IPSSSDR Expanded
The International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race is expanding its 2013 route to include Montana, Idaho and Utah along with its Wyoming venue. Race Director Frank Teasley explains the move comes in an effort to challenge participants with some new terrain. He says many of the sled dog races across the country and around the world set their courses, and within four, five or six years, the competitors to figure it out and can virtually write a manual about how to successfully run the race. Teasley says the beauty of the stage stop format is that it can be changed repeatedly – not to challenge any particular musher, but to keep all those involved in the race sharp from the beginning to the end of the race. Teasley assures the course will again begin in Jackson with the usual crowd-friendly race start, but will proceed from there to West Yellowstone and Island Park before returning to the Wyoming venues. The final leg near Evanston swings for several miles through Utah before returning to Evanston for the conclusion of the race. Meanwhile, he says, the stop in Park City, Utah has been eliminated. He says the race encountered some challenges last year with a lack of snow, and even though the hosts in Park City did a great job with hauling it in, it was decided that a 60-mile legitimate run to conclude the race was a better finish than an eight-mile show. Now in its 18th year, the 2013 IPSSSDR is slated for January 25th through February 2nd.
