Iditarod 42 (starts March 1)

[Tonichelle]

I'm hoping my fellow Idita-fans are still here on GS, anyone can feel free to jump in.

Musher bib draw is Thursday night, and the race has its Ceremonial Start on Saturday, and the real race begins Sunday afternoon (alaska time of course).

Anyone else planning to follow along?

 

[Olympia]

I don't know if I'll have the chance to watch, but you know I'll be rooting for our guys! How exactly does one follow the race? (Keeping in mind that I'm one step up from a Luddite and don't do much more than the basics on my PC.) Are you giving an account on your website or someplace else you can link to?

Let me ask, what exactly are the hours of daylight during the race? I know it's about three weeks to the Equinox, but what does that end up being in the duration of daytime? I remember vividly the article I edited for one of our programs, about the original serum run to Nome, and so much of that original journey was in darkness because it occurred in January. Thank goodness the Iditarod organizers don't feel the need to be quite that authentic.

 

[ManyCairns]

I'll be there as usual, getting the Insider package and following on the Iditarod site forums. I tend to have tabs opened in my browser for the Iditarod race page, the Insider tracker, the forum, the BSSD forum/board, SK Blog [CORRECTION: SP Dog Log http://spkenneldoglog.blogspot.com/ ] and Happy Trails Blog and Seavey blog/FB (any of the kennels that are giving race updates as we go), etc.

Toni, I'm sure you know -- might was well just spill it now -- which Seavey will it be this year? :agree:

 

[Olympia]

Oh, thanks for the names of the sites, Rallycairn. I'll google. Sorry to be so ignorant and forgetful from year to year, Toni.

 

[Tonichelle]

ha ha, no worries. I wanted to see who was still paying attention. I have an excel spreadsheet of all of the teams on the roster (had to do it for Danny Seavey before he got called to run the dang thing a couple weeks ago LOL).

rallycairn - hmmmmm that's a good question. Neither one has done any of the other races this year (though the dogs have), Mitch was set to run the Tustumena 200 but it was canceled due to lack of snow (boooo). I actually want to see Aliy take the championship though LOL I'd actually say (at this point) Dallas will come out ahead of his dad... BUT! I haven't seen Mitch all season (rarely see him once the snow flies unless it's at a race) and I'm going over to the kennel tomorrow to take headshots of the A team and probably Danny's team... so if he's around I might get a feel for how it's going and change my mind about who's the top Seavey lol

 

[ManyCairns]

Olympia, I probably wasn't clear -- the SP blog I mentioned is the Skunk's Place kennel's site and blog == Aliy Zirkle and Allen Moore. They do great race updates throughout, with vids and comments. Happy Trails is Martin Buser, and his wife and team post reasonably frequent updates. Brent Sass and Wild and Free are usually fun to follow, but unfortunately Brent is out this year due to his head injury during the Yukon Quest; he had to w/d from the Iditarod. And of course toni and company keep the Seaveys' social media outlets updated.

The Iditarod forum is very nice, too, I think -- I'm Rallycairn there, too, so I'm easy to see!

 

[Tonichelle]

I try not to post on the Iditarod/mushing forums. While Danny and Mitch both don't care if I post my own opinions (even if they're "negative" opinions) I just don't feel right as people know who I work for.

I just spent over two hours out at the Seavey Kennel taking photos of Danny and Mitch's Iditarod teams (and a few extras as they haven't broken down and picked their 16 yet)... some of the characters were too busy trying to eat my jacket so... we'll see how the photos turned out.

Mitch was in good spirits, and Danny seems to be pretty chill. They all head for Anchorage tomorrow as the mandatory musher meetings begin early Thursday. I don't like having to rush the photos because we waited so long, but with all of the changes vet checks and photos had to wait until today. (Danny was a last minute choice to run the Iditarod as their "puppy team musher" Matt Giblin broke his foot and Mitch called Danny who was on vacation in FL to run.)

3 days to go!

ETA - if there's interest I can put the list of mushers/ways to follow them on here...

 

[ManyCairns]

Toni, I think a list of the mushers and their links/info would be great.

