Mushing TV

Mushing TV, the brainchild of German-born Benedikt Beisch, brings the whole world of Alaskan distance sled dog racing to your computer screen. With a focus on keeping you up to date with your favorite mushers, their race plans, training and dog updates, Mushing TV is on the trail with the teams from the Sheep Mountain 150 in December to the Kobuk 440 in early April. This past weekend, the Tustumena 200 on the Kenai Peninsula was the focus; check out mushers relaxing before the race and talking about their teams, and then some great footage of the teams leaving the starting chute really shows off the excitement of the dogs to be hitting the trail!

Benedikt, who now lives in Nenana, Alaska, knows what he's talking about when he talks about dogs and mushing. He ran the Yukon Quest in 2007 and the Iditarod in 2008. He also ran several mid-distance races between 2005 and 2009 while handling for Iditarod and Quest veteran Aaron Burmeister, finishing every race he entered. After retiring from active mushing in the spring of 2009, Benedikt is now out to promote sled dog racing, considering himself an avid sled dog racing enthusiast and a die-hard fan of this glorious sport.

Besides following the current races, Benedikt has amassed a considerable collection of musher interviews with drivers such as multiple Yukon Quest champion Hans Gatt and the current Quest champion, Sebastian Schnuelle; the venerable George Attla, the most successful sprint musher of all time; Mike Ellis, who's running his purebred Siberian huskies in the Yukon Quest for the third time; Iditarod and All Alaska Sweepstakes champion Mitch Seavey; and of course, the incomparable Lance Mackey. Interviews with less-well-known mushers add depth and interest to his video library, and Benedikt is constantly adding to the wealth of mushing knowledge he's making available.

Mushing TV -- or M.TV as it's affectionately known -- is bringing a whole new dimension to following Alaska's distance sled dog races. Check it out and see what your favorite musher has to say!

Northern Light Media photos

Benedikt Beisch in the communications room at the 2010 Copper Basin 300.

Beisch films along the trail at the 2009 Alaska Excursions 120.

Beisch at the 2009 Alaska Excursions 120.

Helen Hegener is an author and a documentary filmmaker specializing in long distance sled dog races and the men, women and dogs who run them. Learn more at Northern Light Media.