INTRODUCTION

To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Gold Rush Trail Dog Sled Mail Run in 2012, organizers wanted to do something a little different….why not include a stage race as part of the weekend’s events? For the first five years, going back to the 1990’s, the Mail Run was in fact a race…..actually there were several race classes, with the highlight event being a 235 mile mid- distance race that was a qualifier for both the Iditarod and the Yukon Quest.

The Stage Race is a 140 mile three day Stage Race run over three different looped trails. The respective courses run over logging roads and bush trails located in the central interior of B.C. The intent of this race is to promote the sport of dog mushing and to provide mushers with an opportunity to challenge themselves and their dogs in a stage race style event. This competitive Stage Race is one component of the Gold Rush Trail Sled Dog Mail Run and will be staged in conjunction with the separate non-competitive participation Mail Run Event. Details of the trail, the purse and the schedule of events will be posted on the Mail Run website by January 5, 2012 and this information will also be sent to all registered competitors.

The Stage Race will be limited to 15 teams. The total distance will be approximately 140 miles run on three separate looped trails over three days. The Stage Race and the Mail Run will use the same trail network but organizers are confident that there will be absolutely no head-on passing although there is a chance that the faster stage racers may catch the tail end mail runners. If and when this happens, the stage racers will always be given the right-of-way.

Organizers are working towards a $10,000.00 purse but this amount is not yet confirmed. The actual purse will be announced on January 15th. All payouts will be made in Cariboo gold and the purse breakdown/payout will be 1st – 10th place in order

1. 18%
2. 17%
3. 15%
4. 11%
5. 9%
6. 8%
7. 7%
8. 6%
9. 5%
10. 4%

Registration and Waiver (Release of Liability) forms can be found elsewhere on this website. The stage race is considered to be part of the Mail Run event and all stage race competitors will be sworn in as official mail carriers and must carry a bag of mail on their sled. Finishing time for the third stage (Sunday) will be taken when the racer crosses a pre-determined line but the real race won’t be over until the racer hands his bag of mail off to the Postal Superintendent in front of the Barkerville Post Office.

Race rules are printed in full elsewhere on this website. The Race Marshall for the 2012 Stage Race is Warren Palfrey. On Thursday evening (January 19th) there will be a separate musher’s meeting (for stage racers and handlers only), to be held away from the A&W Restaurant where the formal welcome and registration will take place for those participating in the Mail Run as well as for fans and family.. The location for the stage racer’s musher’s meeting will be determined and all registered competitors will be informed of the location. There will be a vet check on the Thursday afternoon and again, competitors will be informed of location and time.