It's a bit of a broken record to mention it, but, the weather in South Central Alaska has been... disappointing. With little snow fall since November, and many a Chinook wind over the month of December, trails are more ice than snow. Open water where there should be none has also become a concern. Still, due to the dedicated volunteers working on trail routes, the Knik 200 will happen this weekend. Of course, due to the weather and all it's now more of a Knik 150 as they've had to reroute the race trail away from the river because of open water. But it's still going to be a highly exciting and competitive race.
This year's race has an Iditarod champion as well as the reigning Knik 200 (and 100!) champion. There are many fan favorites, and several junior mushers are signed up as well.
The musher's meeting and meal at the Knik Bar takes place Friday evening where this year dinner for the mushers are on the organizing committee in honor of a beloved member of the crew Terry Langholz who passed away in 2024. Many mushers both running the race this year and not commented on the post on social media today sharing their appreciation for the beloved volunteer.
According to Accuweather, Knik should see some nice temps for race weekend. Saturday's high is predicted to be 10F, with wind gusts of 14mph making the air feel a balmy 1F. Clouds will be rolling in for much of Saturday. Sunday will be warmer with a predicted high of 18 with winds at 6mph.
Teams may have no more than 14 dogs to start and no fewer than 10. At minimum, 5 dogs must be pulling in harness to finish the race. The junior mushers had to qualify by completing at least two junior races previously.
This year we have twenty-one teams planning to head down the trail Saturday. They will meet Friday night at the Knik Bar and Grill to draw their bib numbers. The race will begin promptly at 10am and teams will leave in two minute intervals.
Let's take a look at who is likely to be competitive in this year's race.
Who to watch
Emily Robinson - the reigning champion of the Knik 200 sent shockwaves throughout the mushing fandom last year when she beat out Iditarod Champion Brent Sass to win the 2024 Knik 200. The video of her passing Brent just ahead of "no man's land" went viral. The teen phenom seems nearly untouchable and has all eyes on her. She has a quiet confidence that makes her seem much older in the mushing world than she is. She just won the Knik 100 in December (another defended title) so it looks like she's starting her season out in very similar fashion as the last.
Matthew Failor - the 2019 Kusko champ is always a sure bet for a solid finish in any race. Matt trained under some of the sport's most successful and has created a successful kennel all his own. He runs one of the most popular mushing spots for tourists, wins cooking competitions at the State Fair, and seems to have a well rounded mushing life. Look for Failor to use this as a training run, but if things work out right he can kick it into high gear and take the lead. Strike that, Failor has withdrawn.
Riley Dyche - Dyche reportedly bought some of the top dogs out of Iditarod Champion Brent Sass' kennel to improve on his already successful team of dogs. The Dark Horse musher recently moved to this part of Alaska and has spent the last two summers giving tours to visitors of the Iditarod HQ in Wasilla (just up the road from the Knik 200 start). Expect Dyche to bring the team to the next level this season.
Rohn Buser - Yes, he's related to Martin (this is the #1 question whenever Rohn's name pops up on the roster). The youngest of Martin Buser's sons (both of which are carbon copies of their dad) is no stranger to being on a winning team. Buser was a successful junior musher and held some top finishes when he made the jump to "professional". The soon-to-be-dad-of-two runs a successful tour business with his wife and mushing partner up in the Talkeetna area and has had plans to come back to competitive mushing for several seasons, dipping his toes in a bit more each season. Do not count him out.
Ryan Redington - 2023's Iditarod Champion grew up on these trails. He knows a thing or two about winning a race. He's almost always looking to be competitive. Expect Ryan to give the roster a run for their money this weekend. He likes to start off fast and stay fast when possible, and this trail could give him just that.
Travis Beals - Beals moved to Knik a couple of years ago to have a more consistent training season. Travis studies mushing like it's a doctorate. He lead the Iditarod for several days in 2024, and when he finally did give up that lead he used that to learn from the choices he made. Expect him to use those lessons this season. It could very well be that this race is just to shake the dust off after a long wet summer and fall, but like Failor expect him to take advantage if given the right circumstances.
Honorable mentions go to Anna and Kristy Berington (always expect a solid race from Seeing Double), Hunter Keefe, and Isaac Redington. All live in the area and run these trails regularly. Redington lead the Knik 100 on the first day and seems eager to be even more competitive in the new year. Let's also keep an eye on Walter Robinson, also known as "Emily Robinson's Dad". Those Robinson Racing dogs are speedy, and Wally's where Emily learned mushing. He could be a major spoiler this weekend.
Be sure to check out the whole roster and cheer on each team.
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.
GPS Tracker
What would we do without these little trackers that drive us crazy when they go haywire (I will always blame the aliens), and there's hope of trackers at this race, but at publishing time it has not been confirmed. Trackleaders is once again providing all armchair mushers a way to follow the race, you can catch all the tracker action 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 it may be best to follow the official race page and hope for some feeds there. Kale Casey did cover the Knik 100, but has not announced plans to be at the 200. In fact, the next race he's posted he will be at will be the Copper Basin 300 later this month. If he does end up attending the Knik 200, he'll go live on Facebook!
Mushing race photographer Whitney McLaren will be at the Knik 200 this year so be sure to follow her. Julia Redington is also a photographer who is often at the race.
Schedule of Events
Friday, January 3, 2025
4:00pm-6:00pm Musher's Dinner and Bib Draw
Saturday, January 4, 2025
8:00am Mandatory Vet Check
11:00am Start
**Teams will start on Knik Lake**
Sunday, January 5, 2025
6:00pm Award Banquet
What are your thoughts on this year's Knik 200? Who do you see taking the big prize? Who are you cheering for? Comment below!
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