The Fur Rondy Open World Championship Sled Dog Race — a 26-mile sprint course, run on three consecutive days — kicked off Friday, a marquee event of Fur Rendezvous, Anchorage’s annual winter festival.
Nineteen dog teams launched from Fourth Avenue. Fans, some in fur coats and hats, seemed happy to be back practicing the annual rituals. The 2021 race was canceled due to COVID concerns.
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Among those out for the race Friday afternoon were Rondy royals in matching parkas and satin sashes, worn beauty pageant style.
Kristin George, whose sash identified her as Lady Trapper, said she was rooting for musher Brent Beck of Yellowknife.
“So excited for him. Hope he does great today. No. 9 — Brent Beck!” she said, brimming with Rondy enthusiasm.
Actually, she clarified, she was cheering all the mushers.
The weather was balmy, in the high 30s. The snow trucked in for the event was soft underfoot. Some of the dog handlers wore t-shirts as they wrangled dogs into position.
Blayne Streeper of Fort Nelson is defending the title he’s held since 2018. He was in first place after Day 1.
He was followed by Hans Gatt of Whitehorse, a four-time winner of the Yukon Quest.
Other notables include Marvin Kokrine of North Pole, who is running his 29th World Championship Race.
His nephew and dog handler Ron Kokrine said some dogs do better in the cold, but he shrugged off the unseasonably warm conditions.
“We kind of expected it,” he said. “One of my older cousins lives down here for college, and he’s been giving us updates about the weather.”
The total purse this year is $60,000. The winner of the three-day event takes home $10,200.
Day 2 starts Saturday at noon.
Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at lruskin@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Liz here.
