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Two longtime Yukon Quest officials have signed up to oversee the 2021 Summit Quest 300.
Doug Grilliot was named race marshal and Dr. Cristina “Nina” Hansen will be head veterinarian.
Grilliot finished the Yukon Quest twice and the Iditarod once before becoming a Yukon Quest race judge for the first time in 2006, where he oversaw the rescue operation of mushers and their teams from Eagle Summit during a severe blizzard. He served again as a race judge in 2007 and later served as race marshal for the YQ1000 race six times. Grilliot was race marshal for the Yukon Quest 300 in 2012 and is currently the official musher representative on the Alaskan Board of Directors.
Hansen is an assistant professor in the Department of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She worked for the YQ 1000 as a trail veterinarian for five years before becoming head veterinarian, a role she has held for the past seven years. She also worked as head veterinarian for the Copper Basin 300 sled dog race for 12 years and will join us with an abundance of expertise in the field of sled dog veterinary medicine.
Grilliot and Hansen will be starting to assemble their respective crews of judges and trail veterinarians to assure a fair and safe race for dogs and mushers. Signups for the 2021 Summit Quest will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3 at the Fox Lions Community Center, 2285 Steese Highway in Fox (by the weigh station). The event is also doubling as the Quest’s volunteer appreciation party, with an outdoor bonfire. Attendees are asked to wear a mask and adhere to social distancing mandates. For information, call 452-7954.
Contact staff writer Julie Stricker at 459-7532.
