2024 Knik 200 race preview

A full roster that saw a handful of changes nearly right up to bib draw, the Knik 200 will kick off at 10am on Saturday, January 6, 2024. It's a race that boasts a bunch of strong contenders and veterans, a couple of junior mushers, and a host of newer names fans will enjoy getting to know. The season's "opening qualifier" for the bigger races (like Iditarod and the two versions of the Yukon Quest) is always a popular one, and once again it looks to have perfect trail conditions for a race.

In the Twenty-Teens the Knik saw many postponed and canceled races due to lack of snow, this year, however, is another record breaking snow total for the area and earlier races have gone off without a hitch. The Knik 100 happened right before Christmas and was a huge success, and saw the Junior phenom Emily Robinson take the top prize. Emily is now on the roster for the 200 and the older more veteran mushers know better than to count her out. 

The race will leave from Knik Lake before traveling out to Deshka Landing (where there is not a checkpoint set up for teams to stop) before returning to Knik Lake for a six hour layover (plus time differential) before repeating the loop. The first team will leave the starting line at 10am, but teams must be at the starting chute no later than 8am as vet checks will happen at the start of the race. Each team needs to have one handler who can pick up any "return/drop dogs" at either Deshka Landing or the halfway point. They are also to assist the team coming into and leaving the midway point. 

Weather for this weekend looks to be just below freezing with Saturday seeing a high of 32F. Saturday afternoon is forecasted a "light snow" that will turn to heavy snow overnight and through Sunday. Along with the snow and warm temp, winds will steadily increase throughout the weekend. Sunday will see a high of 34F.

The mushers will get all of their race information, ask questions, and draw their bib numbers at the musher's meeting on Friday night at the Broken Boat Bar. This is also the host of the awards banquet on Sunday. 

The Knik 200 is a race run in Memory of longtime Knik community member and Father of the Iditarod Joe Redington Sr. The sport owes a lot to Redington for reigniting the love of dogs and the sport when it seemed mushing was going extinct thanks to the snow machine (snowmobile for you Cheechakos). He is well represented in this race both behind the scenes as well as on the trail as there are several teams of Redington dogs on the trail.

With (as of January 4 at 9pm) thirty nine teams getting ready to head down the trail, there's any number of scenarios that could happen, but let's take a stab at who may push for the top prize shall we? (We're going with an alphabetized list, this blogger isn't crazy enough to guess just who comes in what place.)

Who to Watch

Matthew Failor - The 2019 Kusko champion and new dad, Matt Failor has to be on anyone's top ten list. Matt learned from some of the sport's best and now boasts a very successful kennel full of happy dogs. Mentored by Martin Buser, you can see that influence in the way Matt is always a positive face on the trail. Look for Matt to have a strong run.
 
Brent Sass - The 2022 Iditarod Champion had a not so great end to his season last year when he was forced to scratch on the Yukon due to a dental emergency. The Quest and Iditarod Champion had signed up for several mid-distance races this season before making an announcement around Christmas that he had chosen to stay closer to home instead of traveling. Sass says the trails around his home in Eureka are prime training and so the Knik 200 is the only race not named Quest or Iditarod he plans to run this season. 

Amanda Otto - Remember when Amanda almost ran down Brent Sass on the final leg of the Yukon Quest Alaska last year? Yeah, she made a monster run look easy and gained a whole lot of respect from fans and mushers. While she's training young dogs don't expect her to not make things exciting this season. She could use the Knik as a way to stretch their legs, or she could be coming out of the gate ready to compete. Either way, you Otto count on Otto.

Wade Marrs - With no snow in the Midwest where Marrs now calls home with his wife and two kiddos and kennel of dogs, Wade traveled with Ryan Redington to Alaska this past week to run in the Knik 200. Marrs is reportedly running Redington's A-Team so that Ryan can focus on working with his puppy team. Marrs and Redington have both shared the excitement of getting to mush on a sled behind dogs and not use an ATV. Because Marrs has the reigning Iditarod Champ's A team in this race, we're looking for Marrs to have the better odds of pushing for a top finish.

Dave Turner - If you've followed this blog a while you know we can't have a race with Dave Turner on the roster and not have his name in the mix for the top dawg. Turner has a good track record in mid-distance races, and even a few wins. Turner could prove to be the spoiler once again.

