More than 50 miles into the Kuskokwim 300, Nenana musher Jessie Holmes races at the front of the competition after passing through the Tuluksak checkpoint. The first musher to leave Bethel was the first to arrive at and leave from Tuluksak, departing at 11:02 p.m. with all 12 of his dogs. Ray Redington Jr. was 29 minutes behind, leaving the checkpoint at 11:31 p.m.
Within the next 10 minutes, four contenders pushed through Tuluksak: Paul Gebhardt, Brent Sass, Jackie Larson, and defending champion Pete Kaiser. All had 12 dogs, except Larson, who ran with a team of 10 dogs. Eleven of 20 mushers had left as of 12:10 a.m.
Original Post:
A field of 20 mushers, including two-time defending champion Pete Kaiser and past champions Jeff King, Ramey Smyth, and Paul Gebhart began on the frigid trail to Aniak and back to Bethel in the 38th running of the Kuskokwim 300 Friday evening. With ambient temperatures below minus 20 and windchill dipping even lower, mushers dressed their dog teams in coats to protect from the cold winds on the night's run.
The early trail takes teams up the Kuskokwim River through Kwethluk, Akiak, overland to Tuluksak to avoid a section of especially-rough trail, and then back to the Kuskokwim River.
A coat of fresh snow Thursday gave the icy trail better footing and enough friction to slow down sleds in the early stages of the race.