The mushers in the Percy DeWolfe Memorial Mail Race departed from Dawson City on Thursday morning headed toward Eagle, Alaska before turning back. The race is 200 miles and follows the historic mail route of legendary mail carrier Percy DeWolfe.

The 10 a.m. race start was reserved for the memory of DeWolfe. The first competitor left the chute at 10:02 a.m., with the others leaving in two-minute intervals thereafter. The time difference will be calculated into the mandatory layover.

Whitehorse resident musher Nathaniel Hamlyn is competing in his third Percy. Hamlyn was the fifth musher back to Dawson in last year's race. In his last distance race, the Yukon Quest, Hamlyn came in tenth.

"I think my Quest experience will help," said Hamlyn. "The start is the same trail as the Quest but it differs from the Quest because you do not go over Eagle summit. I am expecting quite a bit of water; hopefully, I'm not going to swim."

Due to poor conditions, the trail has been changed at Fortymile.

"When it is hot, the dogs don't have the enthusiasm they are flat," said Hamlyn. "They get dehydrated quicker and on a wet trail they can't wear booties."

Hamlyn, who has 16 dogs in his kennel, will be using the eight dogs he finished the Quest with.

"I feel like this year, the team is faster," said Hamlyn. "I think they will be better. I hear there is going to be lots of good racers going, so the race is going to be really competitive."

This year, the Percy is featuring two other Quest mushers. Deke Naaktgeboren and Jason Biasetti will also be competing. Biasetti is also the returning Percy DeWolfe champion.

Hamlyn's team ranges in age from three to six, which he said is a peak time for a race dog.

"I feel pretty lucky to run with this team," said Hamlyn. "I have a small kennel, so I don't have the numbers. Having dogs these ages won't happen again for a little bit it is hard to keep a core.

"I've been running with them for a while now and I have three pups coming up. You have a connection when you raise them."

Hamlyn will start sisters Kirsten and KC, three and four, in the lead before switching to his veteran sled dog Tara, seven, for the second half of the race.

"Kirsten and KC will start in lead because they were strong the last time they did," said Hamlyn. "It is good training that's why they will start.

"I will have her (Tara) not start in the lead because she is good at picking up speed. We will go out slower which is good. She will have more energy for the end and it will save her mentally. We will have her ready for the second half. She gets really excited when she is chasing other teams."

Hamlyn still points out that he hasn't been racing dogs for too long and during every race, he is looking to soak up as much as he can.

"Every race is just learning," said Hamlyn. "Just like any sport, there is always lots to learn. I just keep an open mind. There is always something that will make you say, 'oh wow, I could try that.’”

During this year's Quest, Hamlyn said, he travelled a good portion of the race near Torsten Kohnert.

"Just watching Torsten, he stays so calm in all situations," said Hamlyn. "(Since he is calm) his dogs stay calm too. It doesn't help to get the dogs animated. They become harder to control when they are animated.

"It is something you learn with experience the more you have done it. Watching others is inspiring."

Hamlyn finished last year's Percy with a total run time of 22 hours and nine minutes. He will be the seventh musher to leave the chute in this year's race.

"I just want happy dogs at the end and have a good run," said Hamlyn.

The Percy DeWolfe also features the Percy Junior race. The mushers in the Percy Junior run from Dawson City to Fortymile before returning to Dawson. The race is 100 miles.

Hamlyns wife, Annika Wählisch, is running with the other eight dogs in their kennel, including the three pups.

Sixteen mushers left the chute Thursday for the Percy. The Percy Junior, which has a mass start, saw eight competitors.

There will also be one skijor musher, Anna Claxton. The skijor race is the same distance as the Junior with a two-dog minimum and a max of four dogs.