Tustumena 200 Tustumena 200 The Tustumena 200 Sled Dog Race is a dog sled race on the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska covering 200 miles. The race is run each year on the last weekend in January, and has grown in reputation to draw competitive distance mushers from Alaska, the lower 48, and international locations. The Tustumena 200 (known locally as the T200) boasts the highest purse for a dog sled race in its class. The minimum guaranteed purse is $25,000 and has been as high as $30,000. Before mushers can compete in the 1,150 mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, they must
Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race narrow Happy River Gorge, where the trail balances on the side of a heavily forested incline. Rainy Pass is the most dangerous check point in the Iditarod. In 1985, Jerry Austin broke a hand and two of his dogs were injured when the sled went out of control and hit a stand of trees. Many others have suffered from this dangerous checkpoint. Rainy Pass is part of the Historic Iditarod Trail, but until 1976 the pass was inaccessible and route detoured through Ptarmigan Pass, also known as Hellsgate, because of the 1964 Good Friday earthquake. From Rainy Pass, the route