Iditarod 2009!!!

The race starts this Saturday. With my working all day with no 'net access I guess my updates will be daily... not hourly .

There were a couple of articles in the Anchorage Daily News today. One about the Iditarod Royalty (Families Mackey, Reddington, and Seavey) and another (an Op-Ed) about who is capable of winning (which I disagreed a lot with).

http://www.adn.com/iditarod/2009/story/709759.html
http://www.adn.com/outdoors/craig_medred/story/709821.html

Mushers to watch this year:

Lance Mackey - Will this be a three-peat for the current reigning champ? He's changed up his training habits this year, and bowwed out of the Yukon Quest citing timing issues. He's training new dogs and a new handler. Is this the distraction he needs or will it bite him in the butt? He was the underdog story, now he's an overnight success.

Jeff King - The fourtime champ made a name for himself as Susan Butcher's rival in the 90s, and he's the class clown. The innovator has created the old man's sled (seat on the back of the sled so he doesn't have to stand all day and night), handle bar warmers (which on the first Iditarod trial run set the sled on fire), and has been known to put a dog in the sled in a crate to give it a rest. He always has an interesting soundbite, and his 'war stories' on the trail are second to none. He's been on Mackey's heels the last two years, and a bonehead mistake (falling asleep) cost him last year's race.

Martin Buser - Another four time champion, he's been critisized for babying his team and making it more about fun than competition. Still, he's always willing to change his styles and breeding in order to stay in the mix. Last year he jumped a huge number of places to come in fourth. This year he ran the Yukon Quest as a rookie to give his dogs more conditioning. We'll see if it pays off. His dogs are known to run better in bad weather years.

Mitch Seavey - the 2004 Iditarod Champion has a strategy of numbers. He counts hours like a CoP judge counts revolutions (only he's better at counting!). His dogs are from the original Iditarod dog line, and his family's been in this race from he beginning. He's quiet and keeps to himself, which makes him seem aloof and not that entertaining, but he's not in it for the entertainment. It's serious business. His team won the Alaska Sweepstakes last year, and they were still newbies... now they're seasoned competitors and he considers them the best team he's ever had - including the 2004 championship team.

DeeDee Jonrowe - She has yet to win in all of the years she's run this thing, but she's always in the mix. She's also the token big name female musher. She loves her dogs, and she loves the race and she's one tough cookie. She is a breast cancer survivor.

Other Mushers of Intrest:

Rachel Scdoris - she's back. She'll most likely never win this thing, but you can't help but cheer on the legally blind musher from Oregon. Tim Osmar will, once again, be her guide along the trail.

Dallas Seavey - The youngest musher ever to finish the race, he was 18 the day the race started in 2005. He will most likely hold the title of youngest forever (he says his parents planned it that way ). Dallas will be entering his third Iditarod with his own team of dogs - most of which were bought out of his dad's (Mitch Seavey) kennel. He is also a World Class Wrestler and was on his way to the 2008 Olympics when illness and injury sidelined him in 2006/07. In the summer Dallas runs the Wildride Sled Dog Rodeo here in Anchorage, and just happens to be my boss (or was, not sure I'll be back for a third summer :no: )

Jen Seavey - Three years ago Jen Podzemny came to Alaska looking for a dog team, and she found a musher instead. Jen met and fell hard for Dallas, and they married in early 2008. I have to say they are a perfect fit, but don't think he'll be showing his wife the ropes. She already knows her way around a dog team, and this Iditarod Rookie won't be babied by her hubby or her father in law. She's been quite competitive in the mid-distance races she's entered this season, and I wouldn't put it past her to stay one step ahead of Dallas in the race.

Sites worth checking out (will add more later):

http://www.iditarod.com - the Official Home of the Iditarod on the Web.
http://mushing.bssd.org/forum/index.php - message board run by the Barrow School District. It's a GREAT place for teachers with students following the race, as well as fans.
http://www.adn.com/iditarod/ - Anchorage Daily News' Iditarod Site
http://www.ididaride.com - Mitch Seavey's Official Site
...as I said, more to come lol


Ceremonial Start - Saturday, March 7, 10:00am - Anchorage, AK
Official Start - Sunday, March 8, 1:45pm - Willow, AK

16 hours till opening day! Here are some of the latest greatest articles for race 37!

