http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2008/01/25/quest-marshal.html

New Yukon Quest marshal gets ready for race

Last Updated: Friday, January 25, 2008 | 4:32 PM CT
CBC News

The new race marshal for this year's Yukon Quest International sled-dog race says he will make a final call on trail safety next week, as mushers get set for the Alaska-Yukon race, to start Feb. 9.

Yukon Quest organizers announced Doug Grilliot's appointment as race marshal on Tuesday. He replaces Joe May, who suddenly resigned from the post earlier this month.

Grilliot, a musher based in Willow, Alaska, who finished the 1,600-kilometre race in 2001 and 2002, also has experience as a judge. In fact, he was picked to help judge this year's race before being named race marshal.

He said mushers and race officials will inspect the trail over Eagle Summit early next week.

"I think my most immediate challenge is to just keep in close contact with the folks up in Fairbanks, [Alaska] you know, for the start and answer any . last-minute questions the mushers have coming up with any of the rules or perhaps some of the procedures," he told CBC News.

He will then "just basically help support the staff and any questions [that] come up that they might need a little guidance from me on," he said.

Often billed as the toughest dog-sled race in the world, the 25th annual Yukon Quest is drawing 27 teams from around the world to race from Fairbanks to Whitehorse, in pursuit of a piece of the $125,000 US purse, including the $30,000 US top prize.

Mushers and dog handlers are expected to spend this weekend dropping off food and supplies at each of the race's eight checkpoints.