The Kuskokwim 300 is among the more highly regarded mid-distance dogsled races in Alaska, annually attracting some of the top mushers in the sport. The race starts and ends on the Kuskokwim River in

Bethel, Alaska Bethel ( esu, Mamterilleq) is a city in Bethel Census Area, Alaska, United States. It is the largest community on the Kuskokwim River, located approximately upriver from where the river flows into Kuskokwim Bay. It is also the largest city in ...

, and is run on and adjacent to its namesake river.

History

Often referred to as the "Kusko 300", or "K-300", the race has been held every January since 1980 (except 2021 which was held in February), and commemorates an early mail route that once tied the settlements along the river to the outside world. Top mushers and hundreds of sled dogs participate in the race for a purse of $160,000, the largest offered by any 300-mile (480 km) sled dog race. The race is renowned for its often difficult weather and trail conditions. The inaugural race saw a fierce blizzard with dangerously low windchills for the first half of the race, followed by a freak thaw and rain for the latter half. Three separate K-300s (1991, 1999, 2008) earned the nickname "Kusko-Swim", due to strong winds, rain, and deep overflow on top of the river ice. 2021 will see the race be rescheduled for mid-February, avoiding

Super Bowl LV Super Bowl LV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2020 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the American Football Conferen ...

List of race winners

* 1980 -

Rick Swenson Rick Swenson, sometimes known as the "King of the Iditarod", (born 1950 in Willmar, Minnesota), is an American dog musher who was first to win the 1,049-mile (1688.2 km) Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race across the U.S. state of Alaska five times, a ...

* 1981 - Jerry Austin * 1982 - Jerry Austin * 1983 - Myron Angstman * 1984 - Rick Swenson * 1985 -

Rick Mackey Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality *Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...

* 1986 - Myron Angstman * 1987 - Rick Mackey * 1988 -

Susan Butcher Susan Howlet Butcher (December 26, 1954 – August 5, 2006) was an American dog musher, noteworthy as the second woman to win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 1986, the second four-time winner in 1990, and the first to win four out of five s ...

* 1989 - Sonny Russell * 1990 - Sonny Russell * 1991 - Jeff King * 1992 - Jeff King * 1993 - Jeff King * 1994 - Martin Buser * 1995 - Ramey Smyth * 1996 - Charlie Boulding * 1997 - Jeff King * 1998 - Greg Swingley * 1999 -

Doug Swingley Doug Swingley (born May 14, 1953) is an American dog musher and dog sled racer who lives in Lincoln, Montana, and is a four-time winner of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race across Alaska. His first Iditarod was in 1992. His first victory came i ...

* 2000 - Charlie Boulding * 2001 - Jeff King * 2002 - Jeff King * 2003 - Jeff King * 2004 - Ed Iten * 2005 -

Mitch Seavey Mitch Seavey (born 1959)Jodie Tweed, Brainerd Dispatch: Winner has Crosby ties'', March 17, 2004. URL last accessed 2012-10-29. is an American dog musher, who won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race across the U.S. state of Alaska in 2004, 2013 and 20 ...

* 2006 - Jeff King * 2007 - Martin Buser * 2008 - Mitch Seavey * 2009 - Mitch Seavey * 2010 - John Baker * 2011 - Paul Gebhardt * 2012 - Rohn Buser * 2013 - Jeff King * 2014 - Rohn Buser * 2015 - Pete Kaiser * 2016 - Pete Kaiser * 2017 - Pete Kaiser * 2018 - Pete Kaiser * 2019 - Matthew Failor (record time) * 2020 - Pete Kaiser * 2021 - Richie Diehl * 2022 - Pete Kaiser

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.k300.org
2010 Kuskokwim 300 results

1980 establishments in Alaska Annual events in Alaska Bethel, Alaska Dog sledding races Recurring sporting events established in 1980 Sports competitions in Alaska