麻豆社区

Fourteen teams will hit the trail from the Takhini Hot Springs to Braeburn tomorrow as part of the River Runner 120.

The annual sled dog and skijor race typically sees mushers head from Whitehorse to Mendenhall and return during the Rendezvous festival.

This year, Mother Nature had other plans, rendering the trail to Mendenhall impassable. However, as a result of overwhelming requests, organizers rerouted the trail so the race could go on.

The race coordinator has calculated the distance one way to be 69 miles, a difference of nine miles from the original route.

Teams will enjoy a mandatory six-hour layover in Braeburn before hitting the trail back to the hot springs.

Of the 14 teams registered for this weekend's race, 12 are sled dog teams and two are skijorers.

The race will begin Saturday at 1 p.m. and will wrap up鈥圫unday.

The total race purse is close to $4,000.

Last year's race champions were musher Crispin Studer and skijorer Stefan Wackerhagen.

Meanwhile, the latest race in the local recreational mushing circuit featured a tie between Jon Lucas and Amil Dupuis-Rossi. The two mushers finished in one hour, six minutes with eight dogs each.

The 15-mile race was held last Sunday at Startdog Kennel on the Annie Lake Road.

Marine Gostard and her eight dogs were one minute off the winning pace, while Luc Twedell and his team were two minutes behind Gostard.

In skijor competition, Katherine Sheepway and her four dogs finished the race in one hour, eight minutes.

Runner-up Cynthia Corriveau and her three dogs were three minutes back while Claudia Wickert, also running with three dogs, was six minutes behind Corriveau.