The 2025 Kuskokwim 300 has been pushed back two weeks because of poor snowfall and looming above-freezing temperatures, according to a release from the K300 Race Committee.
The 300-mile race from Bethel upriver to Aniak and back will now start on Friday, Feb. 7.
Race officials say that limited snowfall and unseasonably warm temperatures in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta throughout the winter have made it near-impossible to check or mark trails.
And that pattern is set to continue. In the lead-up to the region’s premier sled dog race, the race committee wrote that the “current forecast for Bethel and checkpoint communities of Tuluksak, Kalskag, and Aniak calls for 5 days of temperatures in the 30s and 40s leading into the middle of next week, which made it impossible to determine whether there would be a trail that is safe for human and canine athletes come race time.”
It’s not yet clear whether the February running of the K300 will have a modified trail route, but race officials say no route modifications were planned as of Jan. 16.
As of late Wednesday evening, no registered teams had dropped out of the race despite the reschedule.
A two-week delay for the K300 is not common. In its 46-year history, the race committee says it’s been delayed “several” times due to extreme weather, usually for a day or two. And in 2021, the Kuskokwim 300 was delayed as part of COVID-19 mitigation plan.
This is a developing news story and may be updated with additional information.
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