Shorter races could be part of Yukon Quest's future

If the race marshall for this year's Yukon Quest has anything to say about it, some of the shorter races that made up this year's version of the world-famous sled dog race will be back again next year.

Doug Grilliot, who has been officiating Yukon Quest events for 11 years, said race organizers in both Yukon and Alaska are committed to bringing back the traditional 1,600-kilometre YQ1000 next year but he's also hoping they'll include at least a couple of shorter races.

"There's a lot of people that would want to run a 100-mile [160-kilometre] race that maybe don't want to do a thousand-miler. I'd like to see a 100-mile or 200-miler [320 kilometres], maybe even some expansion on that," he said.

He added he'd like to see a race from Whitehorse to Dawson City, Yukon. In the traditional 1,600-kilometre race between Whitehorse and Fairbanks, Alaska, Dawson City is a mandatory stop.

"I haven't really broached the subject here, you know, with the board of directors or anything, but I think that would be very doable, [and] wouldn't cost us any more money, necessarily," he said.

Grilliot said the decision will be up to the board of directors. He expects a decision will be announced by June.

The 1,600-kilometre race was cancelled last year due to COVID-19. This year, organizers decided to run four shorter races, two in Alaska and two in the Yukon.

The last race, the 482-kilometre YQ300 race, ended Tuesday morning with all nine teams coming in.

Grilliot had mixed emotions about the race ending.

"Well, both happy and sad," he said. "We had a really good two races [in Yukon] this year. Not one musher scratched either race. Really happy and proud about that. Sad that it's over. We did put a lot of time and effort in this year, and it was just a great experience."

Dogs looked good post-race

He said the dogs looked really good at the race's end, something the Yukon Quest's head veterinarian agreed with.

"Most all the dogs are barking and, you know, pulling their harnesses and just trying to keep running. So [that's] always nice to see," said Nina Hansen.

Hansen, another vet and a technician monitored the dogs before and during the race, and were at the Whitehorse finish line when the YQ300 teams started coming at 1:44 a.m on Tuesday.

She said the vets were looking at the dogs' body condition and hydration levels.

"They've looked really, really good," she said.

Hansen added that the -15 C temperature, with a wind chill of -30 C, on the last night of the race was not an issue for the animals.

"These temperatures are actually really nice for dogs," she said.

Carol Locke, who has been volunteering with the Yukon Quest since 2014, said this year's weather was nicer than usual.

"I would say this year the weather was better than previous years that I've had, where it's been downright cold for days," she said early Tuesday morning. She said she's spent time volunteering in Pelly Crossing, Yukon, during past races when temperatures have hit -45 C for several days.

Hansen explained that the most common ailment she sees in dogs during sled races is frostbite on the extremities.

"But I haven't seen any this whole race," she said.

Importance of rest

Grilliot said he thinks part of the reason the dogs looked so good at the end of the race is because of the rest they had along the way. This year, mushers were required to rest their dog teams for six hours after running for six hours.

He said the extra rest time gave dogs the chance to get a little extra care and a little extra food.

"And I mean, it showed," he said, adding more rest will also be incorporated into the race next year.

Hansen said that in sled dog races, most teams don't finish with all the dogs they started with.

She said over the course of a race, a dog may develop a limp or a sore limb or something else that won't allow it to continue. In that case, a dog will be removed from the team and put in the care of the handler. The team can't replace that dog.

"So [a team] might start with 12 and finish with 10," explained Hansen.

After seven of the nine teams had finished the YQ300, she said there were a few teams that finished with all the dogs they started with.

"They didn't drop a dog for 300 miles, which really means they've had no issues," she said.

However, that wasn't the case for one of musher Jerry Joinson's dogs. 

He crossed the finish line with one of his dogs in the sleigh.

"She's just tired right now," explained Joinson. "She's a really hard worker and gives it everything she has. And there's just a little bit too much for her."