STORY: Around 700 dogs and over 100 mushers from 13 countries descended on the snow-covered Orlicke Mountains in the Czech Republic between Tuesday and Saturday (January 20-24) to take part in the 28th edition of the Sedivackuv Long - regarded as one of the toughest dog sled races in Europe.

Heavy snowfall greeted the more than 100 "mushers", or riders, with around 700 dogs in the 28th annual running of the race in the Czech mountains, providing the best conditions for the event.

Starting near the village of Destne v Orlickych Horach, 167 km east of Prague, along the Polish border, racers in the longer event completed the journey in five stages over four days, including a night run.

Most mushers, though, competed on a shorter 200 km course over four stages.

Home favourites Jiri Vondrak and Roman Habasko were the winners of both races.

Czech mushers started the race in the 1990s.

It is named in honour of a Siberian Husky who belonged to the organiser, Pavel Kucera, but got loose on the eve of the inaugural race and was shot in a nearby village.

The race through forests blanketed with snow included a combined total of 9,000 metres of climbing.

Fresh snowfall and freezing temperatures during the week added to the challenge.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: DESTNE V ORLICKYCH HORACH, CZECH REPUBLIC (JANUARY 23, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. DOG SLED TEAM STARTING RACE

ORLICKE MOUNTAINS, CZECH REPUBLIC (JANUARY 23, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

2. VARIOUS OF DOG SLED TEAMS WITH MUSHERS RACING THROUGH FOREST

3. VARIOUS OF DOGS RESTING

4. VARIOUS OF DOG SLED TEAM RACING

DESTNE V ORLICKYCH HORACH, CZECH REPUBLIC (JANUARY 24, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

5. (SOUNDBITE) (Czech) RACE ORGANIZER, PAVEL KUCERA, SAYING:

"We have the 28th edition of the Sedivackuv Long Distance Race, which started on Tuesday with a 300 km race and on Wednesday with a 200 km race. We had to make some changes and shorten the track a little, but it is not a big deal, it is only a few kilometres because of the weather and for the safety of the competitors."

ORLICKE MOUNTAINS, CZECH REPUBLIC (JANUARY 23, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

6. MUSHER PUTTING DOG ON SLED

7. TEAM RACING THROUGH FOREST

DESTNE V ORLICKYCH HORACH, CZECH REPUBLIC (JANUARY 24, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) 38-YEAR-OLD AEROSPACE ENGINEER FROM SWITZERLAND, JULIA BAU, SAYING:

"I've been doing mushing for 10 years now. This is like my sixth or seventh Sedivackuv Long (Race), and I just came back with six of my racing dogs. I have 14 dogs in total, and this year it was really nice. It was a hard trail. It was a little icy - fast - but the organisers did perfect and did everything they could do with the trail. And it was amazing. Just all over amazing."

9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) 36-YEAR-OLD SLEDDOG TRAINER FROM LATVIA, NIKOLAJS KRAVCOVS, SAYING:

"It was a really, really good and a great race this year. It was the third time in these competitions, and as always, it's very great for dogs, and for people it's super. The weather also is quite good. Yeah, it can be colder, but still, it's okay. We have a lot of snow, especially in the mountains, and the race is very good, and the dogs do a great job at the race."

10. (SOUNDBITE) (Czech) 55-YEAR-OLD ELECTRICIAN, JIRI DVORAK, SAYING:

"It is beautiful up here this year, but down there, with all those shortcuts and crashes... Yesterday I crashed so hard I lost consciousness."

11. (SOUNDBITE) (Czech) 66-YEAR-OLD RETIREE, MARTIN BRZEK, SAYING:

"We are back at Sedivacek Long (Race). I am here for the 15th time. We are competing in the LTO category, which is nine or more dogs, and we will see how it goes today. Today we are going to the bivouac in Padoli, we are travelling 44 km today. We will have a bivouac there, we will sleep outside in the snow with the dogs, and tomorrow we have 33 km to the finish line."

12. VARIOUS OF MUSHERS PREPARING DOGS FOR RACE

13. (SOUNDBITE) (Czech) 66-YEAR-OLD RETIREE, MARTIN BRZEK, SAYING:

"There is not much snow, so it is a bit of an adrenaline rush in some sections, but it is manageable."

ORLICKE MOUNTAINS, CZECH REPUBLIC (JANUARY 23, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all) (NIGHT SHOTS)

14. DOG SLED TEAM RACING THROUGH FOREST AT NIGHT

15. VARIOUS OF TEAMS SETTING UP CAMP FOR OVERNIGHT BREAK

ORLICKE MOUNTAINS, CZECH REPUBLIC (JANUARY 24, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all) (NIGHT SHOTS)

16. VARIOUS OF TEAMS STARTING NEXT STAGE OF RACE

ORLICKE MOUNTAINS, CZECH REPUBLIC (JANUARY 24, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

17. DOG SLED TEAM RACING

18. DOGS RESTING

19. VARIOUS OF TEAMS CROSSING FINISH LINE