Types of Sled Dog Races

Guest Author - Kimi Ross

Dog mushing is the official state sport of Alaska. Several communities in Alaska – Knik, Two Rivers, Tok – bill themselves as the Sled Dog Capitol or Dog Mushing Capitol. There are communities in rural Alaska where the canine inhabitants outnumber the human inhabitants. It’s no surprise, then, that one can find a sled dog race of some sort almost every weekend, beginning in January.

Most people unfamiliar with the sport of sled dog racing have at least heard of the Iditarod. But while the Iditarod is perhaps the most prestigious race in North America, it is only one event of a plethora of racing events that occur across the state. The Iditarod and the Yukon Quest are classified as long distances races; both of them are over a thousand miles long. There are, however, numerous other races, as outlined below.

Sprint Races

Sprint races are the most numerous of the sled dog races around the state and were once the mainstay of racing in Alaska. Races vary in length from 6 miles to 25 miles; sprint racers can also compete in various classes, 4-dog, 6-dog, 8-dog and Open (as many dogs as one can safely handle) being the most common. Races usually consist of several heats over two or three days, with places awarded to the top finishers each day, as well as overall (total time).

Sprint races are a lot more interesting for spectators. The teams depart the starting line in one or two minute intervals. As a top sprint team can reach speeds of more than 20 mph, the racers loop back to the finish line in less than 30 minutes. There’s nothing more exciting than watching two fast teams chase each other down the chute in the race to the finish line! In addition, sprint races are typically located within an urban area or within close driving distance, making them more spectator friendly than distance races.

Distance Races

Distance races in Alaska are typically more than one hundred miles (this is not true in Lower 48, where races over 25 miles are classified as distance races). With its long period of snow cover and miles of wilderness trail, Alaska is well suited for both mid-distance and long distance races. Distance races usually have limits on the number of dogs in the team (usually 12 to 16); some have minimum requirements as well.

Depend on the length of the race, weather, and other factors, distance races can take anywhere from several days to over a week. There is often a large gap of time between the first and last musher to cross the line. And while distance races don’t offer the fast-paced excitement of sprint races, watching mushers care for their dogs at checkpoints and examining the variety of equipment used can be a rewarding and educational experience.

Stage Races

Stage racing, in some regards, is a combination of sprint and distance racing. Teams complete the length of the course in stages, and may travel anywhere from 30 to 75 miles per day. In some races, teams travel the same course for several days in a row (as in a sprint race); others have mushers traveling from checkpoint to checkpoint (as in a distance race); still others may have different courses on different days, with mushers driving their team (in a truck) to different start locations each day.

Stage racing is just getting started in Alaska. The inaugural Peninsula Panoramic is scheduled for January 30-Februray 1. Though there is interest in establishing stage races in Alaska, it remain to be seen whether this form of racing will grow and become as popular as the other forms of racing. Well known stage races in the Lower 48 include the International Pedigree Stage Stop in Wyoming and the San Juan Stage Race of Colorado.

The table below shows some of the big race events in Alaska. A more complete schedule of sprint races can be found
here.

	Sprint	Distance
December		Sheep Mountain 150 (Sheep Mt. Lodge)
		GinGin 200 (Paxson)
January		Copper Basin 300 (Glennallen)
		Kuskokwim 300 (Bethel)
		Klondike 300 (Wasilla)
		Tustumena 200 (Kasilof)
February	Women's World Championship (Anchorage)	Yukon Quest (Fairbanks-Whitehorse)
	Fur Rondy (Anchorage)
March	North America Championship (Fairbanks)	Iditarod (Anchorage - Nome)
	Tok Race of Champions (Tok)
April		Kobuk 440 (Kotzebue)
		Taiga Spring Break 300 (Lake Louise)