Looks like there are a lot of rookies this year, and a couple of new all-Siberian teams, which I enjoy watching just to see how the purebred Sibe stacks up. One is a team of Sibes from Norway, and there's another, too (Lisbet Norris, I believe, is running AKC Sibes), plus of course Karen Ramstead's Siberian team which have been around a few years.


TONI -- who are some lesser-known teams or kennels to watch? Not necessarily who are going to be in the top 10, but maybe rookies who seem like they are good dog folk or who are taking the time to learn the ropes right, or who do things right but maybe don't have the best dog bloodlines -- who are some fun human-interest type teams to watch???

She's not exactly obscure and should finish well, but I really enjoy following Jessie Royer. More obscure but out this year to a knee surgery (I think) is Kelley Griffin -- I liked following her the last few years, too.

 

[Tonichelle]

Newton Marshall is always a great human interest story, considering this year he's not running under a big sponsor (in the past Jimmy Buffett helped him out). Jamaican Dog Sled team is like Cool Runnings the spin off series!

Cindy Abott has a good human interest story (she has a very odd disease that she's overcome many times), but I was a little put off by her run last year that ended before the finish. She obviously was not going to be able to safely complete the race, and yet she argued to stay in. Hearing even more of her story in a recent interview I'm even less keen on her motives, but that's just me. Most people love her for her story.

Jake Berkowitz is going to be great this year, I'm pretty sure. IF he runs... not that I think a lot of mushers will bail after they hear the trail conditions at the musher's meeting tomorrow morning, but Jake's sounded pretty iffy on facebook and in the media.

Travis Beals should do pretty well, he used to work for the Seavey's so he knows how to do it... he was a rookie last year and proposed to his girlfriend when he crossed under the burled arch. He's hoping to improve on his time and placement.

Christian Turner is running Dallas' puppy team. He's a fun guy. Dallas probably has him running a strict schedule (like Mitch will have Danny's team running) so we probably won't see him place high, but he's running a someday soon championship team.

ANYone from Team Norway can end up being a dark horse to place well.

 

[Tonichelle]

