Understanding The Costs

You might think that spending months running around the wilderness with a bunch of dogs requires little more than a healthy dose of physical stamina and a little bit of crazy.  In fact, there is another key ingredient to safe and successful sled dog racing - good ol' cash.  Kibble doesn't grow on trees, and neither do dog booties, sleds, the gear required by mushers to face extremely cold temperatures, and the fuel needed to drive all of this to the starting line of a race.  Competitive events with cash purses require entry fees, and even the  mid-distance race entry fees are usually $250 or more.  As you have now started to guess, the costs add up very quickly.  

But what about the long distance races like Iditarod and Yukon Quest?  I think you will be very surprised to learn that the financial wherewithal required to participate in these events is as much of an undertaking as the events themselves.

The following is a detailed account of the approximate costs associated with running both the Yukon Quest and Iditarod.  These figures are based on the twins' experience thus far as well as the January/February 2009 issue of Mushing Magazine.  Kristy and Anna work very hard during the off season to allow them to cover as many of the costs as possible.  But covering the bottom line requires the generous support of sponsors, family, and friends.  And for this, Anna and Kristy cannot thank them enough!    
    

Show me da $$$

  • Entry Fees in 2012:  Yukon Quest ~ $1,500.  Iditarod ~ $3,000.
  • Rookie Meeting:  Not required for Kristy in the Yukon Quest.  Roughly $200 to attend the Iditarod's mandatory Rookie Meeting for Anna (covers cost of travel and lodging).
  • Travel Costs:  Yukon Quest ~ $1,500.  Iditarod ~ $1,500.  The Yukon Quest necessitates about 3,000 miles of driving, and costs will fluctuate with fuel prices.  The Iditarod requires the musher to pay for flying the dogs home from the finish line in Nome, Alaska, along with themselve, at least one handler, and all the gear. 
  • Pre-race Vet Checks:  Yukon Quest ~ $150.  Iditarod ~ $350.  This covers travel costs to and from the mandatory vet check.  The Iditarod also requires a deposit at a vet clinic prior to the race in case a dog dropped during the race needs special care.
  • Misc. Expenses the week before and the week after the race:  Yukon Quest ~ $600.  Iditarod ~ $1,000.  There is a LOT to get done immediately before the race that requires being near the race's starting line, so much of this expense is estimated food and lodging costs away from home.  At the finish line, both races offer host facilities, but other lodging is available and sometimes necessary.  Most meals must be purchased in the towns where the race finishes, which in the case of Iditarod is the remote town of Nome, Alaska, where food is expensive.
  • Mandatory Race Layover:  Yukon Quest ~ $200.  Iditarod ~ not applicable.  The mandatory layover in Dawson City during the Yukon Quest does not provide food or lodging for either the musher or handler.  Iditarod does provide facilities.
  • Handler Costs:  Yukon Quest ~ $1,500.  Iditarod ~ 1,000.  Costs can fluctuate depending on the handler's needs and his or her home base.
  • Dog Booties:  Yukon Quest ~ $1,500.  Iditarod ~ $1,800.  These are estimates based on bootie prices and can vary based on the number of dogs used and how long they are used during each race.
  • Dog Food:  Yukon Quest ~ $1,500.  Iditarod ~ $1,800.  These figures can vary depending on the type of dog food, the amount of time on the trail, and the number of dogs used in each race.  The Iditarod does not return unused dog food from the checkpoints, and since they require a 60 pound minimum per drop bag, that can lead to an unfortunate amount of wasted food.  
  • Sled Maintenance Costs:  Yukon Quest ~ $200.  Iditarod ~ $200.  This primarly covers cost of plastic for the sled runners and spare parts.
  • Musher Food:  Yukon Quest ~ $250.  Iditarod ~ $250.  Even though more food is sent out in the drop bags for the Yukon Quest trail due to the need for more campouts, the musher's food cost ends up being roughly equivalent during the Iditarod.  The latter race has more checkpoints, and the musher will send food to each of them as a precaution, even though she might not stay there for any length of time.
  • Musher's Personal Items:  Yukon Quest ~ $500.  Iditarod ~ $500.  This amount can vary considerably, but this estimate covers many basic drop bag items like batteries, socks, gloves, hand and foot warmers, etc.
  • Other Equipment & Gear:  Yukon Quest ~ $5,000.  Iditarod ~ $5,000.  These estimates include a wide variety of things, like:  ganglines, harnesses, the sled itself, sled bags, mandatory gear required by the race (cooker, ax, sleeping bag, showshoes, etc), snow hooks, ski poles, dog coats, dog leg protectors, vaccines, medications, and supplements, cooler, dog bowls, food dipper, and theraputic shoulder coats for the dogs.  Gear for the musher includes long underwear, socks, jackets, fur hood ruff, gloves, mittens, boots, goggles, hats, and more.  Many of these items are purchased periodically and not annually.     
     

And the total comes to (drumroll please!)...


Yukon Quest:  $14,600
Iditarod:  $16,400

You may have noticed that there are a lot of costs in the above list associated with the dogs, but no line item to account for the cost of the dogs themselves.  We opted to address that separately as there are several ways one can secure the use of a dog team.  Kristy, for example, has made arrangements with Paul Gebhardt so that the use of a team for racing is part of her working agreement with his kennel.  Others, including Anna, will work with a kennel but must also lease a dog team for racing.  Leasing a dog team can be very costly, often ranging from $15,000 to $20,000 for one season!  Still others will purchase or breed their own dogs (visit our Dog FAQs to get an idea of what an individual sled dog can cost).