Fairbanks First

This year’s Iron Dog has undergone a makeover like no other. The 2020 race will now start in Fairbanks and include a roughly 375-mile loop around Kotzebue, before returning south to a finish in Willow.

Tom Stokes

Team 25, Dietrich Nikolai and Nicholas Reader, depart from Deshka Landing during the 2019 Iron Dog. The new Iron Dog now starts in Fairbanks.

“This year is really a history-making course for the Iron Dog,” says Iron Dog’s executive director John Woodbury. “It’s never been run before. Now, this year’s race is anyone’s race to win.”

The move comes after much consideration over a course that has been etched into the memories of veteran racers to the point that racing it is no longer the challenge it used to be, Woodbury said.

“The machines have gotten so efficient, and the riders have really become true athletes,” he says. “The course had become overrun by technology and fitness, and so we needed to up the game to make the course challenge both of those components again.”

The new course is sure to add renewed excitement to an already fast-paced and white-knuckled race. Leaping from approximately 2,050 miles to 2,395 miles, the course incorporates the Archie Ferguson/Willie Goodwin Memorial Snowmachine Race course, a long-established trail well known among racers in rural Alaska. This added loop will be new territory for racers, restoring the adrenaline that goes with racing in the unknown.

“I’m definitely excited about the Kotzebue Archie Ferguson course,” said 2019 champion Chris Olds, who visited the area for the first time last year. “The region in that area is very into racing and riding, and I think it will bring in more racers from that area if they continue to race through there.”

The added loop also means racers will now spend a lot more time in the saddle and less at rest checkpoints. Woodbury says he thinks while racers’ sleds will essentially stay the same, the longer race format will change the way racers strategize:

“I think what will change is how they drive these machines and their parts list, and their attitude toward conserving energy, muscles, fuel and parts,” Woodbury says.

One of the most talked about aspects of the changed race direction is the beginning of the race – and the end. 

“It will be really interesting to see what happens at those gas pumps, where there’s really only one in those areas outside of Fairbanks,” said Danielle Levine, who completed her rookie race last year, with her father, Larry. “I think the teams will be stacking up at those gas pumps. I think it’s going to add a whole other layer to the race, and it will be exciting for the people looking at it online.”

The end of the race will now be one of the most traditionally rugged. The area between Rainy Pass and Skwentna has busted up a sled or two over the years – but as it was at the beginning of the race, most racers were at least fresh enough to tackle repairs and handle the rough and tumble terrain. 

This year, that brutal section comes while weary racers – and battered sleds – are tiring out. 

“I’ve done a lot of pretty extreme things in my life, so I don’t really care if it’s an eight-hour day or a 12-hour day,” said Bob Gilman, an Iron Dog Hall of Famer, and three-time former champion who is returning to the race after a nearly 20-year hiatus. “I can say, though, that the machines are going to have 2,200 miles on them by the time you get to that last part, so it will be interesting to see how they fare.”

Gilman’s game plan – to be prepared for mechanicals with more parts and tools than most racers carry these days – is tried and true. His racing experience is from the 1990s, when he and John Faeo, another Iron Dog Hall of Famer, dominated the races, winning in 1990, 1991 and 1996. He was injured during the 2000 race and did not finish, instead spending two years recuperating and then taking up mountaineering to fill the gap. He said he’s back this year to enjoy the race — although he admits, the competitive bug will likely catch once his sled is underway.

“Sleds were 100 pounds heavier and we had to make them last to the very end,” he said of his earlier racing days. “That’s different than now, where everyone has a plane waiting for them at checkpoints with parts.

“They are scrutinizing ounces, where we were scrutinizing pounds,” he added. “I’m hoping our strategy prevails. We are just approaching it a little bit different. We’re not going to be the fastest, but we will finish.” 

Levine, likewise, said she hopes a strategy based on patience will prove successful. Last year, she and her father got wrapped up in the fast, competitive first few miles, she said, and she ended up crashing her machine. This year, they are vowing to stick to the plan.  

“We will be following our game plan better,” she said. “We know our pace and where we can go faster, but it’s so easy to get caught up in the hype of the race. We’ve gotta do our own thing.”

Larry Levine, a three-time veteran of the race, agrees.

“There’s stuff that’s going to go wrong, but it’s how you handle it,” he said. “Dani’s going to have so much more confidence going in this year. I’m pretty sure we will do substantially better than last year.”

As defending champions, Olds and partner Mike Morgan know they have bulls-eyes on their backs, so they, too, will be trying to maintain their racing composure. 

“I can look at the racers around us, and tell you I am far from the most-talented rider, but it’s just about putting it all together – putting the sleds together, the teamwork, and you have to be quick, but don’t ride over your head,” Olds said. “There’s a lot of good teams that could win this race, but a lot can happen, especially with the extended distance. A lot of people you may not consider as contenders could be in it. You really just have to be at the end to win the race.”  

Plans continue to unfold for the 2020 Iron Dog Race – a new era in snowmachine racing for racers and spectators alike. Stay tuned to irondog.org for more updates as plans continue, or follow us on YouTube, Twitter or Facebook.

Schedule of Events

Mid-February: Recreational Class Tech Inspection, Time TBD, Hatcher Pass Polaris (HPAK)
Feb. 13: Recreational Class start, 10 a.m., Pike’s Waterfront, Fairbanks
Feb. 14: Safety Expo / Pro Class Inspection, Time and Location TBA, Fairbanks
Feb. 15: Iron Dog Racers Draw, Hall of Fame, Calcutta, 6 p.m., Westmark Fairbanks and Conference Center, Fairbanks
Feb. 16: Pro Class Start, 11 a.m., Pike’s Waterfront
Feb. 19: Halfway Banquet, Recreational Class Finish, 5:30 p.m., Nome Mini-Convention Center
Feb. 22: Finish of the Pro Class Race, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. or so, Willow Community Center, Willow
Feb. 23: Iron Dog Awards Brunch, Time TBD, Mat-Su Resort, Wasilla