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Up to 300 sled dogs to be used in Beringia race

Eleven dog-drivers have filed their bids for participation in the traditional dog-race comptetition

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, February 06. /ITAR-TASS/. The upcoming dog sled race on the Kamchatka Peninsula will involve up to 300 huskies, the organizing committee of the competition announced on Thursday.

Bids for participation in the trek, the overall length of which this year will be 1,300 km, have been filed by eleven dog-drivers, among them three women. Each will drive a team of 8 to 14 dogs. The organizers are responsible for matters concerning the provision of place for a rest at each of 18 stages of the dog sled race for both dog-drivers and dogs.

The race will set out on March 1 from the biathlon complex, named after Vitaly Fatyanov, a prominent Russian coach, in a suburb of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The itinerary will run via 21 populated areas where meetings between dog-drivers and local inhabitants will be arranged and various mass activities will take place. The race is to reach the finish in Tilichiki Village in Kamchatka's north-east. The prize fund of the race is six million rubles.

The tradition of holding Beringia dog sled race originated on the Kamchatka Peninsula in 1990. The Northern Expanses magazine and the Peoples' Foundation of the North, Siberia, and the Far East were the initiators of the first dog sled competitions. Since 2010, Beringia is an official festival of the KamchatkaTerritory and one of the most significant events in the cultural and sports life of the Peninsula.