The K300 Startline Banner

The K300 Startline Banner

Sunday, January 19, 2014

A past champion will be crowned again!

The K300 has always brought out the best mushers in the sport. The K300 is a very short tight race in terms of the ability to make up time. You don't get an extra day to make up time. You have to have everything perfect to step onto the podium from the Kuskokwim. 300 miles in under 48 hours is a very brisk pace. Checkpoint stops are a sprint. Getting the dogs fed and resting as quick as possible then waiting for your time to go. I can only imagine what goes through a mushers head in the final stretch from Tuluksak to Bethel. In your sleep deprived state staring at the times doing calculation after calculation to see where you stand. The new rule of the floating six hours does not appear to have altered the outcome much. The dogs after months of training are not tired and need minimal rest. People who say that dogs are forced to run need only look at a team that has run 200 miles and the dogs are barking and harness banging to get going. Jeff years ago came to Bethel with his now famous sit down sled. He at one point had a caboose on it that allowed him to carry a dog and to cycle them out as needed. Superb innovation is what the K300 brings out of mushers. Technology and strategy that will be used for Iditarod is tested in Bethel. It truly brings out the best of the best.

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