Nicolas Petit - The "king of the mid-distance" will start off fast and hope he stays fast. Petit likes to let the dogs pick the pace and race schedule most of the time, which works well in the 200 and 300 mile races. The musher is well known for his quirky attitude - often aloof - as well as some of his mishaps (like his many wrong turns over the years). He calls himself dad and the dogs are his kids. Expect much the same this season.

Eddie Burke Jr. - Speaking of new dad, Eddie has a brand spankin' new daughter as of Friday morning. The reigning Knik 200 champion still plans to race this weekend saying "she gave me permission, but I have to win." No doubt he'll be riding high on the excitement of the new bundle, but that may prove a distraction. Burke has also gone from working with Aaron Burmeister's kennel to running a kennel of his own with dogs bought from several mushers. The Iditarod Rookie of the Year has won this weekend either way. 

Emily Robinson - The Junior Mushing Phenom is at it again this season already having won the Knik 100 race against some of these same teams just last month. Emily seems completely unfazed running with the big dogs, having done so several times last season along with winning junior race after junior race. This IS her "biggest race" to date, and with the tad longer trail length it could offer her a challenge. Look for Emily to once again make sure she is a force to reckon with. 

Michelle Phillips - Michelle is one of the top female mushers in the sport, she was very competitive in last year's Knik 200 and there's no indication she won't be again this year. Look for Michelle to start out strong and challenge for the front and stay there.

Travis Beals - The third "new dad" on the list is also running on trails he's recently moved to (within the last year) so they are quickly becoming "home trails". He'll most likely use this as a training run, but if everything is working well he could easily contend for a top spot.

**Not ignoring Ryan Redington, but with his plan being to train the puppy team, it's safe to assume he won't be pushing for the win - look for Wade Marrs with Ryan's A team to try to pull the win off.

Be sure to check out the full roster and follow all of the teams along the way.

How to Watch

For those of us who cannot watch in person, there will be a lot of refreshing of internet pages, here's a run down on how you can follow along with this weekend's race.

Official Website
The race had to restructure their organization a couple of years ago and is now under the direction of the Knik Iditarod Trail Blazers, so they have just a page on their site for the race, but it has the rules and basic information. They also have a way to follow the times in and out LIVE via a spreadsheet (I know there's a group of my readers who LOVE a good spreadsheet).

GPS Tracker
What would we do without these little trackers that drive us crazy when they go haywire (I will always blame the aliens), trackleaders.com will once again keep us obsessively refreshing our screen with their wonderful GPS map. The 2024 map and trackers can be found here.

Social Media
The race is most active on Facebook. The race has not been active on Twitter in years. There's also no Instagram. 

For live feeds I'm told the hope is Kale Casey will be on Knik Lake - though he was due to fly to Alaska Friday. If he is there he'll go live on Facebook!

Schedule of Events

Friday, January 5, 2024
4:00pm-6:00pm Musher's Dinner and Bib Draw

Saturday, January 6, 2024
8:00am Mandatory Vet Check
10:00am Start
**Teams will start on Knik Lake**

Sunday, January 7, 2024
6:00pm Award Banquet

And, as always, you can Buy me a slice of pizza to help keep the blog up and running. It's always appreciated but never expected.  

2022 Knik 200 Race Preview

Happy New Year, race fans! 2022 is just a day away and with that comes the first "major" race of the season! In an almost Christmas Miracle like fashion, the Knik 200 is set to run for the first time in several years. Plagued with both bad weather making trails impossible and then of course pandemics, the Knik 200 was all but considered a dead race. Last year the board disbanded and handed over control to the race's future to the Knik Trail Blazers who were not ready to give up on the sled dog race meant to tribute the Father of the Iditarod. Everyone held their breath throughout December as temps dipped low and snow accumulated (what a roller coaster of temps). Then over Christmas Chinook Winds came in and melted quite a bit of snow, but it wasn't enough to derail the rejuvenated season opener. 

The roster at one point was over 20 teams for the 200 (the 100 also has a healthy roster with well known names), however storms and other issues saw several names withdraw late - but completely understandable. Still, 18 teams plan to hit the trails tomorrow. So let's look at some of the key players in this weekend's race.

Who to Watch

Aaron Burmeister - the runner up in the 2021 Iditarod, Burmeister has announced this is his final competitive season (at least where Iditarod is concerned). Family has always been Aaron's main focus and as his kids get older he wants to be present for all of their accomplishments. Stand up guy, and a great dog man. Burmeister ended his Iditarod run heated and wanting to do more. I expect Aaron to have a solid race season, with the main focus finally bringing that Iditarod win home to Nome. All races/runs will be with that focus in mind (I'm totally guessing as I don't know what his plans really are). 

