GLENALLEN, Alaska — Mansfield native Matthew Failor took his sled dog team on a 300-mile training run and camping trip over the weekend.
It just happened to be during the 2025 Copper Basin 300 Sled Dog Race, finishing 22nd out of 30 teams during unseasonably warm temperatures.
During an interview with Richland Source last week, Failor had said he didn’t care where his 12-dog team finished in the race. It was simply a three-day training run for the nearly 1,000-mile Idiatarod race coming up in early March.
“I generally take the bigger, slightly slower dogs (to the Copper Basin race). But you never know … if it’s a slow trail … we might be able to keep up with it,” said Failor, who owns and operates Alaskan Husky Adventures in Willow, Alaska, with his wife, Liz.
“They are all training runs (before Iditarod), but the Copper Basin is going to be just a straight up camping trip. We don’t really care where we finish.”
Failor planned to give his dogs “extra rest” along the way.
Whitney McLaren Photography
Thanks to Whitney McClaren Photography for permission to use four of his images from the 2025 Copper Basin 300 Sled Dog Race with this story.
“Alaska has been my home since 2005 when I moved here with my family from Montana. After a short time away attending college out of state, I was drawn back to Alaska for its beauty and opportunity. I began working as an Archeologist during the summers in Delta Junction and attending classes at UAF in the winter. Photography started as an elective for me in school but resulted in a new passion,” he said on his website at https://mushingphotos.com/
“I spent countless evenings hunting for the Northern Lights and in 2014 I followed the Yukon Quest alongside a fellow photographer capturing an amazing journey of man and dog on a 1,000-mile race. I was hooked. The Yukon Quest combined so many of passions that I had grown to love. This opened my eyes to dog mushing!”
To learn how to contact McLaren, visit his website at https://mushingphotos.com/contact/
Eleven of the 12 dogs that started the race for Failor reached the finish line for his 17th-Dog Team, including Iditarod veteran Sonic Boom, who began the race in the solo lead position.
“We couldn’t be more proud of them. Sonic Boom made it to the Meiers Lake (checkpoint) and I made the decision to end his race early with a tight triceps.
“He enjoyed riding around after that with Jaren (Ulrich), who had the tiring job of handling and raking up the straw once we departed from each checkpoint,” Failor said.
“Sister super stars Fable and Saga ran lead nearly the entire race. I was amazed with their effort through several water crossings.
“A few times the dogs actually stopped to lap up and drink the water while mushing through! With temperatures reaching nearly 40 degrees with light rain during the race, it didn’t surprise me the dogs wanted to cool down when they saw open water,” said Failor, who mushed in the race wearing a rain and wind coat.
“As always this is a total team effort and this includes the sponsors, boosters and kennel crew at home, as well as my family at home,” he said.
“Thank you to all who have helped the dogs get to the finish line.
“I feel confident now that this group of dogs is conditioned for the 1,000 mile Iditarod,” he said.
It’s the first of two “training races” Failor has planned, including the Kuskokwim 300 scheduled to start on Jan. 24.
It’s a busy time of year for Failor, whose business is also providing sled dog tours around their home.
Failor and his 17th Dog team will have two squads in this year’s Iditarod as Dane Baker, who works for Failor, will also compete in March, making his first run across the snow and ice.
Both men are running shorter races this month to help prepare for the Iditarod, which begins in Anchorage — about an hour’s drive from Failor’s home in Willow — and continues all the way to the state’s west coast in Nome.
Failor competed in the Copper Basin 300 and will race in the Kuskokwim 300 on Jan. 24 Baker is racing a team in the SuDog 300 on Jan. 25.
Weather may impact the January training races.
“With warm temps and low snow, these races could postpone or cancel altogether. We shall see what Mother Nature decides to do in the coming days,” Failor said.
Weather may also impact the Iditarod itself, according to an email from Shannon Noonan, director of marketing and communications for “The Last Great Race.”
“Our team is working diligently to gather data points, with trail flyovers, input from checkpoint communities and engaging weather experts to assess any potential impacts,” she said.
“We are doing everything in our power to run the traditional Southern route. But if adjustments to the racecourse or schedule become necessary, we are prepared to act swiftly to ensure a safe and fair competition for everyone involved,” Noonan said.
“We intend to make the final call on the course by 5 p.m. on Feb. 3 in order for teams to be able to sort their supply drops in time for the fly outs,” she said.
(Below are photos provided from Matthew Failor from the Copper Basin 300 Sled Dog Race.)
