So, what are your race plans for the season?

A question posed to mushers probably on a weekly basis, if not more. 

There's been an interesting trend so far this year. Mid-distance races are filling up within hours of accepting entries, if not minutes. Mushers are setting alarms and waking up at midnight, logging onto the Internet to sign up online for the race of their choice. Maybe they get in. Maybe they don't. Maybe someone will withdraw and they can get off the wait list. Here is a list of races mushers have signed up for so far. The list is compiled by a friend over at Mushing Tech. The list is my both musher and by race. It's easy to use and is updated as different races accept entries. Check it out to see who is signed up for what thus far.

So far this year, I have signed up to run the Alaska Excursions 120, the Copper Basin 300 and the Yukon Quest 300. There are 2 other races I am hoping to run as well; the Solstice 100 and the Kobuk 440. I have never run any of these races before. (In the previous entry, I talk about the CB300 and what little I know about it.)

The Alaska Excursions race is on trails I have never been on in my life. I have heard about the knotted amount of trails down there and how easy it is to get lost. I am looking forward to being on a new trail system. I know the dogs will have a blast. The Alaska Excursions 120 is like a sprint race on crack. There are two heats, one on Saturday and one on Sunday, each about 42 miles long or so. Trail conditions change rapidly down that way, so it's never totally set in stone. This style of racing will be different than what we have ever done before. Mushers are allowed to have 10 dogs on the line but have a pool of 12 dogs to draw from. There is no mandatory gear. That's right. I will not be packing the kitchen sink on this race. My sled won't be empty though. I'm sure I will have a few things banging around in there. The Alaska Excursions takes place in December. My plan originally was to run the Sheep Mountain 150. Due to the lodge closing for the winter, the race was taken off the schedule as it was no longer happening. The Alaska Excursions will be a fun race tostart the season off with!

The next race on the schedule is the Copper Basin 300. (Check out the post I did on the CB300.)

After the CB300 is the Yukon Quest 300. The YQ300 starts in Fairbanks this year. Just like the 1000 miler, the race start alternates between Fairbanks, Alaska and Whitehorse, Canada. Usually when the race starts on the Alaska side, the number of entrants is low. Not this year. The field is full. This is very surprising, and I also think its the first time this has happened. The YQ300 is another ass kicker of a race. The race route follows the YQ trail from Fairbanks to Circle then heads back to Central where it finishes. Starting in this direction means that mushers must go up and over Rosebud and Eagle Summit. Both have stopped teams in their tracks. Eagle Summit has ended many the races for mushers. In 2006, group of 6 YQ1000 mushers were rescued off Eagle Summit after getting lost in a storm. Needless to say, I have incredible respect for Eagle Summit, as well as the lesser talked about Rosebud. When Darrin ran the 1000 mile YQ last year, and climbed Eagle Summit, the weather couldn't have been better if you had planned it! He and Cody had a stunningly beautiful blue bird day. Eagle Summit is also a favorite place for media, camera crews and others wanting to witness teams coming up and over to station themselves. This being the case, there was some amazing footage of the two going up and over. (Watch a short clip of the guys going up and over.)

I chose to run the YQ300 in preparation for 2016 when I plan (paws crossed) to run the 1000 mile Yukon Quest. By seeing and experiencing just a small piece, about 1/3, of the trail I will have a better idea of what's out there. It also gives dogs who haven't seen that part of the trail before a chance to see it as well. 

After the YQ300 we have a couple of months off from racing, unless we decide to do the Two Rivers 200 in March. In April is the Kobuk 440. The Kobuk starts and finishes in Kotzebue, which is up above the Arctic Circle. This is not a race for someone looking to have a leisurely stroll in the springtime. The Kobuk 440 traverses some of the most beautiful country Alaska has to offer, all at a pretty good clip. The 440 is mostly a loop, but has some doubling up on trail usage, that go through the welcoming villages of the Northwest Arctic. Darrin ran this race a couple of years ago. Like I mentioned, the Kobuk 440 takes place above the Arctic Circle. What this means is sun...or at least the potential for sun...and lots of it! In preparation for Darrin's go at the 440, I made white capes for all the dogs. The white reflects the sun and helps keep the dogs cool during the heat of the day. The capes are worn under the harnesses, thus making it awesome for snow to be stuffed up under to help cool dogs as needed. The most amazing feature of the capes...they make the dogs go oh so much faster...they just "fly" down the trail!

I have wanted to run the Kobuk 440 for a long time. Besides the pieces falling into place allowing me to run it, my thought is this...if 36 hours after finishing the race on minimal rest I want to hop back on the runners and do it all again...then mentally I think I might be ready for the YQ itself. (In the Yukon Quest, mushers get a 36 hour layover in Dawson City. This is roughly half way through the race, which is also about the distance of the Kobuk 440.)

If you are interested in helping get me down the trail and off to races (it will cost roughly $2000 to fly the dogs to Kotzebue and back. Doesn't include personal airfare), please check out our website st www.kmakennel.com. There are lots of ways you can be part of the team. 

Darrin during the mass start of the 2012 Kobuk 440 (Thanks Cathy for all  the pics!)

Mass start of the 2012 Kobuk 440

Not only do the dogs have their capes on, but Darrin does as well.

Darrin getting some hot water that is prepared and maintained by the hardworking volunteers that makes this race, and other races alike, going. THANK YOU VOLUNTEERS!!!

Tozi taking a break in the warm Arctic sun.

Team heading back out on the trail.

Copper Basin 300

Last year there were numerous pieces that fell into place allowing me to do the number of races I am planning to do this winter. The Kid is in Italy for a year. I am teaching at a smaller school closer to home (same school district though). We have a core of dogs that finished the Yukon Quest with Darrin in February. It just seemed like the perfect conditions for me to be able to race hard this winter.