Dave Turner - Dave has become a name to watch in mid-distance races. His team is fast and he is a quick study. Expect him to make a run for the win here, and don't be surprised if he does. Turner was the final Tustumena 200 champion, but that was a few years ago now, but ever since that win I'm hard pressed to keep him off the "who to watch" lists. Turner has withdrawn from the race. 

Matt Failor - Failor is one of many of his generation of musher on the "upswing". The 2019 Kuskokwim Champion has really come into his own (he freaking ran the Iditarod while hobbling along on a bum hip! WHAT?!) and there's no sign that he is slowing down yet. Expect Matt to be right there in the mix for the win. 

Nicolas Petit - I keep crowning him the king of the mid-distance race, but it really is where Petit's team seems to thrive. I'm more apt to declare him the favorite to win a mid-distance than I am to declare him a shoo-in for a long distance championship. Expect Petit to take the lead early and do everything to keep it. But ALSO expect that he just is entering this for fun and will sit back. One can never be sure which Nic will show up.

Travis Beals - another "young" musher who makes a statement in most races. Beals is also focused on Iditarod and uses races to prepare for the big one. He could easily find himself in the top teams in this race as his team IS a top team.

**Hugh Neff - Neff proved himself last season after running the Summit Quest last year. Having fulfilled his requirements of reinstatement from the Yukon Quest after being suspended for having questionable dog care during the race several years ago, Neff has returned to regularly scheduled programming. I have him as an "honorable mention" because some personal life upheaval had Neff making the move from the interior to south central Alaska and he's now running dogs out of Jim Lanier's kennel. Hugh could be very competitive here, or he could be middle of the pack. Not knowing what the plan is, I didn't want to list him as a shoo-in for a top placement. 

How to Watch

With the restructuring, most of the info has been hard to find. It could be that come race day I'll be on the fly giving info, but here's what we know so far:

Official Website
The race does not have an official website, but they are active on Facebook. Expect most information and updates to be posted there, though it may take a while. 

GPS Tracker
The race WILL have trackers for both the 200 and 100 race, but the link has not been posted by trackleaders yet. You'll find the map with the trackers here.

Social Media
As I said above, they are active on Facebook. The race has not been active on Twitter in years. There's also no Instagram. However, with the Knik Trail Blazers being in charge they may also post to their Facebook. We'll see what we get. It's a reorganizing/rebuilding year, we'll take what we can get. 

Schedule of Events

Friday, December 31, 2021
3:00pm-5:00pm Musher's Dinner and Bib Draw

Saturday, January 1, 2022
8:00am Knik 200 Mandatory Vet Check
10:00am Knik 200 Start
12:00pm Knik 100 Mandatory Vet Check
2:00pm Knik 100 Start

Sunday, January 2, 2022
6:00pm Award Banquet

Which team do you think will win? Who are you cheering for? Comment below!

Edited 12/31/21 to note Dave Turner's withdrawal and adding the link to the trackers.

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2021 Kuskokwim 300 Race Preview

Mushers and teams arrived today in Bethel, Alaska ahead of the 2021 Kuskokwim 300. The race always boasts an impressive roster of competitive teams, and even in this year of Covid it's no exception. While normally run in January, with rising Covid numbers happening early in the New Year, the race organizers chose to push back the race date to February hoping that Alaska would get the numbers under control (and a vaccine). The Kusko has one of the most intensive Covid-19 mitigation plan of all of the mid-distance races. Being off the road system, the race wants to take every precaution to protect the peoples of Western Alaska. 

Even with all of the changes to make sure they keep the communities along the trail safe, the Kusko still plans to make this a party for the ages. The fireworks are still planned for Friday night after the teams take off, and there will be a pre-recorded virtual awards ceremony on Sunday after everyone completes their race. As always, Bethel knows how to throw a dog race.

With a roster of 16 teams (as of February 7), the race is a balance of top names most everyone recognizes and some local heroes all running their first Kusko. It's promising to be another stellar race and the only bummer is it has to share the weekend with the Summit Quest (the new name of the Alaskan Yukon Quest 300).

So, let's do as we always do and take a look at the teams that are a safe bet to be near the top...

