River overflow pushes K300 dogsled races back a week

A musher leaves the starting line of the 2011 K300 sled dog race. (Photo from the K300 Facebook page)
A musher leaves the starting line of the 2011 K300 sled dog race. (Photo from the K300 Facebook page)

Amid river breakup and overflow, two upcoming Kuskokwim 300 events have been postponed—the K300 Holiday Classic and 100-Mile Challenge.

“We have very excellent conditions in a lot of places,” K300 Organizer Zach Fansler said, “but there is some worry about overflow and some things on the river. The race committee, I think, felt that it was in everybody’s best interest for safety, to push everything back a week.”

The Holiday Classic is now scheduled to take place the Saturday after Christmas, on Dec. 26. The 100-Mile Challenge will be the following Saturday, on Jan. 2.

Fansler says organizers expect the rest of the season to go smoothly.

“Right now, knock on wood, we’re anticipating everything’s a ‘go’ for the rest of the season,” he said. “We wanted to make sure we had that abundance of caution.”

With the annual race less a month away, 30 dog mushers have signed up to compete. Fansler says with a lot of new faces in and a few veterans out, this year’s race is anything but predictable.

For event start times and locations, you can check the K300 website.

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