Having a career and a child really has helped in planning out my racing future. Until this year, I have always had to pick and choose what race I did for the winter based on the number of personal days I had, the schedule of the race and mesh it with what The Kid was doing in school; be it sports, theater or teenage activities such as dances. I loved my weekend racing that I did. I was a mini-vacation during a busy time of year for me.

About 7 or 8 years ago, I got involved with the Copper Basin 300. Darrin had run the race a few times and I had handled for him a couple of times. In fact, how Darrin and I met was on the Copper Basin in 2000; but that's another story...I volunteered for the Copper Basin, then ended up being on the board and a race official for a few years. It was a great experience. Now this year, for the first time, I will be running the Copper Basin 300.

I must admit, I am most nervous about running the CB300 more than any other race I am signed up to do. I have seen first hand how quickly this 300 mile loop through the wilderness can grab you by the throat, shake you up, dunk you in freezing cold water, and toss you to the side. Every year I would hear mushers say, "I forgot how much this race kick's my ass!" After one particularly difficult CB300, it was stated that the Iditarod should be a qualifier for the Copper Basin 300. There are so many factors that make the Copper Basin 300 a tough race which is one of the reasons why I want to run this race. I am planning on running the 2016 Yukon Quest and I need to run races that are difficult and will test me. The Copper Basin will test me, and more.

The Cb300 trail is a loop. This means you never travel over any of the same trail twice. Great for us, not always so great for the people putting in the trail. Keeping in, and maintaining 300 miles of trail through the back country of Alaska, through country no one travels, is no easy task. High winds, blizzards, overflow, open water on rivers make the task that mush more difficult. Oh, and then there's the cold temperatures we get. It is not unusual for it to be -40 and -50 for days and weeks on end when the trail breakers need to be out putting in the trail and setting the base. The trail will be awesome in certain sections, and total crap in other sections. There are three places on the race that are always asked about; Excelsior Creek,  The Hump and the Gakona River.

Excelsior Creek  is a wee little creek that flows through an open area prior to the Hump. There is a dry crossing and a wet crossing. Depends on the conditions and the trail breakers where the trail goes. The dry crossing is not always a guarantee that it will be dry. The creek is always open in one spot. Looking at it, it might not seem like a big deal, but it has stopped many the teams in their tracks. There is a pretty good up and down to the creek which gets icy as team splash their way through. Many mushers get wet here as they slip slide their way to their leaders to guide them across. Getting wet at the temperatures that we often see on the CB300 is never fun. Once across the creek, it's smooth sailing until The Hump.

The Hump is, well, a hump that you must go up and over between Chistochina and Paxson. It is often windy, drifted, blown in trail, and at the top, rocks and bare ground. Trail markers have been known to blow away, and the permanent markers that were driven into the ground years ago might not always be visible in high wind situations as the snow is blowing all around. With the race starting in Glennallen, teams go over The Hump at night. Once you get up, and start across the summit, you hope you're on the right trail as you start your decent down the other side. Waiting for mushers at the bottom of The Hump is the Gakona River.

River conditions in Alaska can change within hours. Conditions also change when snowmachines go over the river. There is no way to predict how the Gakona River will be. Even if someone goes and looks at the river hours before the race starts, by the time teams get to the river, it is a different beast. I have witnessed the aftermath and heard horror stories of teams swimming, floating and hoping for the best as they crossed the Gakona River. You can bet I will be wearing Bunny Boots, and maybe a life jacket this year as I cross the Gakona.

The CB300 takes place on the second Saturday in January. A cold and dark time of the year. It's not unheard of to have temperatures dip to -50 and stay there. It's also not unusual to start the race at -35 then end in a blizzard at 30 above. Last year teams finished with mushers wearing t-shirts and jeans. You just never know what Mother Nature will throw at you, but you must always be prepared.

All of this aside, I am very excited to race my first Copper Basin 300. I will be starting 36th out of a field of 45. I have seen a majority of the trail, but there are some key sections I have not seen, and I am looking forward to it. Living in Chistochina, the first check point, we train on the Copper Basin Trail. I have also competed in other races that have occurred over the years in the valley that use parts of the trail. I have no doubt that after I finish I too will utter, "This race kicked my ass!"

Bookmark KCAM RADIO and tune in January 11th to hear the live broadcast of the start of the 2014 Copper Basin 300. 

Myself with Michelle Eastty of KCAM Radio and Eric Lutz at the start in Paxson. KCAM does a live broadcast of the Copper Basin start and gives regular updates.

Checkpoint at Meier's Lake. Myself and volunteers stayed in the wee little red hut for the duration of the checkpoint.

Me and The Kid at the start in Chistochina giving the countdown.

Volunteers make races happen.These ladies are awesome! (Me on the far right) (Thanks Laurie for the picture!)

Darrin at the start in Paxson. (Thanks Theresa Daily for the picture!)

One of my favorite pictures. We started the race in Glennallen and did the loop clockwise. Here teams are still close together as they travel in the ditch along the Glenn Highway. (Thanks Lauren for the picture!)

Darrin and the team at the start in Paxson. The dogs are wearing t-shirts that help reduce harness rubs.

Darrin with Mt Drum in the background. (Thanks Lauren for the picture!)

Snapping a quick picture with Cindy Abbott after she registered for the CB300 2 years ago. (Thanks Cindy for the picture!)

Coming back with a team after doing a training run to The Hump and back a couple of years ago. Here we are dropping into Excelsior Valley.

On top of The Hump, overlooking the Gakona River. I turned the team around here and headed back home.

Darrin at the start of yet another CB300. You can see all the support needed to make a race happen.

Climbing up The Hump on our training run.

There are some amazing views from the high country.