2026 Kobuk 440 musher roster & race preview

And now, the end is near, and so we face the final curtain. Yup, it's that time of year. The last "big race" of the season is upon us and that means it's truly Springtime in Alaska (where it has been 40 below). The Kobuk 440 kicks off Thursday afternoon and it's going to be another exciting race that's seen some pretty epic runs the last few years.

Eleven teams are set to hit the trail at 12:30pm Thursday, with snow forecasted Wednesday (only an inch) and mostly clear skies Thursday with highs in the mid twenties, it's going to be a much warmer run than what the Iditarod teams faced a few weeks ago. Accuweather also forecasts a steady 8mph wind, which sounds pretty mild for this part of Alaska, so it should be an overall plesant race this weekend.

Of the eleven teams, eight are teams lead by women. There are also three teams that ran the Iditarod (four if you count that Sadie Lindquist's team will be with the Daugherty mushers). Two-time Iditarod Champion (and four-time Kobuk champion) Jessie Holmes is back to try and keep his streak going (he's won the last three races in a row). Local Kotzebue musher Kevin Hansen is the lone hometown team this year.

This is one of the races this year that has a mass start - there's no time differential at play, no two minute intervals at the start. The race says GO and teams can all take off at the same time, though some hold back a beat or two to keep from getting caught in a traffic jam. The race starts on the ice so there's a lot of space. It's an exciting start to watch and it's over almost as quickly as it begins.

Teams can start with a max of twelve dogs and must finish with five dogs pulling in harness. Teams have a mandatory total of 20 hours of rest. Teams must complete the race by 2pm on April 6. A full list of rules can be found on the race's website.

But enough about all that let's take a look at the roster. As always the post will be edited after the bib draw (which takes place later today).

Musher Roster

Bib	Musher	Kennel	Link	Link	Link
1	Virag Racz	Mille & Co	Website	Facebook	Instagram
2	Sam McLain	Skookum Expeditions	Website	Facebook	Instagram
3	Kevin Hansen	Hansen Kennel		Facebook	Instagram
4	Jessie Holmes	Can't Stop Racing Kennel	Website	Facebook	Instagram
5	Kristy Berington	Hansen Kennel		Facebook	Instagram
6	Calvin Daugherty	Seavey's Ididaride	Website	Facebook	Instagram
7	Jody Potts-Joseph	Raven Clan Kennels	Website	Facebook	Instagram
8	Jennifer Nelson	Northern Lone Star Mushing		Facebook	Instagram
9	Annette Llanes	Honky Tonk Kennel		Facebook	Instagram
10	Larry Daugherty	Seavey's Ididaride	Website	Facebook
11	Jessi Downey	Aimaagvik Kennel		Facebook	Instagram

*Roster as of April 2, 2026 at 7:30am AKDT.

You know who's racing, but how are you going to watch if you can't get up to Kotzebue? So glad you asked!

How to Watch

Unlike what we just had with Iditarod (if you paid for Insider), the Kobuk like most of the mid-distance races relies more on social media posts and radio updates than they do video. Depending on weather and internet connection there may be live video of the start and finish. A frozen feed (pun somewhat intended) is possible, though the volunteer social media crew have gotten pretty good at making videos happen even if the livefeed doesn't. Along with the video feeds there are ways to keep up with the race happenings, so let's make sure we have all of the links you need.

Official Website
You can find the rules, links to all ways of following the race, and the history of the Kobuk 440 here. Musher bios are also available. The official website may have links to live feeds, so also keep a look out for that. Click here for the link.

GPS Tracker
We're all attached to this bit of technology. If you wonder where the term "tracky boi" came from, you can thank the Kobuk 440. Their social media team were the first to coin the phrase... the phrase that sets some fans' teeth on edge, but it's becoming more endearing each year. Once again, you can follow the race thanks to TrackLeaders. Beep-boop-beep.

Radio Broadcast
Race updates throughout the weekend will be broadcast over on KOTZ-AM. They have a livestream. They may broadcast the start, but it's unclear. Click here to listen in. (If that link doesn't work, try this one.)