First of all there is a great little poll on the Peninsula Clarion's website that has Jen Seavey beating her hubby as the highest placing musher. Surprisingly, there are more people voting that Paul Gebhardt will finish highest than they are Mitch. Paul is a fierce competitor and holds his own. He's in the position now that Mitch was before his win... he's just the Peninsula favorite that everyone is rooting for. A few years ago he spread his favorite lead dog (best lead dog, Governor)'s ashes along the Iditarod trail... he still speaks fondly of that dog... and a little bit of Governor lives on in a lot of the dogs in his kennel - http://peninsulaclarion.com/pollresults/

Yesterday news came that the Iditarod Trail has been lost due to heavy snow. This is the first time in a long time we've read a story like that! - http://www.adn.com/iditarod/2009/story/711395.html

Last night the mushers drew their bib numbers, you can see the list here - http://www.iditarod.com/race/musherlisting.html

note that bibs start at #2, that is because #1 signifies all of the mushers who have since left us... in place of bib #1 they have the Jr. Iditarod Champion (this year it was Lance Mackey's stepson, Cain) and an honorary musher run ahead of the pack in the ceremonial start.

Another interesting fact - Dallas Seavey is the only musher who has run both the Jr. Iditarod (where he lost to a GIRL - BOTH years he was part of it!) and the Iditarod in the same year.


Signed my waiver and paid the [new] insurance fee ($10) today (via my wonderful grandfather). I have a hat that he bought me (he's afraid he won't have enough volunteer hats to go around again this year) and it's the limited edition one that I was wanting earlier this year (!!!) it was such a sweet surprise when he dropped it off at the office today. Yes, I am a spoiled grandchild! I'll get my other official gear tomorrow apparently. And, of course there will be pictures coming soon after! :yes:

I cannot wait for it all to begin! It's a great day to be an Alaskan!

Today is the day! Cannot wait give the mushers a wonderful send off this afternoon!

Article for today is about a rookie that Lance Mackey has mentored for this year's race:
http://www.adn.com/iditarod/2009/story/713843.html



A little bit of trivia for today - the official milage of the Iditarod is 1,049... but the race miles actually vary from year to year as the trail is ever changing (And they have two routes that they alternate years running) so they came up with 1049 because Alaska is the 49th state... it's actually over 1100 miles most years.


Gotta put together my cold winter wear outfit... layers layers layers and head out!


I leave you with Hobo Jim's "Iditarod Trail" - http://www.huskyfan.de/iditarod.mp3

I'm looking forward to hearing more about how the Iditarod is going!

Thanks for keeping us all up to date!

Sebastian Schnuelle is in first and he just blew through Finger Lake... all of the others are still somewhere between Skwentna and Finger Lake. He's on his way to Rainy Pass and then the Dalzell Gourge (the most dangerous part of the first leg of the trail... and possibly the most dangerous, period).

Dallas Seavey is the highest ranked Seavey at the moment, in 16th, seems his not running the puppy team is a very good thing as he's far more competitive this time around. Jen was in drop dead last place last night but she's moved up three or four spots since then.Mitch is just a couple of places lower than Dallas.

Martin, and Jeff are in the middle of the pack... Rick Swenson is in 12th, Lance is in 14th...

we'll no doubt start seeing some new strategies with the weather pattern being what it is, and because it seems it takes a new breed of play to win.

I am feeling the anticipation, thanks for the thread Toni

Well first of all I typed up this big long summary of the days events and my computer crashed, so to say the least I am more than a little frustrated.

Anyway...

Last night/this morning's leap frog movement has continued throughout the day after some really rough runs through the dalzell gorge last night and this morning. In fact, a musher broke up her sled so bad that she became a hazard on the trail for the rest of the teams to have to deal with - http://www.adn.com/iditarod/2009/story/717458.html - Now, the Anchorage Daily News makes a bigger deal out of it than it probably was. Quite frankly it would be far more news worthy if all of the teams made it out without problem. But, that's just me.

Dalzell injured some mushers - Jeff King had a bloody face from something (he didn't even know he was hurt till someone pointed it out, according to articles) on the trail - and others had some badly injured sleds.

More depressing is the announcement of the first canine casulty from the trail. The cause is unknown, but Jeff Holt's dog will undergo a necropsy to determine the cause. Stupid associated press articles earlier today suggest not so descreetly that the dog might have been injured in the Dalzell Gorge due to the pile up of earlier in the day, though they have no basis for that. It's reporters like these that really get under my skin. Don't just blindly throw things out for any reason. Just wait till the report comes out.

