Hayden Caron mushes on the Tanana River during the 110-mile T-Dog race on Saturday, March 23, 2024 in Fairbanks. The Tanana Valley Sled Dog Races is Alaska's newest dog sled race, organized by 4-time Iditarod champion Susan Butcher's daughter, Tekla Butcher-Monson. | Article/Image: Loren Holmes, ADN - Fairbanks, Alaska 
Alaska’s newest sled dog race breaks an alternative trail
As the sun began to rise over the frozen Tanana River on Saturday, competitors made their way to the start of Alaska’s newest sled dog race, the Tanana Valley Sled Dog Races, or T-Dog. In many ways the scene was familiar. Handlers unloaded dogs from the trucks, prepared the lines and attached the sleds, and helped the mushers with whatever they needed. But for this race, the roles were often reversed.
While musher Jennifer Nelson sat next to her sled, getting her hair braided for good luck, her handler for the day, Bridgett Watkins, was running around getting the dogs unloaded and the sled prepped. Normally it’s Nelson who is handling for Watkins, a Salcha musher who finished her first Iditarod in 2023.
Across the parking lot, a similar scene unfolded as Hayden Caron, a handler for Bailey Vitello, was preparing for his longest race so far, the 110-mile T-Dog. Like Watkins, Vitello finished his first Iditarod in 2023, and today he was helping his handler get ready to race.
Caron, wearing an Iditarod sweatshirt, was looking forward to the race. While it would be his longest, it wasn’t that different from the training runs he takes with the dogs. “Same thing, different place,” he said. “More of a fun run type of thing.”
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