Social Media
This is where it's at. The most entertaining race has to be the Kobuk 440 for their amazing social media team. The volunteers know how to get and keep your attention. You can follow them on Facebook and Twitter where they are most active as well as Instagram. KOTZ-AM also has a Facebook page that should share some race info throughout the weekend.

You know HOW to watch, but let's make sure you catch all the action by giving you the days and times of what is planned.

Schedule of Events

Wednesday, April 1
1:00pm - Meet the Mushers (Radio Interviews)
5:00pm - Musher Meeting
6:30pm - Bib Draw & Dinner

Thursday, April 2
12:30pm - Race Mass Start

Monday, April 6
2:00pm - Finish Cutoff
6:00pm - Awards Ceremony

Who are you excited to follow? Thoughts on who may take home the top prize? Comment with your thoughts 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.

2026 Copper Basin 100 musher roster & race preview

After last year's lack luster winter (did we even HAVE winter in Alaska last year?) the Copper Basin 100 is excited to host the inaugural 100 mile event. Juniors mushers are welcome to join the competitive field in this event and the first ever race roster has a nice mix of seasoned and rookie competitors. Unlike the Copper Basin 300 (the CB100's older bigger brother), the CB100 should see much milder temps for teams to race in. The joys of early spring vs mid-winter!

Created to fill the need of entry level mid distance length races, the CB100 will run from Eureka Roadhouse in two fifty-mile loops where they will start, end, and finish at the roadhouse. There are reports of overflow, so it won't be a completely simple race. The views are said to be pretty incredible, though.

The rules state that the start will be in two minute intervals *unless* conditions allow for a mass start. The decision on what type of start the race will have will be decided ahead of the musher meeting and announced at the meeting. Nothing like a little pre-race suspense! The race will have one mandatory six hour stop at the halfway point of the race (at Eureka Lodge). Note that mushers have four hours after the first musher signs into the midway point to be allowed to finish the race. 

Teams must start with a minimum of seven dogs and no more than ten dogs. Teams must finish with at least five dogs pulling in harness. Firearms are not permitted to be carried by mushers under the age of 18 (and no team is allowed to have pyrotechnics - ie roman candles - in their sled....do we want to know why they had to have that rule?).

First through Third place will receive awards, as well as red lantern, sportsmanship (voted by mushers), vet care (voted by vets), and Golden Rake award (voted by checkpoint for which team's handler does the best clean up).

"The spirit of the CB100 is one of encouraging and empowering young mushers to accomplish big goals with their dog teams," the race writes in their rules. "We will have accomplished mushers around the race and at the checkpoint to offer advice about racing and to inspire the junior racers."

As with any first time race, it will just be fun to watch as we armchair mushers learn the trail with the teams. So, before this gets much longer, let's take a look at the roster. Note that bib numbers will be drawn at the musher meeting on Friday afternoon, so this blog will update to reflect bib/start order as soon as they are published.

Musher Roster

Musher	Kennel	Link	Link	Link
Bruce Carlton	Trails End Kennel (Junior Musher)		Facebook Bio	Instagram
Nathan Helmer	Copper Eagle Kennel		Facebook Bio
Nick Ness	Dream a Dream Kennel		Facebook
Cim Smith	Perserverance Springs Farm		Facebook
Joanna Weber	Motley Crew Kennel	Website	Facebook	Instagram
Noah Spies	(Junior Musher)	?	?	?
Miguel Isla Casares	AK Sled Dog Tours Kennel		Facebook	Instagram
William Baker	49th State Sled Dogs	Website	Facebook
Eddie Burke	Off the Rails Racing	Website	Facebook	Instagram
Emma Lewis	Wildwoods Mushing			Instagram
Justin Olnes	ReRun Kennel	Website	Facebook	Instagram
Grayson Bruton	The Cure Racing Kennel	Website	Facebook	Instagram
Sean de Wolski	Bouncing Bumbles	Website

Roster as of March 25, 2026 @ 9pm AKDT. 

So what can we expect on how to follow the race? Glad you asked. Let's take a look at what we know, and what we hope...

How to Watch

Official Website
The Copper Basin 300's website now has a full section dedicated to the inaugural CB100. You can find the musher roster, the race rules, trail description and map - among other things. 