Musher	Website/Blog	Facebook
Cindy Abbot	http://reachingbeyondtheclouds.com/?cat=6	https://www.facebook.com/cindy.abbott
Elliot Anderson	http://buserdog.com/blog	https://www.facebook.com/elliot.anderson.963?fref=ts
Ken Anderson	http://windycreekkennel.com/index.php?id=6
John Baker	http://teamjohnbaker.blogspot.com/	https://www.facebook.com/pages/John-Baker-Iditarod-Update/339379803705
Travis Beals	http://turningheadskennel.com/news/	https://www.facebook.com/turningheadskennel
Charley Bejna	http://www.iditarodmusher.com/The_2013_Iditarod.php	https://www.facebook.com/charley.bejna?fref=ts
Anna Berington	http://www.seeingdoublesleddogracing.com/iditarod-race-blog.html
Kristy Berington	http://www.seeingdoublesleddogracing.com/iditarod-race-blog.html	https://www.facebook.com/MorningViewKennel
Jake Berkowitz	http://www.jakeberkowitz.com/	https://www.facebook.com/APEXKENNELS
Alex Buetow		https://www.facebook.com/APEXKENNELS
Robert Bundtzen		https://www.facebook.com/robert.bundtzen?fref=ts
Aaron Burmeister		https://www.facebook.com/AaronBurmeisterAlaskanWildstyleRacing
Martin Buser	http://buserdog.com/blog	https://www.facebook.com/martinbuser.happytrailskennel
Rick Casillo	http://www.battledawgsracing.com/blog.html	https://www.facebook.com/battledawgs?ref=br_tf
Yvonne Dabakk	http://siberiansleddogs.com/news/	https://www.facebook.com/SiberianSleddogs
Richie Diehl		https://www.facebook.com/richie.diehl.5?fref=ts
John Dixon		https://www.facebook.com/john.dixon.1690?fref=browse_search
Paige Drobny	http://squidacres.com/follow-us-2/blog/	https://www.facebook.com/pages/Squid-Acres-Kennel/126734840738384
Mike Ellis	http://teamtsuga.blogspot.com/	https://www.facebook.com/TeamTsugaSiberians
Matt Failor		https://www.facebook.com/pages/17th-Dog-Team-Matthew-Failor/561186377244821
Linwood Fiedler		https://www.facebook.com/linwood.fiedler?fref=ts
Marcelle Fressineau	http://www.marcelle-fressineau.com/	https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alayuk-Adventures/106602679385698
Cindy Gallea
Hans Gatt	http://www.gattsled.com/index.html
Paul Gebhardt		https://www.facebook.com/MorningViewKennel
Gus Guenther		https://www.facebook.com/gus.guenther.77?fref=ts
Ellen Halverson
Karin Hendrickson		https://www.facebook.com/karin.hendrickson.9
Scott Janssen		https://www.facebook.com/mushinmortician
Ralph Johannessen	http://teambergvang.no/	https://www.facebook.com/teambergvang
DeeDee Jonrowe		https://www.facebook.com/JonroweKennel
Tommy Jordbrudal		https://www.facebook.com/tommy.jordbrudal?fref=ts
Dan Kaduce	http://www.dewclawkennel.com/blog/
Peter Kaiser	http://kaiserracing.com/	https://www.facebook.com/kaiserracingkennel
Katherine Keith	http://www.akphoenixracing.blogspot.com/	https://www.facebook.com/AKPhoenixRacing
Jeff King	http://www.huskyhomestead.com/blog/	https://www.facebook.com/huskyhomestead
Jim Lanier	http://www.northernwhites.com/blog.html	https://www.facebook.com/NorthernWhites
Joar Leifseth Ulsom	http://racingberingia.tumblr.com/	https://www.facebook.com/joar.leifsethulsom?fref=ts
Sonny Lindner
Jason Mackey		https://www.facebook.com/jason.mackey.3954?fref=ts&ref=br_tf
Kelly Maixner		https://www.facebook.com/madstork.kennel
Wade Marrs		https://www.facebook.com/wade.marrs?fref=ts
Newton Marshall		https://www.facebook.com/newton.marshall.3?fref=ts
Allen Moore	http://www.spkenneldoglog.blogspot.com/	https://www.facebook.com/aliy.zirkle
Hugh Neff	https://sites.google.com/site/hughneffgypsymusher/home/kennel-news	https://www.facebook.com/LaughingEyesKennel
Lisbet Norris	http://lisbetnorris.blogspot.com/	https://www.facebook.com/AnadyrSiberians
Curt Perano		https://www.facebook.com/pages/Itasca-NZ-Sled-Dog-Team/118312195743
Nicolas Petit		https://www.facebook.com/Girdwood2Nome
Mats Pettersson	http://sleddog.se/	https://www.facebook.com/KirunaSleddogTours
Michelle Phillips	http://www.tagishlakekennel.com/blog/	https://www.facebook.com/TagishLakeKennel
Karen Ramstead	http://www.northwapiti.blogspot.com/	https://www.facebook.com/pages/Karen-Ramstead-North-Wapiti-Kennels/118830361194?ref=br_tf
Ray Redington Jr		https://www.facebook.com/TeamRedington
Jesse Royer		https://www.facebook.com/jessie.royer.33
Mike Santos	http://wolfsdenkennel.blogspot.com/	https://www.facebook.com/mike.santos.961
Brent Sass	http://blog.wildandfreealaska.com/	https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wild-and-Free-Mushing/107262291335
Justin Savidis		https://www.facebook.com/pages/Snowhook-Kennel/120062308004636
Nathan Schroeder	http://www.horsesnhuskies.com/blog.html	https://www.facebook.com/horsesnhuskies
Dallas Seavey		https://www.facebook.com/DallasSeavey
Mitch & Danny Seavey	http://www.ididaride.com/latest-news/	https://www.facebook.com/seaveysididaride
Lev Shvarts	http://teamollie.com/news.php	https://www.facebook.com/pages/Team-Ollie/142626385899473
Cim Smyth	http://www.perseverancespringsfarm.com/Cim/News/News.html	https://www.facebook.com/cim.smyth?fref=ts
Ramey Smyth		https://www.facebook.com/smythracingteam
Robert Sorlie	http://www.sled.no/	https://www.facebook.com/pages/Team-Robert-Sørlie/341029344351
Jan Steves	http://livingmydream2.blogspot.com/	https://www.facebook.com/jan.steves.1?fref=ts
Ed Stielstra	http://www.natureskennel.com/racing/index.php	https://www.facebook.com/natureskennel
Christian Turner
Abbie West	http://cosmicanines.blogspot.com/	https://www.facebook.com/abbie.cosmicanines
Michael Williams Jr		https://www.facebook.com/mike.williamsjr.9?fref=ts
Monica Zappa	http://osmarracingandtours.com/category/iditarod/	https://www.facebook.com/OsmarRacingAndTours
Aliy Zirkle	http://www.spkenneldoglog.blogspot.com/	https://www.facebook.com/aliy.zirkle