Dave Turner - The 2019 Tustumena 200 champ made Rookie of the Year in last year's Kusko. Turner has already withdrawn from one race this season, and his social media has been quiet since Christmas. I'm unsure if he's actually gone to Bethel, but I look for that info to update by morning one way or the other. Still, if Turner starts on Friday, but sure that he'll once again challenge for a lead spot. 

Jeff King - the 9-time Kusko Champion (and 4 time Iditarod champion among countless other races won) has been busy behind the scenes of this year's race season. He hosted the Denali Doubles at the start of the season, and he's created a new mid-distance qualifier race to take place in March (called the Ididn'trod, because of COURSE he did). But Jeff is now ready to get on the back of a sled and no double cause some trouble for the young guns currently dominating the racing scene. I don't know that I will ever keep him off the "to be watched" lists. (I mean, he DID come in 4th last year. Not too shabby for the "old dawg".)

Matthew Failor - the 2019 Kusko champ came in second sandwiched between two homegrown heroes in last year's race, proving that his win two years ago wasn't an anomaly. Failor has also had an easier season - choosing to send his dogs off with other mushers, but I expect that he'll be ready to go for another title this weekend.

Nicolas Petit - Let's just dub him the King of the Mid-Distance race, okay? One of the few he hasn't won, however, is the Kusko. He should probably be considered an underdog for this race, but he's been hot (as always) in his earlier races. Expect him to start fast early and try to jump to the front and stay there.

Pete Kaiser - the 5-time and reigning champion (and 2019 Iditarod Champion) dominates his home-town race. The homegrown musher is the odds on favorite to make it a 6-Pete, but he'll have his work cut out for him. This is Pete's backyard and he owns it. Do not expect him to be far from first.

Richie Diehl - the other hometown hero, while he's yet to win the Kusko, he did just win the Bogus Creek 150. Do not count him out. His team came in third in last year's race. It would be a huge deal to see Richie and Pete charge to the finish in a 1-2 order. And it's kinda what I'm rooting for. 

How to Follow

Unlike the bigger races like the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod, there is very little promise of any video coverage. With the temps dropping so low, even the facebook live feeds we've grown accustomed to cannot be guaranteed. Cold air zaps batteries faster than lighting, and who has the time or ability to keep their fingers exposed long enough to even press "start"?! That being said, the Kusko crew do their best to give us a looksee into the start, fireworks, and finish. So, how can race fans follow along when a race doesn't have Iditarod Insider like coverage?

Official Website

The Kusko's website is pretty slick. You can follow all of the races, fundraising and news from their site. It's easy to navigate and they have great musher bios. Be sure to check it out.

GPS Tracker

Real time updates will come through the trackers as always. With the cold there may be more glitches than we'd like (I blame the aliens!) but there's not much we can do. Cold and technology don't get along. You can follow the trackers here, but they won't go live until closer to go time on Friday.

Radio Broadcast

KYUK Radio will broadcast the start which begins at 6:30pm (start listening at 6pm for pre-race info). You can listen to the broadcast online through this link.

Social Media

Updates will most likely be posted on the race's facebook page, and possibly their twitter account. Photo updates should come from Instagram. They typically try to have a facebook live feed. If you are tweeting, instagramming, etc. the traditional hashtag is #K300.

KYUK is also plans to post updates on their facebook page, including facebook interviews with the mushers from the last week or so.

Schedule of Events

Wednesday, February 10
2pm - Covid Tests for Mushers

Thursday, February 11
11am - Food Drops
2pm - Covid Testing
6pm - Musher Meeting (Bib Draw?) 

​Friday, February 12
6:30pm - 2020 Kuskokwim 300 START
8pm - "The Lead Dog Light Show" presented by First National Bank Alaska

Saturday, February 13
2pm - Akiak Dash Mass Start

Monday, February 14
7pm - Virtual Awards Ceremony via Facebook

Which teams are you cheering for? Comment with your thoughts and questions below.

2021 Willow 300 Race Preview

Mushing fans are excited that, once again, we have a mushing weekend to celebrate. Covid-19 will not win against the sled dog season as  another race with a very healthy roster is set to get underway on Thursday. The Willow 300 in a relatively new race, but very popular among veteran and rookie mushers alike. The race came to be after several mid-distance races stopped running due to funding and lack of interest. They've had no problems filling their roster each season.

There were concerns the race would not run this year due to a lack of volunteers (a struggle this race has had since its inception), however an early season plea by the race saw a good number of people sign-up. With Covid-19 still a concern, the race adopted a similar mitigation plan to what the Copper Basin 300 implemented earlier in January. 