Trackers
There doesn't seem to be anything saying there will be trackers. We may have to go completely old school on this one, folks, and wait for reports from the race to tell us how things are playing out. Waiting to get official word before giving up all hope. Have no fear! Trackers are here! 

Social Media
The Copper Basin is most active on Facebook and Instagram. Expect that updates will be mostly on their Facebook page, it is unclear if they will try to go LIVE.

Schedule of Events

Friday, March 27, 2026
9am - Vet Checks
Noon - Musher Meeting
2pm - Race Start

Saturday, March 28, 2026
Finishes throughout the day.
5pm - Finisher's Banquet

We've had several new races this season, are you ready for another one? Thoughts on the roster? Who do you expect to win? Who are you cheering for? Comment below with your thoughts!

If you like what you see and want to support my addiction (I mean HOBBY) of following these races and stalking (I mean cheering on) the mushers, you can buy me a slice of pizza (that really goes to paying for my internet/web expenses).

2026 Nome-Golovin 200 musher roster and race preview

Nome bid farewell to the hoopla of Iditarod Week Monday with officials, sponsors, and most of the teams and fans back home by Monday - but not everyone has had enough of Nome and her mushing trails. Put on by the Nome Kennel Club, the Nome to Golovin 200 mile sled dog race is set to take off Thursday night with seven teams vying for the top spot.

Of the seven teams running this year's race, one just completed the nearly thousand mile Iditarod Sled Dog Race. After almost a week long "break" from competing the team will be back out on the trail covering some of the same miles they just ran across days earlier.

Several other teams flew in for the race hoping to keep their season going just a little bit longer. And then there are the local teams, many attached to the kennel club as members of the board. It's a celebration of local and statewide talent that this year hopes to also bring a light to the opiod epidemic. The race plans to have each team carry Narcan in their sleds as a way to bring awareness and education to the area.

Teams will run from Nome to White Mountain and onto Golovin where they will have a mandatory six hour rest before turning around and heading back to Nome. Team must also take an additional six hours of "floating rest" which mushers will log in their logbook and it will be verified using the trackers. For the whole set of rules you can find them via the kennel club website. 

The mushers have their bib numbers already, though they won't have their musher's meeting until Wednesday. Vet Checks will happen Thursday before the teams take off Thursday Night. They expect a finish on Saturday.

So let's take a look at this small but mighty roster.

Musher Roster

Bib	Musher	Kennel	Link	Link	Link
1	Garrick Fuller	The Dog Lot		Facebook
2	Bailey Vitello	Team Bailey	Website	Facebook	Instagram
3	Burr Lemaire	Comstock Kennel		Facebook	Instagram
4	Jennifer Nelson	Northern Lone Star Mushing		Facebook	Instagram
5	Sarah Richards	Deja Vu Sled Dogs	Website	Facebook	Instagram
6	Annette Llanes	Honky Tonk Kennel		Facebook	Instagram
7	Diana Haecker	Artic Sky Kennel		Facebook

*Roster as of March 24 @ 8:30pm AKDT.

How to Watch

Official Website

There's not a whole lot of information on the race via the website, but the basics are there. You can also learn about the Nome Kennel Club - including its impressive history. 

Trackers

The race has confirmed that there will be trackers provided by trackleaders. Considering fans have gone into major tracker withdrawl after Iditarod finished, this will no doubt give great relief to many.

Social Media

The Nome Kennel Club's facebook page has given great info on each team running this weekend as well as info on the race itself. They've become pretty active lately and hopefully that will continue during the race.

Schedule of Events

Wednesday, March 25, 2026
6PM - Musher's Meeting

Thursday, March 26, 2026
9am-12pm - Vet Checks
6pm - Race Start

Saturday, March 28, 2026

Finishes to happen throughout the day.

Sunday, March 29, 2026
2pm - Musher's Banquet

Are you ready for another race? Who are you looking forward to seeing race down the trail? Comment below with your thoughts!

If you like what you see and want to support my addiction (I mean HOBBY) of following these races and stalking (I mean cheering on) the mushers, you can buy me a slice of pizza (that really goes to paying for my internet/web expenses).

