total of 100 to 300 miles, and long-distance races cover 300 miles to more than 1,000 miles. Sprint races frequently are two- or three-day events with heats run on successive days with the same dogs on the same course. Mid-distance races are either heat races of 14 to 80 miles per day, or continuous races of 100 to 200 miles. (These categories are informal and may overlap to a certain extent.) Long-distance races may be continuous or stage races, in which participants run a different course each day, usually from a central staging location. Generally, teams start one after another in equal time intervals, competing against the clock rather than directly against one another. This is due to logistic considerations of getting teams of dogs to the starting line for a clean timed start. Mass starts where all of the dog teams start simultaneously are popular in parts of Canada. Another mode of dogsled racing is the freight race, in which a specified weight per dog is carried in the sled. Sprint races Northern Pines Sled Dog Race, Iron River Wisconsin. Sprint and Mid-Distance races. Akiak Dash- Annual 60 mile race from Bethel, Alaska to Akiak, Alaska and back Apostle Islands Sled Dog Race - The largest sled dog race in the Midwestern United States, held at Bayfield, Wisconsin, on a 60-mile course. Baltic Winter Cup — Series of sleddog races across the Baltic states, on snow as well as on dryland. ADVANCE Sled Dog Challenge — The only snow based sled dog race event staged in Australia. Short-distance sprint races take place annually at Dinner Plain Village located north east in the Victorian High Country. see www.sleddogchallenge.com and www.visitdinnerplain.com. American Dog Derby — Oldest dog sled race in the United States. The first American Dog Derby was held in 1917, and the races continued until being discontinued in the 1960s. The race was then revived in 1993 and still continues. Avannaata Qimussersua is Greenland's championship in dog sled racing, using the typically Greenlandic fan formation with 12 dogs. The championship includes all West-Greenland settlements north of the Arctic circle and is held annually in March or April. The route covers about 40 kilometres, mainly on land but occasionally crossing lake and sea ice. In 2013 and 2014, it was held in the town of Ilulissat. Big Land Challenge Dog Team Race — Annual 20-kilometer race in Goose Bay, Labrador.