A good problem to have

The 750-mile Race to Alaska was an annual event until it wasn’t, with fans having to endure a biennial shift after the 2024 edition. Good news – that was two years ago and the 9th edition from Port Townsend, WA to Ketchikan, AK is in the queue.

When entries opened for the June 14 start, a good problem occurred. Here’s the update:

All the literature said teams could apply until April. Then the doors closed in January.
You’re surprised. Maybe pissed. We get that.

2026 Race to Alaska Applications tsunamied themselves at the Vetting Team four times faster than in any other year of Race to Alaska. And at some point, we had to dust off a long-theoretical fleet-size limit that’s mostly lived in the bottom of a desk drawer since around 2015. This year, it stopped being theoretical.

We put out word that applications would be closing early, thinking there was still runway. Turns out crystal balls are unreliable. Just as things looked like they might be leveling off, another surge came roaring through the pipes. Time to close up shop. And yeah – it’s really closed.

For the record: we don’t curate teams for this race. We don’t hand out golden tickets. The Vetting Team filters out folks we think might shuffle off their mortal coils out there, and it’s first come, first vetted. No back doors to the chocolate factory.

There’s a waitlist. You’re welcome to put your name on it, but we want to be straight with you: it might not amount to much.

It turns out R2AK doesn’t own the ocean – so you should go out there this summer anyway and break stuff. And then, we hope, we’ll see you in 2028.

Note: The course is divided in two stages, with 44 teams starting the 2024 race. Thirty-two continued on to the second stage and 25 crossed the Alaskan finish line.