2026 T-Dog 200 Musher Roster

With all the Hoopla for the Iditarod, the T-Dog got a little overlooked on the blog. HUGE apologies as this is a fun an exciting race that deserves its time in the spotlight. Look for this blog to hopefully get edited Saturday with more information on how to follow the race, but for now, ahead of the start Saturday morning, let's take a look at the roster of the 200 mile race that can be used as an Iditarod Qualifier.

Musher	Kennel	Link	Link	Link
Mike Parker	Northern Whites Kennel	Website	Facebook	Instagram
Holly Lynn	Dallas Seavey Racing Kennel	Website	Facebook	Instagram
Torleif Bentzen	Whiskey Jack Kennel		Mom's FB
Anna Berington	Seeing Double Racing	Website	Facebook	Instagram
Tyler Berger	Skookum Expeditions		?	?
Hunter Keefe	Look Out Kennel	Website	Facebook	Instagram
Meghan McClelland	Northern Whites Kennel	Website	Facebook	Instagram
James Seale	Crooked Creek Kennel		Facebook
Matt Rapelje	?		Facebook
Matt Riess	Turning Heads Kennel	Website	Facebook

*Roster as of March 20, 2026 @ 10:15pm AKDST.

Are you going to keep up with all the happenings at the TDog? Who are you excited to see? Comment below with your thoughts!

Iditarod 54 Musher Roster

Can you believe it? Iditarod 54 begins in just two weeks. Two weeks! How did we get here so fast?! The first quarter of 2026 is flying by faster than a blink and it no doubt has hit the mushers just as much as it has hit those of us watching from home.

The mushers spent much of the last week delivering their drop bags to Iditarod. Mushers close to the South Central area drove their hundreds of pounds of food and gear to the warehouse where Iditarod Volunteers sorted and prepped the bags for shipping out to each checkpoint along the trail. Those further North drove them to Fairbanks to have them cargo flown to Anchorage, and Pete Kaiser who was a last minute entry shipped his directly from his home in Bethel.

All the norm for this time of year gearing up for The Last Great Race. 

Iditarod did, however, announce several NEW things coming to this year's race. After many years of staging race headquarters in The Lakefront Hotel in Anchorage, the race has found a new partner with a more Downtown Location. The Lakefront has been a fantastic facility for a one stop shop of sorts for all the race needs, but about ten years ago it pulled it's official partnership due to increasing pressure from certain outside groups doing what they do best. The race continued to use the hotel, but it added to the increasing costs to put on the race. As of now it will still be where the race houses the return dog Anchorage team and where return dogs will be transported from off the trail as the hotel sits on Lake Hood where small float and ski planes land all year long.

The new Headquarters will be right where the action all takes place on that first Saturday in March, the newly remodeled and renamed Wildbirch Hotel. The Wildbirch was once the quirky Aviator Hotel that fans had booked for years to watch the Rondy and Iditarod races from their hotel room windows. Now, with the upgraded look, it's taking on a much more prominent and official role. 

Also new this year is a new class of musher, the "expedition class." It's been long suggested by mushers and fans alike that the Iditarod could fix many of its "teams must be competitive" rule cutting off teams earlier and earlier in the race if they held two classes in the race, a professional race for the win type of class and the adventure (or expedition) class for those that are doing it as a bucketlist or just getting their feet wet. That isn't *exactly* what's going on here as this expedition class is more like those tours we see happening nearly every year by kennels that "follow" the trail but do not participate in the race with high paying clients.

Iditarod has jumped in on that and they have their first "Expedition Class" musher who will be guided by 2020 Iditarod Champion Thomas Waerner (who has done these types of tours previously). As part of his participation Rokke paid $2000 of each entry fee of mushers who signed up between June and November. To his credit, Rokke has been mushing dogs under the guidance of Waerner for several years and has run some races over in Europe, so it's not like they're handing some dude who's never seen a dog sled a team of dogs and wishing him the best of luck.

Also new this year is a new Race Marshal - now before you start asking where Nordman went, Mark's gone no where. Nordman for the last few years has stepped into the role of Race Director seeing to all of the logistics of the race where as the Race Marshal focuses on the race itself. Warren Palfrey took over when Nordman stepped into the director role, and now Dan Carter will Marshal the 2026 race. Carter is a veteran of the race, a long time race judge, and has run other races both as a musher and an official. Carter seems well liked by mushers and should be fair in his decisions. If you're fortunate enough to talk with him you'll hear some pretty amazing stories of the trail and his whole body lights up talking dogs.

Whew! That was a blog post in and of itself, but that's not what you're really here for. So let's talk the roster, shall we?

In a year that saw several legacy mushers pass, it comes as no surprise that the Iditarod would name one as their honorary musher for this year's race. Mary Shields is given this honor for 2026. Shields was one of two women to enter the second ever Iditarod, and was the first to cross the finish line solidifying her place in Iditarod and mushing history. Mary passed in July of 2025 and the Iditarod announced her as honorary musher earlier this month.

With Food Drops officially here, no new names can be added to the roster but there is still a chance a team or two will have to withdraw prior to March 6. Still, the roster is sitting at thirty-six names (including the expedition class musher and guide). There are four returning Iditarod Champions (though one is the guide for the expedition class). There are thirteen recorded rookies (counting expedition class); twelve women are in this year's race. 

As always, once bib numbers are published by the race after Bib Draw on March 5 the roster will be edited to reflect start order. Bib numbers have been drawn!

Bib	Musher	Kennel	Link	Link	Link	Link
2	Adam Lindenmuth	Sojourn Kennels	Bio		Facebook	Instagram
3	Rohn Buser	Susitna Sled Dog Adventures	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
4	Travis Beals	Turning Heads Kennel	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
5	Ryan Redington	Redington Mushing	Bio	Website	Facebook
6	Kjell Rokke	"Expedition Class Musher"	Bio
7	Jessie Holmes	Can't Stop Racing Kennel	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
8	Chad Stoddard	Happy Trails Kennel	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
9	Bailey Vitello	Team Bailey	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
10	Paige Drobny	Squid Acres	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
11	Joseph Sabin	VOA Racing	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
12	Keaton Loebrich	Star Gazer Racing	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
13	Thomas Waerner	Berserk Kennel (Expedition Class Guide)	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
14	Jessie Royer	The J Team	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
15	Mille Porsild	Mille & Co	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
16	Matt Hall	Silver Ace Sled Dogs	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
17	Lauro Eklund	Skookum Expeditions	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
18	Gabe Dunham	Evermore Adventures	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
19	Riley Dyche	Dark Horse Sled Dogs	Bio	Website
20	Sydnie Bahl	Dream a Dream Kennel	Bio	Website	Facebook
21	Richie Beattie	Wildthingz Dog Mushing	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
22	Jason Mackey	Mackey's TopNotch Comeback Kennel	Bio	Website	Facebook
23	Hanna Lyrek	Team Lyrek	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
24	Sam Martin	17th Dog / Alaskan Husky Adventures	Bio	Website	Facebook
25	Sam Paperman	Turning Heads Kennel	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
26	Wade Marrs	49th State Sled Dogs	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
27	Josi (Thyr) Shelley	There & Back Again Sled Dogs	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
28	Jaye Foucher	Sibersong Sleddogs	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
29	Jesse Terry	On the Land Sled Dogs	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
30	Michelle Phillips	Tagish Lake Kennel	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
31	Sadie Lindquist	Seavey's Ididaride	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
32	Jody Potts-Joseph	Raven Clan Kennels	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
33	Peter Kaiser	Kaiser Racing	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
34	Kevin Hansen	Hansen Kennel	Bio		Facebook	Instagram
35	Jeff Deeter	Black Spruce Dog Sledding	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
36	Brenda Mackey	Mackey's Alaskan Distance Dogs	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram
37	Grayson Bruton	The Cure Racing Kennel	Bio	Website	Facebook	Instagram

*Roster as of March 5, 2026 @ 10pm AKST.

Bold reflect past Iditarod Champion.

Italic reflect Expedition Class participant.

Who are you excited to watch race on the Iditarod trail? Thoughts on the roster? The changes? Comment below!

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