Btw, the necropsy will be performed by someone outside of the Iditarod. It's completely immune from the idea that it's all in the family and it's something less than trusthworthy. Let's just get that out now.

Back to the race, seems with the warm weather (we were in the 40s this afternoon) the teams have taken it slow. This is a typical pattern for the race because dogs run better at night. Why? Because it's decidedly colder. Dogs run their best around -10 to -15. Seriously.

A lot of the slow down is also due to the fact that the mushers have entered "the burn". This is a stretch of Alaskan wilderness that is flat and ugly. There's not much in the way of trees, there's not much in the way of snow... but, there are a lot of tussoks (sp). This creates a pinball effect for the sled and the musher is lucky to ride out even part of the burn on the back of the sled. It's just as difficult as -if not more so- than the Dalzell Gorge. Talking with Dallas I think that he dreads the burn (and the yukon river wind) more than the Gorge. He's not alone in that thought.

As for where they are tonight, be aware this will have changed, more than likely, before I finish typing all of this up. However, most of the big names have made it into Nikolai, and some have left in the last three hours. Hugh Neff is out in front as he left around 4:45pm AKST, Lance Mackey was farther back in the pack at 7th into Nikolai but he left behind Paul Gebhardt and is now 5th. Not too shabby.

Jeff King is in 9th, Mitch Seavey is in 12, Rick Swenson is 16, Dallas Seavey is 22nd with DeeDee making a big jump from 31 to 23 in the last half hour, Martin Buser is now in 32 when he was in 30th just a few minutes before. Jen Seavey is still in 57th...

One musher, Bob Hickel, has scratched at this point...

we've seen a lot of mushers drop one or two dogs at least at this point. Mackey, Dallas, Jonrowe, and Jen are the exceptions (of the ones I'm following*)

that's it for now... will possibly give a small update before I go to bed tonight.


* - if there's a musher you want me to follow in these updates let me know. I'm basically picking my favorites (aka Seaveys) and the big names (aka past winners, or the sentimental favorites). But I'm more than willing to keep you updated on others.

I figured we'd start seeing the mushers show their hand last night, and I was right. Huge leaps to the front coming into Takotna. Lance Mackey, Jeff King, and *trumpet fanfare* Mitch Seavey are 4th, 5th, and 6th respectively.

Today's musher profile on ADN is Hugh Neff -

there's a jerk commenting on all of the articles about how horrible the Iditarod is for dogs and blah blah blah. It's uneducated people like that, that really get under my skin. If people would just watch the dogs and forget all the hoopla surrounding this race or any race, or better yet just go to a kennel for a day or two and see what the dogs are about. This is just one big walk for them. You know how house pets get excited to get on a leash and just GO? that's the same thing with the sled dogs. They are out in the wilderness getting to be wild and free. Yes, they have a job to do, but they're a pack of 16 running down that trail waiting to see what is around the next bend. That's exciting for them, and it's sure a whole lot better than staying cooped up all day in an overly warm apartment.

Would I send a pack of pugs out there? Heck no. But this is what the Alaskan Huskey was bred to do. Just like sheep dogs - even the house pet ones - having that need to herd things, sled dogs need to be outside and running. Maybe not pulling a sled, but they still have that pack mentality and that adventure drive. That's what makes these dogs so special...

/rant - now I'm off to get ready for work

Hi, Tonichelle! I follow Thoroughbred racing, and hear the same comments from uneducated people who think it's abusive, blah blah blah. Of course when given the opportunity to see for themselves they decline.

I love reading about the iditarod! Keep up the good posts.

Johar - that's what we come across all summer long with anti-sled dog people coming into our establishment (I say 'our' but it's really the Seavey's... I just work there) Dallas will give them a free tour and show if they want, and yet they always decline because they don't want to support the abuse. How are you SUPPORTING IT if we're footing the bill?

Besides all the $$ supports is feeding the dogs, isn't that a GOOD thing?



Anywho back to updates ha ha!

Why I wasn't paying more attention this morning I don't know. When I reported the leaders were in Takotna I forgot to also mention that this check point is the traditional stop for the 24 hour layover. They don't HAVE to take it here, but most do. After the rough couple of days in the Gorge and the Burn it's nice to have 24 hours to regroup. This is the only day that the mushers can get 3-4 good hours of sleep. Taking care of the dogs round the clock is key.

As I said not everyone takes their big break here. Martin Buser sailed through the check point earlier today, but others have declared this spot their stop. Seavey, King, and Mackey among those holing up and preparing for the deep snow of the interior.

