The 2012 Knik 200-Joe Redington Sr. Memorial Sled Dog Race came to an exciting and crowd-pleasing -- but ultimately confusing -- finish Sunday afternoon when four-time Iditarod champion Lance Mackey raced under the finish banner only moments ahead of 2010 Copper Basin 300 champion Jake Berkowitz.
As the two teams swept out of the woods and down onto Knik Lake, both mushers urged their teams onward, and as Lance's dogs crossed under the finish banner he turned around on his runners, deftly riding backwards, and raised both arms in a friendly victory salute to his pursuer. As his dogs slowed to a stop the tired musher collapsed backward for a moment on his sled, then rallied to welcome Jake to the finish of a hard-fought race.
Within minutes it was clear that there was confusion about the winner. Rumors that Lance had failed to sign out of the Skwentna checkpoint were followed up by assertions that signing out was not necessary, only signing into the checkpoint. Blizzard conditions and heavy snowfall at Skwentna made communications difficult, adding to the complexity of the situation.
As confused fans speculated about what the final outcome would be, Ray Redington, grandson of the man the race memorializes, finished in third place. Perennial favorite DeeDee Jonrowe came in fourth, and teams continued to arrive all day, into the night, and even until the following afternoon.
At the awards banquet that evening, the race officials announced that Jake Berkowitz was the winner, because his team had the overall fastest time on the trail. One Facebook wit summarized the situation nicely: "Okay, I think I have this straight, Lance left first, came in first, but came in second. Jake left ninth, came in second, but came in first. Ray left twenty-second, came in third and came in third. Wow, where's my Staples button……That Was Easy!"
There were other twists in this race beyond the complicated finish. With SPOT trackers attached to their sleds, the teams could be monitored throughout the race via website updates. And like most of the races in this socially networked state, this one was followed closely by fans logging in from across Alaska, all over the country, and even from around the world. The race's Facebook page became a hotbed of questions without answers as teams veered off the trail, headed in odd directions, or simply stopped moving altogether.
Four-time Iditarod champion Martin Buser entered six teams in the race, and at various points his teams would appear to be barely moving, and then stopped, which confused viewers who hadn't seen his pre-race blog posts. "We six mushers will be using this race as a big training/learning experience for my young dogs (we are planning a few long rests along the trail to teach the young dogs to 'camp' and conserve energy) as well as a learning experience for James and Michael (their first races!)," Buser wrote in one post. "Congratulations to them!"
Two mushers, Zoya DeNure and Justin High, scratched; Justin apparently deciding to take a shortcut home to Willow, which left people watching the trackers scratching their heads for a while. Because of the deep snow conditions, Corinne Zurflueh deliberately dropped a dog at a non-drop point, making the choice not to put her team through carrying the dog on the trail, even though the decision meant she was withdrawn from the race. Veteran musher Christine Roalofs took a wrong turn somewhere and decided to just set up camp off the trail. "Word is she's fine," was reported on Facebook, and she eventually finished in last place, taking the traditional Red Lantern Award.
Top 10 finishers:
1. Jake Berkowitz
2. Lance Mackey
3. Ray Redington
4. Dee Dee Jonrowe
5. Trent Herbst
6. Ken Anderson
7. Mike Santos
8. Clint Warnke
9. Seth Barnes
10. Jason Mackey
The first place purse is $4,000, $2,400 for second place, and $1,600 for third place. The complete final standings can be found on the race website.
Helen Hegener is an author and a documentary filmmaker specializing in distance sled dog races and the men, women and dogs who run them. This post originally appeared on her website, Northern Light Media. It has been republished with permission.