update: Saturday morning, March 9:
Due to inclement weather, the race has been delayed until Sunday, March 10, starting at 12:00 noon. KNOM will bring you live coverage of Nome-Golovin 2019 from just before 12:00 noon through 3pm, with final results to follow later Sunday.
More than 45 racers signed up Thursday night for the 53rd annual Nome-Golovin Snowmachine Race at the old armory building in Nome. There are still four classes in which racers will compete: the open class, the fan-cooled class, the 0-600 CC, and the women’s class.
Even with poor sea ice conditions along the portion of trail from White Mountain to Golovin, race official Kevin Bahnke says they’ll stick to the traditional, 200-mile course for this year’s race.
“It’s still the same loop. It’s a little bit tougher for them (the racers) this year. We have a lot of wet, heavy snow, so it’ll be interesting to see who is going to finish with this wet, heavy snow. They’re going to be using a lot of extra gas.”
Typically, the top finishers of the Nome Golovin compete for cash prizes worth up to $6,000, but as of right now, Banhke says the total dollar amount is not set.
“The Bering Sea Lions Club, we kick in $10,000 for the race itself, but we do fundraising, and we get sponsorship from various organizations. So, a dollar amount, I don’t have the exact amount. We still have money coming in from different people.”
The overall winner of the 2018 race, Jarvis Miller of Nome, took home $3,500, and he’s back again this year along with previous champion Tre West. Besides Nome-Golovin champions, the 2019 race will also feature Iron Dog winners like Mike Morgan, Chris Olds, and Tyler Akelstad.
Less than half the number of women racers from last year are competing in this year’s D class. Seven are set to snowmachine the usual trail from Nome to Topkok and back.
On noon Saturday, all 47 racers will start the 200-mile course from the sea ice in Nome; however, weather conditions could delay or postpone the race start.
KNOM will bring you live coverage of the 2019 Nome Golovin race from 12 to 3pm Saturday (March 9).
Image at top: a racer leaves the starting line of Nome-Golovin 2017. Photo: David Dodman, KNOM file.
