start and will be announced at the musher meeting ahead of the race. The purse is a hefty $4,000 (that's an Iditarod sized entry fee), but the purse payout is promised to be a big one (winner could bank up to $40,000 depending on entries). There is a limit of 25 teams and a minimum of 21 teams; there is no limit to how many teams from one kennel may enter.  

The website went live on Friday and news is traveling. At this time there's no information on whether or not there will be trackers for fans to follow - but with the race falling back on older race type rules and infrastructure it may be a safe bet that fans will have to rely on official reports from the race. There's also no social media presence for the race itself. Hopefully these and other questions will be answered as it gets closer to race time.

It will be interesting to see how this race progresses and how sign ups go. Deadline to sign your team up is December 1, 2020. Race start will be February 19, 2021.