The Knik 200-Joe Redington Sr. Memorial Sled Dog Race, founded by Sally Welch of Eagle River, Alaska, continues to be a valuable training race for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Held each year on the first weekend in January, the popular race starts at Knik Lake -- at mile 13 of Knik-Goose Bay Road in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley -- and part of the trail route runs through the historic townsite of Knik, following the world-famous Iditarod Trail. There's a map of the trail at the race website.
The Knik 200, as it is popularly known, covers 200 miles and is an Iditarod & Yukon Quest sanctioned race -- meaning the mushers who finish this race have completed a necessary step in meeting the qualifications for running the much longer races. As a result, this race attracts some of the top contenders from the longer races, and this year is no exception, with 40 teams signed up, including four-time Iditarod champions Lance Mackey and Martin Buser among the entrants, along with perennial crowd favorite DeeDee Jonrowe.
Jonrowe, who lives in Willow not far from the race start, was a special guest on a My Yukon Life podcast, and had this to say about the race and the famous musher it's named for:
One of the things that's very appealing (about the Knik 200) is that it's close to home, and that it's on the original first hundred miles of the Iditarod Trail. Actually, there's a section of trail that we race for the Knik 200 that we no longer utilize on the Iditarod Trail because we really can't with the size of Iditarod's field.
But we start on the Knik Lake for the Knik 200, and that is right where Joe Redington's original kennel was first located. Joe was a personal friend, I raced with Joe in my very first race...and he just kind of brings back a lot of neat memories.
In addition to the race there will be dogsled rides on the lake on race day from 10 a.m. until the dogs gets tired, and on Sunday, Jan. 8, at 7 p.m. there will be a Mushers Banquet at the Knik Bar & Grill. For more information visit the Knik 200-Joe Redington Sr. Memorial Sled Dog Race website. To listen to the full episode of My Yukon Life, click below.
Helen Hegener is an author and a documentary filmmaker specializing in distance sled dog races and the men, women and dogs who run them. This post originally appeared on her website, Northern Light Media. It has been republished with permission.