The third annual River Runner 100 has introduced some changes to this year's event and is hoping for one of the largest turnouts of their short history.

The 130-mile race, which welcomes both sleddog and skijor teams, is the longest skijor race in the world.

This year the race, hosted by the Dog Powered Sports Assocation of the Yukon (DPSAY), will also boast a 65-mile trail for skijor's that would like to compete with a shorter distance.

In last year's event, Stefan Wackerhagen won the skijor category with a time of 14 hours and 36 minutes, Crispin Studer won on the sled side with a time of just over 11 hours.

Studer took home just over a thousand dollars for his efforts while Wackerhagen was rewarded with over four hundred dollars.

Amil Dupuis-Rossi, public relations coordinator for the race, said this year's purse would be similar in size.

The event is set to kick-off Feb. 25 and will stretch from Whitehorse to Mendenhall and back again.

Fabian Schmitz will be running the race for the first time.

Last year he competed in the Yukon Quest 300, an event he referred to as a great experience.

"I'm not approaching the race too competitively,” Schmitz said. "I see it more as a challenge, preparing the dogs and making sure the team gets though in good condition.

"It's all a learning experience.”

Schmitz will run with a team of Siberian and Alaskan huskies, a mix that he knows won't have him running at the front of the pack.

"Siberian huskies are known to be a little bit slower and that's fine,” he said.

"I try to do as well as I can but it's more about finishing with a happy dog team, that's the goal.”

After an thoroughly challenging experience last year, Alexandra Rochat is hoping for a competitive finish in this year's event.

She will be competing in the race for her second time and will run with a team of 10 dogs after competing with eight last year.

"I was a first-time handler last year and it was also my longest race,” she said. "This year, I'm ready for a larger team and will hopefully come out with a better time.”

Rochat, who came to Whitehorse from Switzerland in Aug., 2008, quickly fell in love with the sport.

Rochat used to run her dogs after a long day to help clear her mind and see some of the Yukon wilderness, but now she says that the sport is no longer a hobby.

Partly due to last years experience in the River Runner event, Rochat is much more confident in her abilities.

"It was a very scary experience,” she said. "I wasn't used to the cold weather and being out there for so long.

"I was terrfifed.”

Things quickly went from bad to worse for Rochat.

Frigid temperatures, combined with a leader that wanted to run their own race and an injured dog made the experience a challenge.

"We were so close to the finish on the Yukon River and my leader wanted to go her own way again,” she said. "I was on bare ice, using one hand to keep my injured dog in the sled and using my other to try and force my leader the right way and stay balanced on the ice.

"I thought we were never going to get to that finish line but we managed. After that I felt pretty strong, like I could do anything.”

Rochat said the race taught her a lot about how to run a sled and eased her fears of the winter conditions.

Schmitz, who is also a member of the River Runner board, said the introduction of the 65-mile skijor race should bring out some new racers.

"We've had a few people interested in doing a long distance skior race, but not the full 130-mile distance,” he said.

"It's a really tough race, we had three people start last year but only one (Stefan Wackerhagen) was able to finish.”

Schmitz also said the cold temperatures forced some teams out of the event earlier than expected last year.

"The windchill was extreme at the start line last year,” he said. "A few teams were there preparing for the Iditarod and they thought it wasn't worth the risk for them as a training opportunity so when they decided they weren't going, the less experienced teams thought they better drop out as well.”

He's hoping those teams will seek redemption on the trail this season.

"Hopefully they'll be back and can take another shot at the race,” he said.

Dupuis-Rossi said DPSAY will be hosting a free long distance skijoring workshop with Gaetan Pierrard this Saturday at Mary Lake, starting at 2 p.m.

The event will focus on the use of a pulka, while also touching on aspects of feeding and training the dogs.

For more information visit dpsay.wordpress.com.