2025 Yukon Quest Alaska race preview

The Yukon Quest Alaska is set to kick off this weekend. While the rest of Alaska has had a severe lack of winter weather, the Interior has survived the worst of it. That doesn't mean they haven't had some worrisome days of rain, warm temps, and rivers opening up - but they still have more snow and -more importantly- trails to run dogs.

The YQA is one half of the former Yukon Quest that traveled across the Canadian Border (with starts/finishes flip flopping every year as to which country got which point). Instead of one international thousand mile race, there are now two separate Quests happening, on on each side of the border. There are different rules, different trails, different rosters.... but not different dates.

Yes, that's correct, fans will have to keep both races straight again this season as they take off one day apart. 

This year the race plans to run from Fairbanks to Tok for their premiere 550 mile race. This has been in the works for several years using feedback from mushers as well as working hard to make sure they had a trail. "This year’s course not only challenges mushers with its demanding landscapes," the race writes, "but also offers them an unforgettable journey through Alaska’s natural beauty." (Fans traveling to the finish in Tok will enjoy the small border town, make sure to eat at Fast Eddies and if you meet Louisa James anywhere in Tok freak her out by telling her her cousin says hi.)

The 200 mile race will also taking off from Fairbanks and following the same trail as last year. The race will have four checkpoints inbetween start and finish with the final leg being a loop from the final checkpoint back into the checkpoint for a finish. Write the YQA, "It offers an excellent opportunity for participants not quite ready for the grueling 550-mile race but still eager to tackle a significant and rewarding challenge."

Much later in the day the fun run will take off from Fairbanks and run out to the Two Rivers Community Center where teams will take a six-hour layover before returning to Fairbanks. The race is intended to be an introduction for novice mushers wanting to dip their toes into the world of competitive mushing. You will see junior mushers mix with newer rec mushers/handlers out to have a good time with their dogs. While not as intense in its rules, there's still the code of conduct for mushers to follow and most importantly for all partipants (two and four leg) to have fun. 

While the rosters for each race are not as large as some of the other races around the state, they still boast some pretty fantastic teams. 

Who to Watch

Jason Mackey - His surname aside, Jason wants to win. Actually, it might be because of his surname he wants to win. Mackey has a mix of dogs from several top kennels including his brother's to get him to the starting line. It's unclear if this is a training run for Iditarod or if he's hoping to get out in front and take the win. His son Patrick is also running, but unlike many family teams Mackeys don't often run together (at least not planned).

Jeff Deeter - Deeter's made it clear the main focus of this season is being ready for a top finish in Iditarod. Do not expect Jeff to do anything crazy, but also don't count him out taking advantage of a lead if he gets one. With the small roster it's a good bet he could end up with a high placement. He's not sharing dogs with KattiJo on this one. Both Jeff and KJ were originally set to run the Yukon Quest in Canada before they decided to stick a little closer to home, which may mean Jeff sees an opportunity to make a move.

Jonah Bacon - Let's not make the same mistake we did for the Copper Basin this year and count Jonah out. It's clear he has the confidence and blessing of the kennel owner to be able to run a competitive race. Bacon ran an impressive Copper Basin, which is not an easy task in a good weather season, and yet he managed to take on the oppressive heat, open water, and insane wins to come in an impressive fifth place.

Josi Shelley - You may be wondering who this Josi Shelley is. The musher from There and Back Kennel was Iditarod's Rookie of the Year in 2024 as Josi Thyr. The newlywed was a last minute add to the YQA roster, but don't think she's been sitting around at home just being a new bride. Josi and crew have been training and doing tours and Josi liked what she saw in the dogs. Expect Josi to keep the boys on their toes in this race.

How to Watch

Not everyone can be on the trail cheering the teams on, so how best can "armchair mushers" follow along? Glad you asked.

Official Website
Everything you need to know from race rules to news to musher profiles can be found on the Yukon Quest Alaska website. You can donate to the race as well as find lots of fun merchandise as well. It's worth taking a look to get a feel for how the YQ Alaska operates.

Trackers
Where would any armchair fan be without the trackers? While the link isn't officially live, the race has said that fans would be able to track their teams. Expect the trackleaders link to go live in a day or so and when it does this blog will be updated with the link. You can follow along with those little green trackers by clicking here.

