Explore the Open World Championship Sled Dog Races in Anchorage, Alaska, taking place Feb. 22nd through Mar. 3rd, 2024.
It is Sunday, February 26, 2023, the third and final day of the Open World Championship Sled Dog Races. On Fourth Avenue in downtown Anchorage, Alaska, a group of local firefighters surrounds a small sled, holding it in place as 20 well-toned sled dogs strain against their leads, barking and baying as if they’d just seen their first full moon. Upon the tiny back platform of the sled stands Blayne “Buddy” Streeper. Streeper, who hails from Fort Nelson, British Columbia, is also standing on the precipice of a historic victory. He’s won this race, which has been held almost every year since 1946, nine times. Another victory will catapult him to the top of the leaderboard alongside one of his boyhood idols, George Attla, aka The Huslia Hustler, who won the race 10 times between 1958 and 1982.
Spectators, many wearing furs of various types, line both sides of the road and cheer madly as each team is brought forward from their mobile kennels parked along Fourth Street. The teams, after having their feet treated with a special salve and put in their traces, are first restrained by being anchored to snowmobiles driven by race volunteers from the community. Once they reach the actual starting line the firefighters surround the sled, and the snowmobile is unhooked.
Over the public address system, the official race starter counts down to zero, the firefighters jump clear of the sled and the dogs lunge forward, now suddenly silent as all their concentration turns to the effort of blasting down Fourth Avenue at a speed somewhere close to 20 miles an hour! Once all the teams are on the course, spectators have a bit of time to get a bite to eat, something warming to drink, and maybe, if you’re not an Anchorage resident, get inside out of the crisp clean Alaskan air which is holding steady at around 15 degrees.
What to do at the Open World Championship Sled Dog Races
One street down from the racecourse you can find such refuge at The Broken Blender. A full bar and comforting pub food await just a few steps from the starting line of the race. If you are not in need of a break from the weather you can queue up and endure a mild wait at Tia’s Gourmet Hot Dogs and Alaska Reindeer Sausage food cart. Or you might make your way over to the live fur auction taking place simultaneously with the start of the race. At these auctions, one can find almost everything related to animal trapping from full wolf pelts to lynx skulls.
After all, this is The Fur Rendezvous, a yearly celebration of the end of winter based upon the traditional gatherings of mountain men, Native Americans, and fur traders who would come together to barter furs and other animal products for a new round of supplies and maybe a few bottles of whisky too. But by the 1930s most of the old-time mountain men were gone and more modern-thinking traders traveling to Anchorage re-christened the event with its current moniker. Now, the “Rondy,” has evolved into a full-on winter festival with over 120 events including snowshoe baseball, ice sculpting, hockey, and the staging of a community theatre melodrama. But the main event of the current day Fur Rendezvous is the World Open Dog Sled Championship.
The Open World Championship Sled Dog Races Racecourse
Regardless of whether you decide to hit the Broken Blender or seek out food on the street, don’t dally too long before heading a mile or so down the racecourse to the top of Cordova Hill where you can await the return of the racers as they come into the final stretch of the 26-mile course. The course winds through culverts and over bridges, makes its way into the public greenspaces around Anchorage, and eventually onto a 14-mile stretch known as the Tozier Track which is specifically maintained for dogsleds before returning to Fourth Avenue where the finish line awaits along with well-earned food, water, and rest for these dogs which are truly amazing athletes. The race winner is determined by the combined times of three consecutive days of racing. And while some dogs do not run all three days, many complete the equivalent of three marathons in three days.
Dr. Arleigh Reynolds, DVM and senior scientist at Nestle Purina wrote about these dogs in his introduction to the 2023 race pamphlet. “Each Fur Rondy dog is the product of tens of generations of an intensive breeding program and selection process. . .The focus of these programs has been the creation of a dog a with unique combination of speed and endurance and a mind capable of navigating the urban Anchorage trail system.” Teams pass through eight culverts, cross multiple footbridges, and are open to potential distractions such as people grilling food trailside, and kids engaged in snowball fights, and over two miles, of course, are run on city streets lined with cheering fans. There are longer dog races and races that require more speed over short distances but almost all of the other arms of dog sled racing look to Fur Rondy dogs for their breeding stock. Dr. Arleigh concludes his introduction declaring that “the very best athletes run down Fourth Avenue for three days in a row on the last weekend in February.”
Along the slope leading to the top of Cordova Hill where it crosses East 15th Street crowds slowly gather and there is quiet anticipation in the air. Automobiles continue to use East 15th Street during the race so the same community volunteers that earlier restrained the dog teams at the starting line now work furiously to shovel snow into the intersection as the dog teams grow closer on their return to downtown. Then, a sudden cry of “TEAM” will go up and all eyes will turn to the bottom of the hill where the winding race route emerges from the trees onto the long straight uphill that is the final challenge for the teams after almost 25 miles of racing.
As the dogs ascend the hill the drivers will step off the back of the sled to help push to the summit and across the intersection heading back towards Fourth Avenue. Occasionally a team will lose momentum and begin to slide towards the side of the course. Team members and trainers then leap to the side of the team to ensure that the dogs do not become entangled in their traces and that no one from the spectator group attempts to get involved.
Winning the Open World Championship Sled Dog Races
The winner of the World Open race is determined by the lowest aggregate time over the three days of the race. Depending on conditions and health evaluations, mushers might run a different number of dogs each day. For the 2023 race Buddy Streeper started 20 dogs on day one, 18 on day two, and with an almost insurmountable seven-minute lead he started only 16 dogs on the final day. His day three time was still impressive at one hour, 24 minutes, and 57 seconds and his overall three-day was ten minutes faster than second-place finisher Greg Taylor of Fairbanks. With his record-tying 10th victory in the bag, Streeper passed the welcoming crowd at the finish line on Fourth Avenue with a fist in the air and a beaming smile on his face.
After the race, Streeper talked with Harlow Robinson of the Alaska Sports Report. “It takes a lifetime of work and commitment, getting even one win is a big deal.” When asked about pulling even with his hero George Attla in the wind column, Streeper responded, “It’s amazing to share ten wins with him, he was a good friend of mine.”
2024 Open World Championship Sled Dog Races
Streeper made it more than clear that he has every intention of returning to Anchorage next February with win number 11 clearly fixed in his sites. Fur Rendezvous 2024 begins February 22 and runs through March 3rd.