Excitement surrounds Knik 200

KNIK — There’s plenty of motivation to keep the Knik 200 alive.

The race honors the memory of the late Joe Redington Sr., a man known as the father of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Its start and finish location, Knik Lake, offers easy access to local mushing fans, and the event also serves as a qualifier for the Iditarod and Yukon Quest.

All of the above are reasons why organizers have been working tirelessly to preserve the historic race and are excited about the future of the race.

“There’s a lot of history right off Knik Lake. We didn’t want to see the race die off. We wanted to pump it up,” said Robert Sexton, who now helps organize the race alongside the likes of race marshal Harry Caldwell and race adviser and volunteer coordinator Kit Braden.

This is the start of a 3-year plan, Sexton said Thursday, and organizers feel they’re off to a good start with the 2012 Knik 200 Joe Redington Sr. Memorial, which is slated to start Saturday at 11 a.m. on Knik Lake.

“We’ve very excited about the future of this race,” Sexton said.

Trail conditions are said to be pristine for the race, which sends teams from Knik Lake to the Yentna Station Roadhouse to the Skwetna Roadhouse and back to Knik Lake.

“People came up from Canada to race just our race. They were out on the lake and went 20 miles and back, and said it’s just beautiful,” Sexton said late Thursday afternoon. “All reports are the trail is good this year. We’re excited about that.”

Sexton said organizers are also thrilled about a field that includes former Iditarod champions Lance Mackey and Martin Buser, and fan favorite DeeDee Jonrowe.

“(The field) looks really good,” Sexton said.

Organizers have also worked to make the family oriented Knik 200 even more fan friendly. Updates to the race website, knik200sleddograce.com, have been made, which include the ability to track teams online. There will also be sled dog rides for kids, Sexton said, which will start at 10 a.m.

Sexton said fans are welcome to hit the staging area for the start early, which can be accessed at Mile 13 Knik-Goose Bay Road.

“We encourage everybody to walk around and see the mushers,” Sexton said. “You can see them up close.”

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com and follow him at twitter.com/matsu_sports.

Knik 200 field

As of Thursday afternoon

Charley Bejna; Dan Dent; Louie Ambrose; Martin Buser; Rohn Buser; James Volek; Matthew Failor; Michael Miller; Christina Roalofs; Elaine Martin; Zoya DeNure; Peg Harpham; Darren Harpham; Vern Halter; Stephanie Clark; Luan Marques; Jason Mackey; Leua Javadi-Babrem; Ken Anderson; Randy MacKenzie; Christina Traverse; DeeDee Jonrowe; Justin High; Nicolas Petit; Ray Redington, Jr; Misha Pederson; Aaron Burmeister; Scott Smith; Lance Mackey; Mike Santos; Clint Warnke; Robert Redington; Corinne Zurflueh; Seth Barnes; Lev Shvarts; Justin Savidis; Jeremy Rutledge; Jim Lanier.