Social Media
The race is most active on their Facebook page. Photos and race reports will be added throughout the weekend as well as any other announcements. They are also on Instagram.

Local Media
Radio station 103.9 in Fairbanks will broadcast the start. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner will no doubt also follow along.

Schedule of Events

Thursday, January 30
5pm - Meet the Mushers & Bib Draw

Saturday, February 1
11am - YQA 550 Start
?? - YQA 200 Start directly following 550
3pm - YQA 80 Fun Run Start

Friday, February 7
5pm - Finisher's Banquet

Who are you cheering for? Comment below!

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.

Mackey remembered as great dog man and friend

Family, friends, and fans gathered Saturday at the Janssen Funeral Home in Palmer to pay tribute to legendary distance musher Lance Mackey. Mackey passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer on September 8, he was 52. While the service was well attended in person, many tuned in worldwide via a zoom link that quickly filled to capacity (the limit was set at 100 which was met in minutes). Everyone dressed as one would expect to tribute an Alaskan Dog Man - jeans and clean shirts (many featuring Lance's Comeback Kennel logo). The two hour service went quickly.

Soon after the pastor spoke, sharing the traditional "funeral scriptures" as well as a heartfelt tribute that wasn't your standard reading of the Obituary, the podium was open to anyone who wanted to share stories. Many of the Mackey family spoke, including Lance's older brother Rick, and his younger brother Jason. While Rick managed to get through his story without becoming emotional, Jason acknowledged he wasn't going to be successful. Jason thanked everyone for coming, and was touched so many of Lance's competitors came - to which Jeff King yelled out "wouldn't miss it!"

Lance and Jason had a special bond as they were closest in age and grew up together, and the loss of Lance has affected Jason greatly. Jason told several stories on his older brother before choking up when he pointed out, "There was never a time... never a time that Lance couldn't handle whatever was thrown at him. ...until this time." He soon after went to leave the podium saying he couldn't finish to which you could hear the family encourage him saying he did great. Jason then did a 180, went back to the podium and began listing the mushing greats that had gone on before, he finished by saying "there's a hell of a race going on up there."

Several mushers also spoke, sharing stories of Lance in his early mushing career. Barb Redington also spoke about Lance's history with the Jr Iditarod as well as the Last Great Race. She asked Iditarod Champions to raise their hands and read off some of the names - including Doug Swingley - then asked the audience to raise their hand if they ever ran the Iditarod and many more hands went up. Barb finished by reading an excerpt of Danny Seavey's write up on Lance's 2015 Iditarod entitled "What the Hell does Lance do now?" It was incredibly moving.

It wasn't all mushers. Several fans/race volunteers spoke, one of Lance's neighbors spoke as well. His sisters, niece Brenda, and youngest brother also told stories. Lance Mackey's ex-wife Tonya got up wearing her Raider's hoodie in honor of Lance's favorite NFL team and spoke of their moving to the Kenai Peninsula and how quickly Lance grew his kennel of misfit dogs. 

The Mushin' Mortician Scott Janssen spoke last, wrapping up the service by sharing that during his hospital visits with Lance he often read Robert Service to Lance. He then shared a parody poem he (Scott) wrote after running the 2018 Iditarod about the race. He shared that Lance often asked him to read it to him. 

After the service the reception took place with more stories and memories. Outside Nic Petit gave dog cart rides, and attendees were given the opportunity to drive Lance's race car. Overall the perfect send off for one of Alaska's most beloved sports icons. 

Barbara Redington didn't just share stories on the podium, she brought her camera along and posted the photos of the service to facebook.

As the service ended Greg Heister posted in the livefeed chat that Iditarod Insider shared an interview they shot with Lance and encouraged everyone to go and watch.

Sunday evening the service was uploaded in its entirety to YouTube, you can view it here.

First to the Yukon!

Nicolas Petit at the finish of the
Tustumena 200. January 29, 2017

Just over 32 hours into the race, we have the First to the Yukon award winner - Nicolas Petit of Girdwood ran his team into the checkpoint of Tanana at 6:44pm. Several other teams have followed, including Martin Buser, with Mackey and the elder Seavey unofficially also into the checkpoint. As part of the "winnings" for the First to the Yukon, Petit will reportedly dine on King Crab, clams, shrimp, smoked duck, lamb chops, mango sorbet & Dom Perignon. Hopefully the musher isn't allergic to anything.

