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MARQUETTE -- The UP 200 doesn't start until Friday evening, but the festivities started off Thursday night with a musher banquet.  The evening's banquet was a chance for the mushers to have some fun and enjoy a nice meal before hitting the trails Friday, but it was also where they learned their starting order for the race.

Thirty-four mushers will compete in this year's UP 200, and excitement was high Thursday night as the mushers learned their starting order.  Nathan Schroeder will be the first one out of the chute Friday night, and he feels as though being at the top of the pack will give him an advantage.

"Well, not in the sense maybe that I'm putting down the sets right away, but as far as I get an extra hour of rest which really helps the dogs, and I didn't necessarily want to be out first, but I wanted to be out within the top five," explained Schroeder.

However, not everyone has the chance to be at the front.  Christine Richardson will be the last to take off, and she's hoping the trail won't suffer.

"It could affect the trail; if it gets real warm, it could get soft for me," said Richardson.

But some mushers believe that the starting order is just a number and will play no role in the race.

"No, it doesn't make any difference for me.  My dogs and I will run.  We have a prescribed pace to run, and whether we're first or 30th, it doesn't make a difference," said Richard MacCauley.

Regardless of starting position, everyone is looking forward to the race Friday night.  The Midnight Run begins at 6 p.m. at Larry's Family Foods in Gwinn, and the UP 200 starts at 7:10 p.m. in downtown Marquette.