The Kusko roster is stacked with a who's who of teams that Iditarod fans are very familiar with. Formidable teams who could all easily take the top prize. Last year, Matthew Failor and team pulled an upset winning his first Kusko 300 against the four-time and favored champion Pete Kaiser. Failor and Kaiser are both on this year's roster along with other past champions and hopefuls. Let's take a look at some of the top teams.
Dave Turner - The 2019 Tustumena 200 Champion has a solid, steady team that eats up trail. Turner has the ability to take the lead, though with this being a trail he isn't as familiar with he may take a little more conservative approach. It will be interesting to see how he plays this run.
Jeff King - Can you do a top ten and not have Mr. The King on the list? Possibly. King hasn't really dominated as the "winningest musher" in a while now, but he still has the goods. His dogs are running well on other teams, so it's most likely not the dogs that hold the team back. Like the Copper Basin the Kusko plays out as a training run for many of the teams, don't look for King to go balls to the wall, but don't expect him to sit back either.
Joar Leifseth Ulsom - the 2018 Iditarod Champion should have a good run on the Kusko. Don't expect him to be outside the top teams. We'll see how he does this year against many of his main competitors for the "big one".
Matt Hall - The former Yukon Quest Champion and his Smokin' Aces team cannot be left off the list. Matt has the goods to take a win, if he plays his cards right.
Matthew Failor - The reigning Kusko Champion is coming off a very cold and brutal Copper Basin 300. Doing two three hundred mile mid-distance races can wear a team down especially since the Kusko is the one race that is not on the road system and most teams must be flown into the area. It doesn't mean Failor's team doesn't have a good chance of taking the prize again, but it could be more challenging.
Nicolas Petit - Team Petit is no stranger to back to back races where "dad" let's them run. Petit and crew just finished the Copper Basin 300, and here they are on the Kusko. Don't expect him to take it easy. Petit will get up front early and do his best to stay there. He just has to not take the wrong turn.
Pete Kaiser - The 4-time consecutive Kusko Champion didn't make it a 5-Pete, but that doesn't mean the era of Kaiser is over. He's the reigning Iditarod Champion after all, this team has just found its stride. Look for a strong, confident team who will be hunting for that win again. Expect them to take it.
Richie Diehl - Another team who are running in their backyard, Diehl wants this win and has the speeds and the knowledge to do it. It just has to come together for him. I almost put Ramey Smyth on here instead, but with it being Richie's stomping grounds I'm gonna give him the edge.
Travis Beals - While this is Beals' first trip to the Kusko, this is not his first sled dog race. Beals has steadily climbed the ranks in the sport and is another solid competitor in any race he enters. Don't expect the rookie to hold back, he'll be in the mix and I wouldn't be surprised to see him running close to the front.
Wade Marrs - Wade is another one of the younger mushers who has already made his mark. He's always in the mix and he just needs the stars to align for it to happen. Look for him to be in the lead pack.
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"?! 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, but if it stays cold that could become problematic. If you are tweeting, instagramming, etc. the traditional hashtag is #K300.
KYUK is also plans to post updates on their facebook page, including facebook live feeds of the start.
Schedule of Events
Thursday, January 16
6pm - K300 starting position drawing
7pm - Bogus Creek 150 starting position drawing
Friday, January 17
5pm - Bogus Creek 150 START
6:30pm - 2020 Kuskokwim 300 START
"The Lead Dog Light Show" presented by First National Bank Alaska
Saturday, January 18
2pm - Akiak Dash Mass Start
7pm - K300 Concert (Co-sponsored by Bethel Council on the Arts)
