Willow 300 delayed after warm spell

The Willow 300 sled dog race has been delayed due to poor conditions.

The race was originally planned to begin later this week, but a post on the official Facebook page says open water means officials have decided to push the start date back to Monday, January 31^st at Willow Lake, the same place where the Iditarod typically has its official start.

The Willow 300 is a fairly new race, started just five years ago.  Perhaps its most unique trait is the mass start.  Instead of teams going one at a time through a starting chute, the entire field begins at once, making for quite a spectacle.

This is not the first time warm January weather has interfered with plans for the Willow 300 and companion Willow 150 races.  In 2019, the race was delayed, then ultimately canceled due to poor trail conditions during a January thaw.

While weather has delayed the Willow 300, COVID-19 has not managed to stop it.  The race was held before the pandemic hit in 2020, and run with mitigations in place last year.  Nicolas Petit won both of those races.