Even though the snow fall has been minimal, the temperatures dropped and what little snow that has fallen is enough to make trails acceptable for two days of 50 mile runs for 32 teams. The Knik 100 will take off from Knik Lake on Saturday at 10am for the first leg of the stage race. Teams will meat again on Sunday at 10am to take off from the lake. The winner will be determined by the fastest of the combined times.
The Knik 100 boasts a stacked roster of well known names in both long distance as well as junior mushers. Iditarod champions, Iditarod Rookies of the Year, etc are among those that will race this weekend. Last year's Knik 100 champion Emily Robinson has returned to defend her title.
Unlike most of the middistance races, this blog does not have a link list for the teams (due mainly to time constraints). It is unclear if the race will have trackers, however Kale Casey Live hopes to be able to keep everyone informed with camera footage and commentary. You will be able to catch the action over on his Facebook page.
You can read up on all of the race rules here, and information should be posted on the Knik 200 Facebook page.
It was unsure the race would take place due to most of November and December brining abnormally high temps to the region and lots of rain. The race announced that the would make a final decision this past Monday with many of the mushers living close to the race route saying they felt confident they could run a safe race. By Monday evening the race was on and they were all looking forward to hitting the trails this weekend.
There seems to be no lack of excitement to kick off the mushing season.
Mushers hitting the trail tomorrow:
