Iron Dog plans to run new ceremonial start in Anchorage

ANCHORAGE — The 2015 Iron Dog will start in the big city this year, a decision made after organizers saw a plateau in participant sponsorships and spectator attendance.

“From a sponsor perspective, and for participants, there’s greater visibility (in Anchorage),” said Iron Dog Executive Director Kevin Kastner.a

Kastner said the average competitor receives $60,000 in sponsorships, but if “interest begins to wane,” that money could be less and less.*

“One thing you learn very quickly from a sponsor is (that they ask) ‘what have you done for me lately?’” he said.

Opening up the start venue makes it easier for racers to interact with the spectators, thereby increasing interest and awareness about the sport — a good thing for sponsors, too. Hosting a ceremonial start first, much like the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race does, also makes participants more inclined to engage with their audience and show off their machines, as they’re not in full race mode yet.

Another issue with just the one start in Big Lake is the lack of nearby coffee shops, hotels and restaurants available for both spectators and participants to duck in and get warm.

“Quite frankly, Anchorage has much greater access to facilities,” Kastner said. “Everything is right there at your fingertips, and that’s a significant part of racer participation.”

Many teams come from outside of Alaska and very remote places within Alaska — as do sponsors and even some spectators — he said, so being close to an international airport and a selection of hotels strongly appeals to those travelers.

Another aspect of the 2015 Iron Dog that’s changed from last year is the amount of time between the start of the Iron Dog events and the actual race. What used to take three weeks has been condensed into 10 days, from the Donlin Gold Safety Expo — now at Cabela’s — to the Hall of Fame banquet — now at the downtown Marriott — to the Flying Iron Freestyle show (3rd and E St.), to the official start of the race at 4th Avenue on Feb. 21, and finally to the Fairbanks finish on Feb. 28, 2015.

But when everything is strung out between Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley for the better part of a month, it’s easy for everyone’s enthusiasm to dwindle.

“On a Sunday, in the middle of February, people can find every reason not to come,” Kastner said.

Not that he’s worried about people showing up for “less show, more go” in Big Lake.

“My opinion is that die-hard Iron Dog fans are still coming to Big Lake,” Kastner said. “With the greater exposure brought into Anchorage, new cross-over fans that haven’t paid attention before might come to the Valley.”

“I submit that it’s not going to really take away from Big Lake, and in fact we hope to do the exact opposite,” he said.

Big Lake Chamber of Commerce member Ina Mueller isn’t worried either. She organized the last three WinterFest events, held on the ice during the Iron Dog festivities previously in Big Lake, and they’re going right ahead with their fourth run of food, fun and games in 2015.

“At the end of last year’s event, the WinterFest committee decided that we would be reworking some of the WinterFest events and possibly the schedule,” Mueller wrote in an email. “WinterFest is predominantly an event for the Mat-Su Community and we do not believe that any Iron Dog changes will affect us drastically.”

City of Wasilla Deputy Administrator Lyn Carden agreed.

“I too don’t think it’s gonna have a huge impact out here,” she said. “This is the season to ride regardless of the (Iron Dog start) location.”

Carden said the number of spectators and participants coming from up north definitely balances out the number of those who come in through Anchorage. Enough people have to come through Wasilla and Big Lake to get to Anchorage that they’ll stop to shop, eat and gas up on the way anyway, keeping business in the Mat-Su Valley.

“I really feel that all roads lead from here,” she said.

And the Valley is a better place for riding anyway. With easy access to Hatcher Pass and Big Lake, plus a number of trails leading to and from the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center, Carden said people who are staying in Anchorage probably won’t mind a short drive north for quality riding.

“Anchorage isn’t really conducive to riding,” she said. “We’re the recreational playground, pretty much, for the Anchorage area.”

As for the tech inspection that used to be held at the Sports Center the week before the start of the race, it’s pretty much been absorbed into the safety expo at Cabela’s in 2015, so the only setback for the sponsors is one of convenience.

Wasilla Team CC owner and general manager Korey Cronquist said they’ve been “heavily involved” with the Iron Dog for 20 years, and they’re not about to quit because they have to drive a few extra miles into Anchorage.

Also, any business travelers might have done in Wasilla before the race in the past — dining, sleeping and getting last-minute general supplies — didn’t really affect Team CC.

“Usually all that happened before business hours so we weren’t open anyway,” Cronquist said.

The ceremonial Anchorage start of the next Iron Dog will be held Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015. The official restart in Big Lake will take place the following day.

Contact Caitlin Skvorc at 352-2266 or caitlin.skvorc@frontiersman.com.

*Correction, 12/5/14: Kastner commented, "the average competitor has $60,000 tied up," but that was in reference to the amount of individual investment in the race, not necessarily sponsorship money, and by "competitor" he meant "competitive team". Also, the ceremonial start in Anchorage is still the official start in that racers' performances will not be recorded as official unless they take off from Anchorage, though the timing starts in Big Lake.