Racing is the strangest part of mushing dogs.

Running dogs is a very magical experience where you have the chance to work and blend with another species in a natural, amazing environment. The dogs can take you back in time to a place where cell phones and instant rescue is/was never an option... they provide a primal link to a part of the human soul that has laid dorment since the start of the industrial revolution...

And then there is Racing!

A competative twist! Human against human... who's better? In some ways it seems to break the link to the past.

But that is not accurate! Since people first started using dogs to help them move around the country following game... dog teams have been racing each other. So dogteam racing provides just another link to our human ancestry!

Distance Racing: This is essentialy any race over 100 miles or so. Dog teams and their drivers race from point A to point B and see who get's there first... or basically that is what it is all about. The Iditarod and Yukon Quest are examples of "Long Distance" races, both being over a 1,000 miles long. And then there are races like the Knic 200, Copper Basin 300, and Kuskukwim 300 (200miles, 300miles, 300miles, respectively), which are called "Mid-Distance" races. Mushers interested in this type of racing must train their dogs to conserve their energy and pace themselves to be able to run smoothly the whole way. An average speed of 10 mph is good for a distance dog.

Sprint Races: Sprint Races are short, anywhere from a couple miles up to thirty miles a day. Often they are run for 2 to 3 days in a row with the fast overall time from all the days being the winner. Dogs run these races flat out! Going 18-20 mph the whole way! So mushers must train their dogs to give everything they have for the entire race. The World Sprint Championships in Anchorage and the Open North American Sprint Championships in Fairbanks are examples of this type of racing.

Stage Races: Stage races are relatively new in the world of dog mushing but gaining popularity quickly. They are run much like cycling stage races (i.e. the Tour De France). This means that each day the teams run a "new" racechanging in distance from what would be considered a "sprint" to longer 50-60 mile stages. This requires a lot from the dogs and the musher... who must have trained his/her dogs to understand when to run all-out and when to conserve energy for the longer runs. The Atta- Boy 300 in Oregon and Wyoming Stage Stop in (where else...) Wyoming are examples of this type of racing.

Iditarod

Copper Basin 300

And with the advent of Bush Planes and the Snowmachine (snowmobile), racing has really became the main, driving force behind advancements in how people train and care for sled dogs. It is hard to see how that will change in the future. But still, there is something magical about just being out in the woods on a cold clear day with a sledload full wood and the smell wood smoke drifting in from your warm cozy cabin just ahead!