 

[Olympia]

Thanks, Toni!

Lots of interesting people.

I can't tell you the mental image I had when you mentioned the "puppy team"....

 

[Tonichelle]

yeah, puppy normally means 2 years old. they're rookie dogs... they have very little experience on super long races, so they are just on a long training run on their first Iditarod.


ETA - forecast for this weekend is not looking good, rain Friday, and in the 40s on Saturday. While that sounds chilly for us (especially Olympia who is always cold lol) it's incredibly warm for dogs (think about how you feel when you run and work up a sweat. now, go get one of those huge fur coats the russians wear and put that on... and run... 11 miles... and do it in about 30-35 minutes)

 

[ManyCairns]

Yikes, that is warm. I know there was a lot of discussion about changing the early part of the route due to the warm conditions.

 

[Tonichelle]

Yikes, that is warm. I know there was a lot of discussion about changing the early part of the route due to the warm conditions.

There was, but according to Danny Seavey after the Musher's Meeting this morning he says the trail is far better than expected. Mark Nordman (Race Marshall) said in an an online live interview last night that they worked their butts off to get the trail developed for the race and that he's very confident they made the right decision. They're more concerned about the Norton Sound. The Iron Dog had to go inland because of the ice being broken up and water being visible.

Tonight is the Musher's Banquet and Bib Draw.

 

[Olympia]

Oh, boy. They really can't risk the Sound if the temperature is that high and there's so much rain.

Meanwhile, the Great Lakes are mostly frozen over. I'm tempted to suggest them as an alternate route.

 

[Tonichelle]

https://www.facebook.com/seaveysidi...95785894/550572311716654/?type=1&notif_t=like


Danny's happy about the temps, though... so I guess I shouldn't worry too much.

 

[Tonichelle]

Bib Numbers are as follows:

