Hi Boys and Girls,

While we are all getting really excited about the Iditarod starting next weekend, there is a group of young mushers very excited about today. Today is the 40^th start of the Junior Iditarod. This year 13 young mushers will be participating in this race.

Bailey Schaeffer At the start of the 2016 Junior Iditarod Sled Dog Race on Willow Lake in Willow, AK February 27, 2016

The Junior Iditarod is for mushers aged 14-17. It’s a race for kids!!! They have trained hard with their teams and are ready for todays adventure. The race will start on Knik Lake and travel 75 miles to Yentna Station. Here the Jr. mushers will take a 10 hour mandatory rest. Once their rest is over, they will run the final 75 miles to the finish at the Willow Community Center. There is a total of 8 checkpoints that they must go through.

The race rules are similar to that of the Iditarod. All Jr. mushers have mandatory equipment they must carry in their sleds. The teams must start with no less than 7 dogs and no more than 10 dogs. Teams must finish with 5 or more dogs. All teams were vet checked yesterday morning. There was a musher meeting and bib draw last night. After the finish on Sunday, there will be an awards banquet. There’s even a food drop! This is a great way for these mushers to get the feel of what the Iditarod will be like. I wonder how many of these young people will eventually race in the Iditarod.

Don’t you wish you were there? What a great experience it is for these mushers.

See you on the trail,

Gypsy