In January, 2000 Don Bowers—author, airman, dog driver—started a combined 200/300 mile dog race in Willow.
Following his death that year, a group of volunteers continued that race, now renamed in his memory. The race is a qualifier for the Iditarod and Yukon Quest.
The 2013 Races
Entry fees/deposits were mailed this afternoon. Apologies for the delay.
mrb Jan 17
RACE CANCELLED
It is with deep dissapointment that I must announce the DBMR has been cancelled for this year. I spoke with Jim Kershner our trail boss and he said that there is less than 3 inches of snow left at his place and that folks traveling to Shulin Lake this weekend were spewing dirt most of the way. The low spots are worse. Therefore in order to allow folks time to make other arrangements we are making our decision now. We realize that there is a small possibility that there will be a dump of snow between now and the day of the race but with our very small trail crew volunteers, putting in a trail the week of the race is not doable and not how we do business. If you have any questions please feel free to contact us. On behalf of the DBMR Organizers thank you for your interest.
Beth Wheeler, Race Manager
Jan 2
Entry fees/deposits will be refunded in full over the next few days.
mrb Jan 2
Robert Forto chats with Race Manager Beth Wheeler on Mushing Radio
mrb Nov 15
Well, that’s it folks. Entries are now closed as we have reached the 40 that we know can park on Jim’s pasture. I can add you to a waiting list if you like, in the event that someone drops out.
mrb Nov 5
A reminder: a position on the “expressed interest list” does not guarantee you a place in the race. A deposit or entry fee does. We don’t have a definitive cut-off number yet, but it is somewhere near 40 teams for the combined 200/300 races.
mrb Oct 30
Race date has been changed to January 18th.
After much discussion with interested mushers and the Bowers Volunteers, we have decided to change the date from January 25th to January 18th. The Bowers concentration has always been on qualifying mushers for the Iditarod and Quest, or allowing novices to experience a 200/300 mile race in a friendly environment, at a cost that does not break the bank. By moving our date we allow teams to enter the Bowers 300 (18th), the Northern Lights 300 (25th) and the Tustumena 200 (Feb 2nd) … without taking out an additional mortgage.
To those of you who expressed an interest, but were committed to the 25th and cannot make the 18th, please accept our apologies.
With the escalating cost of gas we will (probably) use the same trail format as last year. While this means covering the same 100 miles three times (300 race), the trail still remains more varied and interesting than a run “up and down the river” while allowing us to keep entry fees modest.
Avoid late fees: deposits now due January 11th
mrb Oct 20
See also the Don Bowers Race page on Facebook maintained by Beth Wheeler, our Race Manager.
