THEY’RE OFF!
The Yukon Quest 300 started on the Chena River in downtown Fairbanks one hour ago. Aliy departed in the first position at 5 PM AST. Allen followed, in 7th position, 12 minutes later. A total of 9 teams started the race under crystal clear skies with temperatures hovering around 20 degrees F below zero.
Their first checkpoint is Chena Hot Springs, 99 miles from the start. We expect Aliy and Allen at this checkpoint sometime early Sunday morning. The following are new guidelines issued by the race marshalls just before the YQ300 start. All teams will now take a mandatory 4 hour rest at Chena Hot Springs and have 8 hours to transport their teams, by truck, to the Mile 101 checkpoint.
For the Yukon Quest’s official comments on last minute trail changes go to http://www.yukonquest.com/site/current-news/.
Thanks to Kaz, Ray and Sammy for this report directly from the YQ300 starting line. Stay tuned for race updates as we receive information from our dedicated dog handlers on the Yukon Quest 300 trail.
