Race is on: Knik 200 starts Saturday

WASILLA — Trail conditions may not be perfect. But race organizers are not going to dwell on that.

Bob Sexton, race manager of the Knik 200 Joe Redington Sr. Memorial is excited to report the annual sled dog race will happen. And it’s back on the traditional route.

“The trail is doable. It’s going to be OK,” Sexton said of the race, which starts Saturday at 11 a.m. on Knik Lake. “It’s very exciting, going out of Knik on the original trail system. It’s a really huge thing.”

This comes after a couple of rough seasons for the 200-mile sled dog race with more than three decades worth of history. In 2015, poor conditions in the Knik area forced organizers to move the race north to Willow and shorten the route to a pair of 80-mile loops. Last year, conditions were so bad the race had to be cancelled completely.

But now, Sexton said everyone is thrilled to be back in familiar territory.

“We’re really glad to be back on the original grounds,” Sexton said.

Saturday, starting at 11 a.m., 35 teams will leave Knik Lake and hit the traditional Iditarod Trail on a 60-mile trek to Eagle Song Lodge. From there, teams head another 35 miles to Yentna Station where mushers will stay for their mandatory six-hour layover. Following the break, teams will make their way back to the finish line on Knik Lake.

Sexton said the top teams are expected to return to Knik Lake in a window of time between about 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Sunday.

Overall, while not perfect, Sexton said organizers and mushers can work with the current trail conditions.

“Another foot (of snow) would be ideal,” Sexton joked. “But were confident we will make this work. There are a few spots to work on a little bit, but crews are out there.”

Sexton admitted there has been concern among organizers in the weeks leading up to the race, but organizers had an alternate plan, and even an alternate date, in mind just in case.

“We had a Plan B to go out of Willow. If it fell through with weather there, we had an alternate date in February set as a back up,” Sexton said.

There are currently 35 teams in the field for the Knik 200, and another eight mushers who will compete in the Bruce Braden Knik 100, which leads teams to Eagle Quest Lodge and back.

Both the start and finish are at the Knik Bar and Grill on Knik Lake, located at Mile 13.5 of Knik-Goose Bay Road outside of Wasilla.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.