Because of construction at Willow Lake, teams will leave from Deshka Landing just a little way up the trail. With this change comes the change from starting with a Mass Start to the more traditional staggered start with teams leaving in two minute intervals with a mandatory rest with time differential. For a full look at the rules for this year's race you can read up at this link. 

As stated, the 2021 Willow 300 has a healthy (and FULL) roster of 45 teams. A good mix of veterans and rookies grace the list, so the Iditarod/Quest qualifier will be an exciting race to follow. As with most of the mid-distance races we can't be 100% sure who will show up on race day, but don't expect a lot of changes past today as they closed the window to switch out names at Noon. 

With so many teams, it makes it interesting for who will come in the top spots, but let's shake out a few of those teams that could easily take the top prize.

Aaron Burmeister - Burmeister is one of those solid teams who you can count to challenge for first place in many races. He's come close in the Iditarod several times in the last 10 years, and manages top ten finishes. Burmeister has a "puppy" team in this race as well so it's unsure if he'll hold back to keep an eye on his "rookie" musher or if he'll be racing, but I expect if things are going well Aaron will work to take the lead.

Cim Smyth - Never, ever, ever count out a Smyth. No one can close out a final leg like Cim (okay, except maybe his brother Ramey), it's been said he trades out his boots for running shoes. Cim is a five-time Tustumena 200 champion, so he's very capable of winning mid-distance races. Never, ever, leave him off of a prediction list. (I'm also wildly biased as I just think he's one of the really good ones all the way around.)

Dave Turner - Dave is also a former Tustumena 200 champion (winning the very last running of that race) and has steadily risen up the ranks of other mid-distance races. Expect him to run for the lead and stay there. He's run against and beaten several of the teams listed here, so it's anyone's guess how he'll do in this race.*

Julie Ahnen - It's not every day you want to put a rookie musher who's working on qualifying for the BIG race up as a team to watch to win, but she's proven that she has a team and the knowledge to be right up there with the big names. Running Jessie Holmes' team doesn't hurt either. Ahnen really challenged Nic Petit in the Copper Basin 300 and had the possibility of beating him if not for a mistake in calculating her differential (a classic rookie mistake). Do not expect her to make that mistake a second time.

Nicolas Petit - Another speed demon on the trail, Nic just won his fourth consecutive Copper Basin 300. He's almost always near the top when he's racing. Look for Nic to continue that streak in this race. There's not much more to say, he seems to be the king of mid-distance right now, and it's doubtful to change any time soon.

Travis Beals - Travis is part of that up and coming now they're here group of mushers proving time and again that you don't have to be an old dog to win these races. The musher from Seward named his kennel Turning Heads, and he certainly has over the years. Expect Travis to be near the top at the finish.

Wade Marrs - New Dad Wade Marrs is looking to start his season off strong in his backyard. Another solid front of the pack team, expect Wade to be there with the others and could easily take a win away from anyone who makes even the minor-est of mistakes. (Plus he has this super cute puppy named Stitch so he wins all the awards from me!)

How to Watch

Unlike the other races that have established media sources and big sponsorships that garner attention from outside media, the Willow 300 runs mainly by its volunteer staff to keep fans updated. Here are the links you need to know to be able to follow the race.

Official Website

Unlike the other races, the Willow 300 just has a web page as part of the Willow Dog Musher Association's website. It holds links to the official rules, the tracker map, the forms and applications for mushers, and ways to sponsor the race (including purchasing a mile of the trail for $30.)

GPS Tracker

Where would we be without our wonderful GPS trackers from TrackLeaders.com?

Social Media

For the Willow 300, Social Media is the race's life blood. They post mainly to their Facebook Page, but are also active on their Twitter account at race time. They also share a few photos and posts on their Instagram Page. Expect a live feed for the start and finish on their facebook page - though they have not announced that to be planned. 

Start begins at 11am (a one hour difference from years past) on Thursday, February 4, at Deshka Landing up in the Willow, Alaska area. As with all of the races during Covid all other festivities have been canceled and they ask that spectators keep away from all official checkpoints and staging areas.

So there's your 2021 rundown, hopefully this helps a little in choosing your Fantasy Mushing team. Who are you cheering for? Comment below with your favorites.

*Edited to acknowledge that Dave Turner has withdrawn from the race.

Handler Wanted

Tustumena 200 Champion, Dave Turner, is looking for a handler for the winter season. Contact the musher for more details.

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!