2024 Yukon Quest Alaska musher roster

It's a big weekend. The Yukon Quest is still split in two with the two boards choosing to once again hold two separate races, one on each side of the border. Last year they were kind enough to mushers and fans to hold them on separate weekends. This year? Nope, we get them at the same time. Tracker lurkers be prepared! You'll need multiple screens for this one.

Rosters for the races are small. In fact the smallest rosters of all the mid-distance big races. In Alaska there's the YQA 300, YQA 200, and YQA 80. Because of the small rosters we'll keep them all in one place. As with all of the roster posts, this is a resource to have all of the web links in one place. As always this will be edited with bib numbers as soon as they are published.

YQA 300

Bib #	Musher	Kennel Name	Link	Link	Link
1	Keaton Loebrich	Star Gazer Racing	Website	Facebook	Instagram
2	Deke Naatkgeboren	Nautique Sky Kennel	Website	Facebook	Instagram
3	Rohn Buser	Susitna Sled Dog Adventures	Website	Facebook	Instagram
4	Josi Thyr	There & Back Again Sled Dogs	Website	Facebook	Instagram
5	Jonah Bacon	Nautique Sky Kennel	Website	Facebook	Instagram
6	Sydnie Bahl	Dream a Dream Kennel	Website	Facebook
7	Kristy Berington	Seeind Double Sled Dog Racing	Website	Facebook	Instagram
8	Brent Sass	Wild and Free Mushing	Website	Facebook	Instagram
9	Joey Sabin	VOA Racing	Website	Facebook	Instagram
10	Jason Mackey	Mackey's TopNotch Comeback Kennel	Website	Facebook
11	Benjamin Good	Good Alaska Mushing		Facebook	Instagram
12	Anna Hennessy	Shameless Huskies	Website	Facebook	Instagram
13	Matthew Schmidt	Sawtooth Racing	Website	Facebook	Instagram
14	Eddie Burke	Off the Rails Racing	Website	Facebook	Instagram
15	Steve Humes	Hardly Workin Sleddogs		Facebook	Instagram

YQA 200

Bib #	Musher	Kennel	Link	Link	Link
18	Abbey VandenBerg	Cloudberry Kennl/Dew Claw Kennel		Facebook	Instagram
21	Ashley Franklin	Orange Blossom Kennel		Facebook	Instagram
22	Jody Potts-Joseph	Raven Clan Kennels	Website	Facebook	Instagram

YQA 80

Bib #	Musher	Kennel	Link	Link	Link
24	Jennifer Nelson	ATAO Kennel		Facebook	Instagram
25	Carolyn Miller	Dogs & Bones	Website	Facebook	Instagram
26	Alyssa Gilmour	Kennel on a Hill		Facebook	Instagram
27	Joe LaMagna	Kennel Bebop		Facebook	Instagram
28	James Shawcroft	Snowy Birch Kennel		Facebook
29	Laura Allaway	Runner Dance Kennel		Facebook
30	Lane Keck	Misfit Kennel		Facebook	Instagram
31	Blake Matray	Abide Siberians		Facebook
32	Juliah DeLoach	Oilwell Kennel		Facebook
33	Arien Sanderson	Midnight Howlers Racing		Facebook
34	Spencer Waddell III	Ryno Kennel		Facebook
35	David McConnell-Booher	Kennel Bebop		Facebook	Instagram
36	Hannah Wappett	Snow Drift Kennel	?
37	AddieAnn Randall	Rock On Racing	Website	Facebook	Instagram

Edited Feb 2, 2024 @ 10:10pm. Emily Robinson, Lauro Eklund, and Joanna Weber have all withdrawn due to concerns about the extreme cold. Other mushers are also considering WDing.

Who are you excited to watch? Predictions on who comes in first? How about all of those junior mushers in the 80?! 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).

No 1000 mile race for the Quest in 2024

 The boards of both the Yukon Quest Alaska and Yukon Quest Canada released a joint statement Wednesday saying they will not come together to host the thousand mile race across the Yukon Territories of Alaska and Canada. After dealing with the borders closing during the Covid-19 Pandemic, and then a major shake up within the organization that saw the two boards split and go their separate ways, fans were not completely shocked at the announcement this week.

Depending on which side you talk to the split is basically blamed on failure to compromise. One side wants to revamp how the race is run, the other wants to share the financial strain. If you listen to the talk by mushers, former members, and longtime fans - it's a little more ego at fault than anything else. Either way, Mom and Dad are still separated and they aren't sharing custody of the kids, it's a Parent Trap situation.

The statement reads:

"The Yukon Quest Alaska and Yukon Quest Canada boards held a joint board meeting on April 18th, 2023. The boards discussed moving forward with separate races for 2024 while also coming together to support the spirit of the race and celebrate the history of the 1,000-mile race.

The boards want to let Quest fans around the world know they can look forward to world class distance races in 2024 in both Canada & Alaska. Even though the 1,000-mile traditional Yukon Quest is still on hold, the boards will continue to explore ways to once again bring it to life for mushers and fans alike.

More details on race distances and trails coming soon."

Fans were excited to see the two entities had, at least, come together to discuss the possibility of returning to the historical 1000 mile race across Alaska and Canada. However, like last year, they concluded to keep with two separate races for next season. No information was given for what those races would like like or what distances would be run. Alaska ran a somewhat larger roster (not by much for their longest distance), did not have the online and media infrastructure of Canada, and had an iffy decision by the race marshal choosing to withdraw a team they felt was no longer competitive (which the board reversed after the race concluded). Canada had much smaller rosters, had the better social media and website, and had no questionable calls by officials. 

Overall both boards ran successful, very exciting races, and it gave many hope for a reconciliation in the future. However, it could also be argued that because both entities were successful they no longer feel the need to work with the other. All of this, of course, is conjecture and speculation. Many commented on the statement on social media last night still very positive for 2025 and beyond, so it's still a wait and see if we will ever see the Yukon Quest in its former glory.

The 1,000 mile race was last run in 2020.

Eklund releases recap of race and statement on his WD

 Many in the mushing community, mushers and fans alike, were stunned by the Race Marshal's decision yesterday to pull Lauro Eklund from the YQA550. The race cited Rule 22, the "competitiveness rule", as their reason for ending the musher's race early. Many were confused as up to the point that a statement was made, Lauro seemed to be doing just fine. In fact, the race had posted pics and praise for the musher as he reached the checkpoint of Central (where he would later be withdrawn from).

The YQA's facebook post on the news of the withdrawal quickly blew up with many mushers - even those who had just completed the 300 and 80 mile YQA races - calling for a better explanation. Comments were lobbied that the YQA lost the spirit of the race, other mushers said this had them rethinking entering the race in the future. An entire discussion on how dog sled races cannot just cater to the teams that have the money and means to run a full time operation and to heck with those with jobs outside of training dogs.

The race has stayed mum on the decision past what was released in the original statement. Lauro's friends and family have not. Now the musher has chimed in saying that the race was perfect for 300 miles and that, ultimately, he does not understand the Race Marshal's decision and feels that he and his team were robbed of a finish.

Instead of summarizing, it's best to let the musher tell it all himself. You can read his post in full on his facebook page:

Time will tell if things change within the YQA. There have been some serious allegations against Race Marshal Mike McCowan - though not many have been made publicly. Whatever the outcome, hopefully more will come to light on the reasons the decision was made, and that Lauro continues towards his goals.

We *OTTO* know better by now

In the words of Yogi Bera, it ain't over til it's over. Amanda Otto shot from seventh place when she left Two Rivers last night to now sitting in Nenana in second place. That whole "Wade and Nic racing for second" prediction was a day too soon. We *Otto* know better by now, dog races are far from predictable.

Well... mostly far from predictable. Fans noticed Nic Petit stalling several times over night, some had expected a turn like this earlier in the race. Nic likes to run at a fast clip and while that seems to work for him in the 200 and 300 mile races, it's bit him in the butt a few times and it has here. Nic posted a pic on the trail saying that they were having to camp for more rest after "making mistakes" and that now he's turning from race mode into fun trip mode. He turns a lot of races into "fun trips". Which is all well and good, but one wonders when he'll try to take a page out of Brent Sass' book and re-evaluate his [lack of] strategy and maybe coach the team differently. 

Wade Marrs also reported difficulty before leaving Two Rivers. He left three dogs behind with handlers to preserve his core team for the Iditarod, but also reported he had some dogs in heat and so the males were less than focused. Both Marrs and Petit were considerably slower on the leg from Two Rivers to Nenana neither having made it into Nenana by the time noon rolled around. 

With Marrs and Petit faltering, it gave Otto even more of a chance to really jump in the standings. The musher out of Husky Homestead took a chance and made the bold move to run the full 100 miles without camping partway through - something Brent Sass elected to do. She rolled into Nenana a little before 11:30am. She is only four hours and fifteen minutes behind Sass.

Brent Sass, of course, had Nenana all to himself for most of the morning. The Champion team made it to the checkpoint at 7:09am and left right on time after his six hour mandatory rest at 1:09pm. He will have about fifty miles until the finish mostly on the Tanana river that they ran on all night. Judging by speeds it won't be a fast run, and without knowing the current trail reports one can only wonder if the spots that slowed Sass and stalled Marrs and Petit have gotten worse.

Judging by Sass's current movement we're looking at 5 to 6 hours before a finish. Right now it looks like a 7pm ish finish, but things can change. It ain't over til it's over.

Oh, and Amanda Otto can leave at 5:26pm.

Matt Hall takes Yukon Quest Alaska 300 title

From start to finish, Matt Hall's team from Smokin' Aces Kennel dominated the trail. The musher from Eagle, Alaska, took the lead early Saturday and never truly relinquished it.

Fans of the race quickly lamented that Hall's team was looking so strong that they should have run the 550. Hall had planned originally to run the longer race, but due to a trail change announcement in January due to poor trail conditions, the trail for the 550 would now pass by the Smokin' Aces kennel three times and Hall did not want to confuse his team with that many drivebys. Opting to run the 300 made Matt the odds on favorite from the onset.

Hall and team finished their race at 4:17pm as the sun was setting over Central, Alaska. His frosty faced team of nine dogs were still tight on the line and eager for their snacks. 

Though Matt Hall had a clear lead, there were some exciting moments watching Isaac Teaford, running a team from Dallas Seavey's racing kennel, eat up some miles on the champion team. Teaford came into the finish with his team (and a very icy beard) 55 minutes behind Hall.

For the 550, Brent Sass has a comfortable lead and is the only one in and out of Central on the way back. He rested at least four hours on the trail before the checkpoint as is his norm (he would rather rest on the trail than in a checkpoint). Nicolas Petit is working on challenging the reigning champion, but his strategy of resting in the checkpoints has kept him with a significant disadvantage timing wise. At present Sass has at least a four hour lead on Petit.

The 300 teams will continue to finish throughout the night, and we're still at least a couple days from a finish for the 550.

2023 Yukon Quest Alaska night two

Teams are approaching the northern most checkpoint of Circle tonight for both the 550 and 300 races. Brent Sass in the 550 and Matt Hall for the 300 are currently leading their respective races, but the race is far from over for Sass, and Hall has a team close on his tail. 

This is one of the most difficult legs of the race, and teams will have to go back through this on their way to the next checkpoint (550) and finish (300). This section of trail includes what's known as the switchbacks which often sees slow speeds as the trail follows a very windy river bed that often sees massive overflow.

Most of the teams choosing not to rest long in the checkpoint of Central stopped just shy of the start of the Switchback for a good rest before continuing through the "slogfest". With no teams yet into Circle it will be a while yet before we will have accurate trail conditions, still teams seem to be going one to two miles per hour slower than on previous sections of trail. This is to be expected.

The 550 teams will no doubt take a break once they reach Circle, though it is not a checkpoint that has a set number of mandatory rest hours. The 300 must all take six hours plus their differential in Circle. We could see a finish as early as Monday evening for the three hundred.

For Matt Hall, this has been his race, but he hasn't been alone. He's played leapfrog several times with Isaac Teaford. Teaford is running a team from Dallas Seavey's kennel which has a few pups on their first race. Teaford is doing exceedingly well with the team and sticking right in there with Hall. With both teams just needing their 6 hours, it looks like Matt will leave with quite the cushion as he has a four mile lead on the second team.

For the 550, Brent Sass has about a 24 mile lead on the next musher (who appears to be Nicolas Petit at this time though the trackers for the 550 are not pinging consistently in the Switchbacks to have an accurate measurement). Petit has banked at least three hours more in the checkpoints than Sass has, however, and that may come into play later as they make sure to hit their mandatory level of rest. Brent prefers to rest out of checkpoints, though, so his team still has plenty left in the tank for the return trip. 

From Circle mushers will head back down through the Switchbacks to Central - for the 300 this is where their race will end, for the 550 they will return to Central, Mile 101, and Two Rivers before heading to Nenana and finally the finish line in Fairbanks. 

It's a slow go tonight. Expect Brent to come into Circle within the hour and the others to trickle in throughout the night and morning.

Yukon Quest Alaska night one update

After a flawless start to the Yukon Quest Alaska races, teams made their way to the first checkpoint of Pleasant Valley near Two Rivers, Alaska. Trail reports said that the trail was "slow going", yet the leading teams of the 550 made it into the checkpoint roughly fifteen minutes ahead of predicted times by the race's social media. 

The 550 took off from Fairbanks at 11am, and Brent Sass was first into Two Rivers at 2:44pm leaving one minute later to head back onto the trail. Riley Dyche came into the checkpoint just six minutes behind the Yukon Quest and Iditarod Champion.

The 300 took off from Fairbanks at 11:30am and the first teams were into Two Rivers by 4pm. First in was Isaac Teaford (running a team of dogs out of Dallas Seavey's kennel) at 3:53pm. Keaton Loebrich came in seven minutes behind Teaford, followed a minute later by 2017 Quest champion Matt Hall. Loebrich elected to stay in the checkpoint as Hall spent just minutes in the checkpoint before continuing down the trail with a plan to camp between Two Rivers and the next checkpoint (Mile 101).

For the Yukon Quest it is hardly uncommon to see teams camp inbetween checkpoints. While the Iditarod is run so quickly with checkpoints close together making camping on the trail a thing of the past, the Quest is a little slower trail (thanks to the difficult terrain) plus there can be close to 100 miles between checkpoints. This style of mushing fits that of teams like Brent Sass and Cody Strathe, and we're already seeing teams hunker down tonight.

As the trackers sit not moving, expect teams to rest for a minimum of four hours in their camping spot. While some teams are on the move after short rests in Two Rivers, do not expect a lot of action until (at earliest) 10pm Alaska time. 

Skies were mostly clear throughout the day on the trail, so it will no doubt be a gorgeous night under the Snow Moon for the teams. The daytime temps ranged from five to ten above, but as the sun went down so did the mercury and according to accuweather temps on the trail are at about -5. Perfect weather conditions for a night on the Yukon Quest.

The Yukon Quest 80 "Fun Run" has most of its teams into the halfway point of Pleasant Valley. Without knowing the rules about rest, there's no way to tell when teams will make their return to the finish - but expect a late night early morning finish for that race.

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).

2023 Yukon Quest Alaska preview

 Hello Readers!

Thank you so much for all of the support this year so far. You're blowing me away with your comments, messages, and slices of pizza. All so very much appreciated and I hope you know that.

As many of you know I'm also now co-hosting full time Mushing Radio with Robert Forto over at First Paw Media. I'm really enjoying it and appreciate everyone tuning in. That being said between the podcast, my work schedule, and just every day life I'm starting to fall behind on some of the blog. 

Since we're recording pre-race episodes for most of the races I also feature on the blog, from time to time I'm just not going to get a preview blog post up. I hope you understand! For those times I'll just link or embed the podcast episode here. I still hope to blog during races as time allows, but I am still learning how to juggle all the new responsibilities with the old ones. 

All that to say, I obviously did not get a preview post done for the YQA - but Robert and I talked about it last night on Mushing Radio so give it a listen! Thank you for your understanding and your support. 

Click here to listen.