Lack Of Snow Cancels 2024 John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon

A big announcement was made Tuesday night involving the 40th annual John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon.

Officials told FOX 21 the race will not go on as planned because of a serious lack of snow.

The Beargrease board members voted on the decision late Tuesday to put on the 40th annual Beargrease on Jan. 26, 2025.

The Beargrease was originally planned for later this month on Jan. 28.

Board President Mike Keyport, who’s also the great grandson of John Beargrease, told FOX 21 before the vote tonight that the race is at the mercy of Mother Nature.

“…tough decision, but we got to keep it, we got to keep our animals safe,” Keyport explained. Ideally, we would like 12 to 18 inches of snow. We can pull this off with 8 to 10, but that’s a minimum because if you’ve ever been to the start of the Beargrease, when them dogs are fired up at the beginning of the race, have some power behind them and when the mushers are out there alone on the trail, they need some good snow to hook down on should they need to stop for any reason. So, again, dog safety.”

Keyport said the Beargrease has been canceled only one other time in 2007.

Below is the official news release from Keyport Tuesday night:

“After months of waiting for the weather to cooperate, the Board of Directors for the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon has made the decision to postpone the 40th running to January 26, 2025. This was not an easy decision however, with concerns over the weather, safety of the dogs, mushers and volunteers it was the only decision that we felt comfortable with. There have been many discussions about postponing to a later date this winter but the weather is unpredictable. Likewise, in the effort to find a postponement date and in the spirit of sportsmanship, there was not another date that didn’t impede on another established race. The Beargrease will continue to have several fundraising events so stay tuned to our socials and website for how you can continue to support this amazing race that we all love so much.”