New races planned for Susitna Valley

WILLOW - Two new mid-distance sled dog races are bringing distance races back to the community where it all started.

The Willow/Su Valley 200 and 300 races are slated to begin Jan. 28 in Willow as part of the Willow Winter Carnival, and the roots of the two races date back a decade to one of the first 300-mile sled dog races in the country.

The old Talkeetna/Su Valley 300 really established these kinds of races, and we are trying to bring it back with the two races, said Don Bowers, an Iditarod veteran and one of the races organizers. This area has a lot of mushing history, and these races follow some of those trails.

Both races start simultaneously Jan. 28 at the Willow Community Center and follow the same trail for the first 200 miles. From Willow, the trail winds to the Sheep Creek Lodge, up to Joe Mays farm along a Trapper Creek trail, back to Sheep Creek Lodge and to Pioneer Lodge, where the 200-mile race concludes. The 300-mile participants continue across the Valley to Knik Bar and back to Pioneer Lodge for the finish.

Bowers said the new races have a different aim than some of the other big-name races.

This is a mushers race, done by mushers, Bowers said. Its very informal and low-key. It is an Iditarod qualifier, but there isnt a lot of pressure, all the checkpoints are on the road system and its a very community-friendly race. Its one cut above a training run. There are a lot of interesting trails, and we are getting back into the upper Susitna Valley.

With both races being run at the same time as the Willow Winter Carnivals sprint races, Bowers said there will be no shortage of canine athletes.

We could conceivably have more dog-racing teams in the Willow and Talkeetna area than anywhere on the planet that weekend, Bowers said.

While the race is very low-key, Bowers and other race organizers do have a vision in place for expanding the race in the future.

In a couple of years, we hope to expand it to a 500-mile race and make the grand tour of the Valley, Bowers said. It would be the only 500-mile race on the continent. Right now though, we are just making it an ordinary-persons race.

The entry fee is $175 for the 200-mile race and $275 for the 300-mile race. Bower said all mushers who want to run the race need to bring their entry fee and rabies certificates for their dogs to the mushers meeting, which is slated for Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. at the Willow Trading Post.