Further down in the race, there are plenty of teams just miles from the the Yukon. It's about -15 below tonight, but it looks like for the next few days the cold will pass and while still not the balmy temps they're more used to in the first couple of days of Iditarod racing, it's closer to it than what it's been the last 30+ hours. (Seriously, -35 at the start?! Who does that?!)

There are only 3 teams who haven't made it to Manley Hot Springs. Ellen Halverson is not the current red lantern so if she keeps up her pace and can keep the other two at bay (and they aren't DQed/Withdrawn) she should finish this year.

So where do the teams go from here? This is where the strategies will begin to take shape. The Yukon trip is broken up on the Fairbanks route when it detours further north to the Mushing equivilent of the Holy Land known as the village of Huslia. We saw the run from Tanana to Huslia (yes there are checkpoints in there, but I'm just talking this section) really separate the teams. Strategies blew to pieces, others allowed themselves to second guess and they lost just enough ground. In 2015 the Huslia trail was completely new. Not used in 2003. This time it's fresh in the memories of most of the front runners. They've got their plans in place. They know what they did wrong and what they did right last time.

It's still far too soon to tell who will win (if we're lucky we'll see the winner a week from tonight), it's still too soon to predict the winning strategy, but we're starting to see statements made. Will it be another "perfect schedule" from the teams like the Seaveys, where a monster is built and released at the opportune moment? Or will we see a more throwback winner in someone like Nicolas Petit who makes it up as they go along? Waiting in the wings and making sure they aren't forgotten are King, Buser, and Zirkle. Familiar names - two, like Dallas, are gunning for the fifth title... the other trying desperately not to be runner up yet again.

Most teams will bed down for 6 hours or so. Get some sleep. It'll probably be the last day before the 24s that we can sleep and not miss something important.



*since starting typing this blog, the top 10 are all into (or just about into) Tanana*

The end of the Lance Mackey era?

Lance Mackey and team at the
Ceremonial Start of Iditarod 43.
March 7, 2015

Lance Mackey made an alarming statement via Iditarod Insider yesterday afternoon - Iditarod 43 is very likely to be his last. Mackey's heath issues have been no secret the last few years - the man is in considerable pain even after treatments and surgeries to help counteract the effects brought on from the aggressive cancer treatments he went through over a decade ago. Lance has poor circulation in his hands and feet, and it was a major concern going into this year's race. During the Yukon Quest he admitted his team was not the reason they were not competitive - he was.

Looks like things may have been worse than what we all originally thought.

On his run into Tanana, Lance had to deal with a dog tangle. This typically occurs when there is a dog fight (which is caused for any number of reasons). Mackey told Insider that he lost his mitts somehow, so his fingers were essentially frozen. He can't bend them, and he doesn't have any feeling (other than pain) in them. This makes bootying his dogs (to protect their feet) nearly impossible. He declared his 24 in the checkpoint to hopefully be able to recover.

However, Mackey sees the writing on the wall - his body is telling him that his career is just about over. He was tired, cold, and in pain - so no one is willing to truly count him out yet - but he knows the inevitable is coming. Lance was most emotional when he talked about how his brother Jason, also running in this year's Iditarod, was going to scrap his race plan to now run with Lance and help him with the detail work - bootying the dogs, etc. The idea that his brother was willing to "screw up his race" to help him choked the 4 time champion up big time. That was when I started bawling.

Lance can be heard saying "I LOVE this sport... I just can't do it anymore." and that's rough. Lance is only 44 years old. God willing, he'll be around for at least 44 more. He's still at the "prime age" for a musher. The man who holds the record of four consecutive Iditarod wins, the man who won the Iditarod and the Quest in the same year... this man has gone from the top to being barely able to care for his dogs on the same trails that saved his life. It's tragic - Lance has never had an easy go of things, but it seemed that dog mushing was his saving grace... and now even that looks to be leaving him.

This is not how he should have to go out.

Lance and Jason headed out on the trail this afternoon and arrived in Ruby a short time ago. No reports on how the teams are doing, but an interview earlier with Jason on Insider had Jason saying that Lance was determined to get to Nome. If this is to be his last race, he's going to take it all the way.

We're all running with you, Lance. No matter where you place - you'll forever be one of this races biggest champions.

(If you want to go through an emotional roller coaster, read Danny Seavey's blog post about Lance. Bring tissues.)