Seeley Swan to Welcome

Seeley Lake 100 Sled Dog Race

"the Survival Challenge"
Coming January 25, 1997

Mushers and spectators gather at the starting line for the Seeley Lake, Montana, 100 Sled Dog Race.

The race begins at 5 p.m., just before dark, so mushers race during the night, arriving at the finish line back in Seeley Lake the next morning at daylight.

A musher heading for the finish line after a grueling overnight run from Seeley Lake to Holland Lake and back.

Unique Race: "the Survival Challenge"

The new Seeley Lake 100 Sled Dog Race is a hit with mushers. Changed in 1995 from a four-day, 200-mile marathon, the new Seeley Lake 100 attracted over twenty mushers in its first year.

Ron Ogden, race committee chair, says the Seeley Lake 100 is "...an experiment that has worked."

"This is a unique race," he said. "Mushers have to travel 100 miles overnight, and unassisted."

Normally, mushers have attendants at checkpoints to assist them, Ogden said, but this race, from Seeley Lake to Holland Lake and back is a race where they can "...test their wings" for the longer distances of 300 and 500 miles, Ogden said.

Mushers have a mandatory four-hour lay-over at the Holland Lake Campgrounds, but they can receive no assistance. The rules are very strict, Ogden said, and the care of dogs is being stressed. Mushers with dogs in bad shape will be penalized time on the course.

It's a race where the musher has to take care of himself and his dogs, Ogden said. Mushers gather at the new Seeley Creek Shelter at the junction of Cottonwood Lakes Road and Morrell Creed Road around 3 p.m. to prepare for a 5 p.m. starting time. With a starting time just before dark, the entire race is run at night with first contestants arriving back in Seeley Lake around 6 a.m. the next morning.

Around $2,000 in prize money is awarded the top 10 mushers.