In February, Gaetan Pierrard stood on the Yukon Quest start line for the first time. A long time coming, Pierrard had spent many years preparing for the race.

He moved to Canada, from Belgium, got himself a team of dogs and started training.

“It’s a long time ago I was dreaming about the Yukon Quest,” he said.

While there are other races of similar length he could sign up for, the Quest had dominated his imagination.

Pierrard was last across the line this year, but he finished and he wants more.

He lives in Mendenhall and was one of the first mushers in line to sign up for the 2017 edition of the Yukon Quest.

Alongside his three-and-a-half year-old dog, Mega, he handed in his registration for the race.

Pierrard, no longer a rookie, is looking forward to the “nature, the whiteness and the solitude” of being on the Yukon Quest Trail once again.

First in line to sign up was Rob Cooke. He and Siberian Husky, Maddie were waiting in line for when the clock hit 1 p.m. and official registration opened.

Also signing up for the 1000-mile race, which will start in Whitehorse on Feb. 4 next year, was defending champion Hugh Neff.

Neff, who resides in Tok, Alaska, was in town to pick up some dogs of his that were being run in Skagway by a friend.

“I get a little bit of a magical feeling anytime I come here,” he said.

Both times Neff has won the race, it has finished in Whitehorse. He was accompanied by his legendary dog, Walter, who, now at 13 is retired, but has run the Quest eight times and won the golden harness in 2012.

Neff said he believes that the Quest makes good dogs.

With a ball cap pulled low on his face and sun glasses shielding his eyes, Neff spoke of the Yukon Quest tattoo he has above his heart.

“I want to be Mr. Yukon Quest,” he said. Neff has run the race every year since 2000.

“Even though I’ve done the Quest so many times, I think I can do it better,” he said before signing up.

After running the Quest for 16 years, you make a lot of friends along the way and Neff has also fallen in love with the landscape.

Seventeen teams have signed up for the 1000-mile race, including Allen Moore, Brent Sass and Matt Hall, all of Alaska. Four rookies have added their name to the mix. Noah Pereira of Brockport, NY; Jeff Deeter of Fairbanks, Ben Good of North Pole, AK and local Tamra Reynolds will hit the start line for the first time next year.

The 300-mile edition of the race is full with a waitlist of 10.

Four-time 1,000-mile champion Hans Gatt is one of the 25 in the full field that will race.