Bib #	Musher Name	Sex	City	State	Country	Status
2	Curt Perano	M	Central Otago		NEW ZEALAND	Veteran
3	Paige Drobny	F	Fairbanks	AK	USA	Veteran
4	Gus Guenther	M	Clam Gulch	AK	USA	Veteran
5	Dan Kaduce	M	Chatanika	AK	USA	Veteran
6	Mitch Seavey	M	Seward	AK	USA	Veteran
7	Michael Williams, Jr.	M	Akiak	AK	USA	Veteran
8	Yvonne Dabakk	F	Oslo		NORWAY	Rookie
9	Newton Marshall	M	St. Anne		JAMAICA	Veteran
10	Aliy Zirkle	F	Two Rivers	AK	USA	Veteran
11	Richie Diehl	M	Aniak	AK	USA	Veteran
12	Tommy Jordbrudal	M	Longyearbyen		NORWAY	Rookie
13	Kelly Maixner	M	Big Lake	AK	USA	Veteran
14	Dallas Seavey	M	Willow	AK	USA	Veteran
15	Michelle Phillips	F	Tagish	YT	CANADA	Veteran
16	DeeDee Jonrowe	F	Willow	AK	USA	Veteran
17	Jeff King	M	Denali	AK	USA	Veteran
18	Monica Zappa	F	Kasilof	AK	USA	Rookie
19	Allen Moore	M	Two Rivers	AK	USA	Veteran
20	Scott Janssen	M	Anchorage	AK	USA	Veteran
21	Christian Turner	M	Karratha	WA	AUSTRALIA	Rookie
22	Robert Sorlie	M	Hurdal		NORWAY	Veteran
23	Aaron Burmeister	M	Nome	AK	USA	Veteran
24	Ellen Halverson	F	Wasilla	AK	USA	Veteran
25	Nathan Schroeder	M	Chisholm	MN	USA	Rookie
26	Charley Bejna	M	Addison	IL	USA	Rookie
27	Jessie Royer	F	Darby	MT	USA	Veteran
28	Cim Smyth	M	Big Lake	AK	USA	Veteran
29	Nicolas Petit	M	Girdwood	AK	USA	Veteran
30	Rick Casillo	M	Willow	AK	USA	Veteran
31	Lev Shvarts	M	Willow	AK	USA	Rookie
32	Linwood Fiedler	M	Willow	AK	USA	Veteran
33	Karin Hendrickson	F	Wasilla	AK	USA	Veteran
34	Justin Savidis	M	Willow	AK	USA	Veteran
35	Paul Gebhardt	M	Kasilof	AK	USA	Veteran
36	Martin Buser	M	Big Lake	AK	USA	Veteran
37	Jake Berkowitz	M	Big Lake	AK	USA	Veteran
38	Jim Lanier	M	Chugiak	AK	USA	Veteran
39	Jason Mackey	M	Wasilla	AK	USA	Veteran
40	Jan Steves	F	Edmonds	WA	USA	Veteran
41	Lisbet Norris	F	Willow	AK	USA	Rookie
42	Cindy Gallea	F	Wykoff	MN	USA	Veteran
43	Peter Kaiser	M	Bethel	AK	USA	Veteran
44	Mats Pettersson	M	Kiruna		SWEDEN	Rookie
45	John Dixon	M	Fairbanks	AK	USA	Veteran
46	Cindy Abbott	F	Irvine	CA	USA	Rookie
47	Joar Leifseth Ulsom	M	Mo i Rana		NORWAY	Veteran
48	Travis Beals	M	Seward	AK	USA	Veteran
49	Ramey Smyth	M	Willow	AK	USA	Veteran
50	Marcelle Fressineau	F	Whitehorse	YT	CANADA	Rookie
51	Ray Redington Jr	M	Wasilla	AK	USA	Veteran
52	Anna Berington	F	Kasilof	AK	USA	Veteran
53	John Baker	M	Kotzebue	AK	USA	Veteran
54	Ralph Johannessen	M	Dagali		NORWAY	Rookie
55	Elliot Anderson	M	Big Lake	AK	USA	Rookie
56	Kristy Berington	F	Kasilof	AK	USA	Veteran
57	Matt Failor	M	Willow	AK	USA	Veteran
58	Hans Gatt	M	Whitehorse	YT	CANADA	Veteran
59	Karen Ramstead	F	Perryvale	AB	CANADA	Veteran
60	Alex Buetow	M	Fairbanks	AK	USA	Rookie
61	Hugh Neff	M	Tok	AK	USA	Veteran
62	Danny Seavey	M	Seward	AK		Veteran
63	Katherine Keith	F	Kotzebue	AK	USA	Rookie
64	Robert Bundtzen	M	Anchorage	AK	USA	Veteran
65	Ken Anderson	M	Fairbanks	AK	USA	Veteran
66	Mike Ellis	M	Two Rivers	AK	USA	Veteran
67	Wade Marrs	M	Wasilla	AK	USA	Veteran
68	Mike Santos	M	Cantwell	AK	USA	Veteran
69	Abbie West	F	Two Rivers	AK	USA	Rookie
70	Sonny Lindner	M	Two Rivers	AK	USA	Veteran

The "Honorary Musher" is always #1. This year they gave it to Deby Trosper who for a very long time was the volunteer coordinator for the Iditarod. She passed away last fall after a long battle with cancer. She was an amazing person and I loved working with her every year.

 

[Tonichelle]

Photos by Jeff Schultz (official Iditarod photog, a good friend, and a great mentor) can be found here - http://iditarod.com/photo/ - 69 mushers in one picture (it's too small to really see faces though ) it's fun playing "where's Waldo".

 

[Tonichelle]

First team to scratch is Cindy Gallea in Skwentna.

The Happy River Steps have claimed a lot of sleds, but everyone's come out pretty okay... a little drama never hurt anyone.

 

[Olympia]

Thanks for the update!

I just read the country of origin list. New Zealand; wow!

And of course Jamaica....