ECX Race Rules and Key Information
Race Rules for 2024 are updated.
Common sense and good sportsmanship shall prevail. All mushers must use civil conduct and act in a sportsmanlike manner throughout the race. Rules for the 2024 Eagle Cap Extreme can be downloaded here.
Be sure to read the rules, all changes are in red.
The Veterinary medicine section of the rules has been updated.
The 31 mid-distance and Junior races have been combined into a single race with two classes running together.
100 Mile race will be in three sections with two rest stops in the Ollokot checkpoint. There will be a floating rest requirement of six hours with three hours mandatory during the second stop for the vet check.
200 Mile race will stay as before with eight hours floating rest, four of which must be taken at the second rest stop for a mandatory vet check. The first leg of the race will be the longest leg.
The total teams allowed at Ollokot will be 20 teams. We will keep 10 slots for 100 and 200 teams through the 1st of November. Then if we have a wait list for one class and the other is not full, we will allow the waitlist in for a total of 20 teams.
Total teams for the race (all classes) is 30.
Checkpoint information for the 100 and 200 mile races
200 mile mushers will be allowed three drop bags and 100 mile mushers are allowed two. We provide grain sack type bags for you at your vet check and will transport the drop bags to the checkpoint for you. We would like to have as many drop bags turned in to Race Central by 5pm on Wednesday (right before the driver's meeting) as possible, but we need them by Thursday morning at 7 am at the latest.
We will provide straw at the checkpoint for your dogs. Both 200 mile and 100 mile teams will have the same camp spot at Ollokot Checkpoint each time you are there (reduces possibility of disease transmission and you can leave your drop bags at your spot). The 100 mile race will have a total of 6 hours of floating rest time over 2 checkpoint stops however the second stop must be a minimum of 3 hours for a mandatory vet check. The 200 mile race will have a total of 8 hours of floating rest time over 3 checkpoint stops, however the second rest-stop must be a minimum of four hours. After the race we will transport your drop bags back to Race Central for you.
At checkpoint Ollokot, water for your dogs is available out of the Imnaha River which runs right next to camp. A marked path will allow for safe access to the river.
A warm hospitality tent (aka the Ollokot Hilton) and warm food and drinks are available for free to all mushers. We also have a heated sleeping tent available for mushers. Vet Books will be provided to you at the pre-race vet check, you are responsible to have them at the start, finish, and all checkpoints. HEET for cookers is NOT provided at the checkpoint and needs to be in your drop bags if needed.
31-mile, 2 Day Race teams will start their first of 2 days on Thursday right after the 200 and 100 mile teams have left. The second day's race starts on Friday estimated at 12 noon but we may adjust the time to try to avoid head-on traffic with the returning 100 mile teams. Both legs run the same trail each day, 31 miles each day. Vet Books will be provided to you at the pre-race vet check, you are responsible to have them at the start, finish, and all checkpoints.
The mandatory driver's meeting is on Wednesday at 5 pm. This meeting is only for mushers, handlers, and ECX race personnel ONLY. We will give you directions to the meeting at your vet check. At this meeting we will go over Race Rules, the course and markers, parking at the start, veterinary care, and any questions you may have.
We will be using SPOT trackers on all team sleds again this year. This is a great safety precaution, allowing us to keep track of all teams on the course, and if an emergency arises allows much faster response for help. None of the SPOT tracker information is available to any musher during the race, so there is no competitive advantage. We do have the information available to the public on our website, so friends and family can track your progress throughout the race. We will provide and place the units on your sled (with your direction) prior to the race start on Thursday morning.