Wet, warm weather blanketing much of Alaska forced organizers of the world's richest mid-distance sled dog race to postpone Friday's scheduled start.
The 30th running of the $100,000 Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog Race was pushed back to 3 p.m. today, with the shorter Bogus Creek 150 due to start an hour later.
Some racers and organizers feared this week's warm-up would turn the race into a rerun of last year's "Kusko-swim" that turned the 300-mile trail from snow to water in 24 hours, pinning down two mushers 50 miles from the finish line and putting more than a dozen snowmachines under water.
"Flotation devices wouldn't have been that bad of an idea," Kasilof musher Paul Gebhardt said at last year's race. "It's not a smart thing to stand in the middle of a river in water."
Organizers say this year's trail isn't that bad -- at least not yet.
"While the trail is not in nearly as bad of shape as last year, there is some overflow on the river and the top few inches of snow are a bit slushy," the race's Web site reported Friday. "It was quite a shock last night, as people drove to the K-300 Benefit Concert (in Bethel) in a steady rain. Luckily, however, it's been 33-34 degrees, instead of 40 like last year. And the wind has been light, so there hasn't been the storm surge under the river ice that made it so bad in 2008.
"The weather service is predicting a gradual cool-down between (Friday) and (today). Thankfully, it looks nothing like a KuskoSwim ... just a slushy, wet ride."
The National Weather Service is calling for high temperatures in the mid-teens to low 20s today in Bethel, which is expected to see temperatures below zero once again by Monday.
Racers are competing for a $100,000 purse, with $20,000 going to the winner. Mitch Seavey of Sterling is defending his title against Denali Park's Jeff King, the winningest musher in Kusko history, and Martin Buser of Big Lake, a two-time champion.
Closer to home, the Klondike 300 Sled Dog Race, due to start today in Knik, has been postponed until at least 10 a.m. Monday as organizers monitor trail conditions. Eighteen mushers are signed up for the Klondike.
Also, the Chugiak Dog Mushers postponed its Sunday race and will decide next week when to reschedule.
And weekend ski races at Kincaid Park, today's high school race and Sunday's annual Hickok Dualtholon, were also called off.
Reporter Mike Campbell can be reached at mcampbell@adn.com or 257-4329.
By MIKE CAMPBELL
mcampbell@adn.com