Iditarod veteran brings new race to the Mat-Su Valley

BIG LAKE — Last year, Alaska Excursions approached musher Ryan Redington and his wife Erin about creating a new sled dog race.

Redington mulled it over and talked to a few other mushers. Before he knew it, the Alaska Excursions 120 was born.

“We have a good sponsor, and we thought it would be good to have the first race of the season at this time of year,” Redington said of the Alaska Excursions 120, slated to start Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Aurora Dog Mushers Club headquarters in Big Lake.

The inaugural race will feature a stacked field of 34 mushers and a $5,000 purse, Redington said.

More than a third of the mushers in the field are veterans of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, and one, Nenana’s Rick Mackey, is a past Iditarod champion.

Redington said Mackey and his dad, Raymie, are coming out of retirement to participate in the race.

“Rick hasn’t raced in years,” Redington said of Mackey, the father of three-time defending Iditarod champion Lance Mackey. “My dad as well. It’s really exciting they’re coming out for this race.”

A number of other top mushers will vie for the first-place prize of $2,000.

Big Lake’s Cim Smyth, who finished fifth in the 2009 Iditarod is slated to race.

Kasilof’s Paul Gebhardt (16th), Knik’s Ray Redington Jr. (20th), Knik’s Ryan Redington (36th), Wasilla’s Karin Hendrickson (40th) and Tim Osmar (46th) are among the mushers who finished the 2009 Iditarod and in the Alaska Excursions field.

“It’s definitely going to be a super competitive race, both days,” Ryan Redington said. “A lot of good mushers are coming.”

The race is dubbed a “120,” but Redington said mushers will travel just less than 100 miles worth of trails over two days.

Mushers will depart the Aurora Dog Mushers headquarters both days at 10 a.m., Redington said. The field will head down the Iditarod Trail toward the Susitna River,. They’ll make an eight-mile trip along the river, turn around and come back.

The total distance each day will 46.8 miles, he said.

Redington said he intended the course to stretch to Flat Horn Lake.

“There’s a lot of overflow, we had to cut short of the lake,” Redington said.

Redington credited Alaska Excursions and Aurora Dog Mushers for their support in the efforts to start the race. Redington hopes the Alaska Excursions 120 becomes a mushing staple in the area.

“Look for many to come,” Redington said.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Alaska Excursions 120 field

1. Kathy Fredrick, Willow; 2. Varan Hoyt, Wasilla; 3. Raymie Redington, Knik; 4. Paul Gebhardt, Kasilof; 5. Kristy Berington, Kasilof; 6. Ryan Redington, Knik; 7. Karin Hendrickson, Wasilla; 8. Pam Aviza, Wasilla; 9. Debbie Moderow, Anchorage; 10. Jan Steves; 11. Ted English, Willow; 12. Dean Osmar, Clam Gulch. 13. Caleb Hathaway, Willow; 14. Alan Miller, Nenana; 15. Rick Mackey , Nenana; 16. Jane Faulkner, Soldotna; 17. Ray Redington Jr, Knik; 18. Cim Symth, Big Lake; 19. Jesse Beebe, Knik ; 20. Bruce Linton, Kasilof; 21. Brendon Johnson, Kasilof; 22. Perry Solmonson, Nikiski; 23. Jeff Deeter, Wasilla; 24. Jason Mackey, Kasilof; 25. Dean Osmar team No. 2, Clam Gulch; 26. Christina Roalofs, Anchorage; 27. Kim Trickett, Willow; 28. Richard Hum, Talkeetna; 29. Tim Osmar, Kasilof; 30. Becca Moore, Talkeetna; 31. Jane Baldwin, Knik; 32. Will Faulkner; 33. Will Faulkner team No. 2; 34. Jeremy Thompson.

Junior mushers:

39. Meredith Mapes, Knik; 40. Marissa Osmar, Kasilof.