This weekend marks the 46th running of the Kuksokwim 300 Sled Dog Race (K300), which will put 17 teams to the test in what’s expected to be a warm, wet race.
The field of mushers includes new and returning faces – some after years without racing in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. It includes the winningest musher of the K300, Jeff King, returning after a four-year hiatus, as well as Bethel musher Pete Kaiser, who could tie King’s record with a win this year. Teen mushing phenomenon Emily Robinson is the only true rookie in the race, having never run a 300-miler, but is coming off her third consecutive win of the Jr. Iditarod.
Racers can expect a steadily warming and mostly cloudy weekend, with daytime highs between 23 and 37 degrees Fahrenheit and nighttime lows of 18 to 35 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Weather Service. Winds are forecast to come from the east at between 10 and 30 miles per hour.
Mushers are required to take six hours of rest throughout the race, split as they see fit between the outgoing Kalskag checkpoint, Aniak checkpoint, and coming back through Kalskag. All mushers must also take a four-hour rest in Tuluksak before the final 50-mile push to Bethel.
The mushers are competing for a cut of a $200,000 purse, the largest in the world for this race distance. The winner will take home at least $30,000.
Mushers will start from the Kuskokwim River in front of Bethel, beginning at 1 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 7. Fireworks will still take place in the evening, blasting off from the river at 7:30 p.m.
Because of concerns about the ice, the Kuskokwim 300 has asked spectators not to drive trucks onto the river to watch the start. They suggest driving snowmachines or walking to observe the start or watch the fireworks show.
Keep up with the race action by tuning in to KYUK 640AM. We’ll have reporters doing commentary and interviews at the start and finish, as well as reporters covering the race from Kalskag and Aniak. We’ll also be live streaming the start and finish and posting updates regularly to our website, Facebook, and Instagram pages.
The K300 will regularly be posting updates on its website and Facebook page. You can follow teams on the race’s online GPS tracker, which will also be pinned to the top of KYUK’s web page.