We're about half way through the race already, that's just amazing to me. Wasn't it just yesterday I was counting down to the start? Yikes!

It does seem like a fast race this year! But I guess that could change at any time. Thanks for the insider reports, Toni!

it's actually not that fast, last year was faster... Martin Buser holds the record for fastest time in just under 9 days... so they're right on track here.

The Iditarod website is so rich in information -- race reports, details about the mushers and their standings, their speed, time at checkpoints, even links to webcams and such. I've already promised myself a GPS tracker subscription for next year!

I got to laugh at myself, though. I like the pronunciation guides that appear beside any checkpoint names that might be difficult to pronounce. I read through them all and actually only found one I was mentally mispronouncing (I'm not sure I've ever said these names aloud!) -- Unalakleet. I've been mentally pronouncing it "you-na-LACK-leet" when it's really "YOU-na-la-kleet," which really sounds ever so much better!

I'm surprised you like it so much, the local Iditarod fans hate it... me I only use it for the updates on the trail. But I think it is a great site for that. I've been debating getting it, but unfortunately the stuff I want the subscription for I won't be home for it LIVE... like when they cross the finish line in Nome I'll either be asleep or at work *sigh*

anyway I also like Bruce Lee's blog updates. whenever we can get reports from the trail I'm all over it lol...

nothing much is going on as most mushers, as I said, are taking their 24 hour layovers... seems Martin will be taking his in Ophir... Bruce suspects we'll see movement in the wee morning hours... I can live with that.

Just as a heads up, Dallas Seavey's main sponsor JJ Keller (it's a law firm, of all things!) has a youtube channel up covering the race, not as many updates as last year, but I think that's due to the fact that Dallas is running the Iditarod this year and not their go to man on the trail...



you'll notice the ridiculous fur hat Dallas is wearing, that is a costume piece from the Wildride Sled Dog Rodeo. "Bubba" wears it as part of his mushing gear. I thought Dallas was joking when he said he'd use it for the race, figured when I saw him wearing it in Anchorage it was a one time deal. Looks like I was wrong. *facepalm*



http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=15CF9B7F5A5AFE5A



http://www.youtube.com/user/jjkelleriditarod

Tonichelle said:

I'm surprised you like it so much, the local Iditarod fans hate it... me I only use it for the updates on the trail. But I think it is a great site for that. I've been debating getting it, but unfortunately the stuff I want the subscription for I won't be home for it LIVE... like when they cross the finish line in Nome I'll either be asleep or at work *sigh*

anyway I also like Bruce Lee's blog updates. whenever we can get reports from the trail I'm all over it lol...

Click to expand...

Hmm, wow, what's not to like? The current standings portion is really complete, giving (by checkpoint) where each musher is, their time between checkpoints, average speed, time in, time out, dogs in, dogs out. I dunno, maybe there's info missing for folks right there at the scene. But for me, thousands of miles away, it seems like a lot of information! And even with my dialup connection, the McGrath checkpoint webcams worked pretty well and loaded fast enough for me to actually look at them a couple of times yesterday.

The brief bios on every musher are nice -- at least as much info as the ISU bios for skaters, with a closeup photo of everybody. [That weird hat Dallas is wearing in his pic must be what you're talking about, Toni.]

I haven't tried the free sample GPS tracker or videos yet. I doubt I'd ever try the videos on demand without a faster connection, it would just be a waste. But I hope the GPS tracker will work for me.

I like the blogs/race reports and commentaries from Bruce Lee. The discussion forum's not bad, either.

But again, I'm not right there so I probably don't even know what I'm missing. I'm just happy with what I can get.

to be honest I'm not sure what more people want either, other than I think they're really just upset that they have to pay for the videos now...

I'll happily wait for the DVD and watch that way

Toni, Thanks for the great reports.

Well, team Norway took a beating earlier this week and kept it quiet. Now Bjorner Anderson - one of the teams looking to win this year - is out due to possible internal injuries sustained while running between Rohn and Nikolai. The burn took it's toll... this is the really scary story of the Iditarod. Much worse than that little mishap in the gorge this year. The article can be found here - http://www.adn.com/iditarod/2009/story/720474.html - I'm also sad to read that Team Norway is debating even continuing to come over and run. While we normally don't cheer for the outsiders, Alaskans have somewhat taken Team Norway as ours (unlike the Montana mushers... most especially Doug Swingley lol... we no like them! )

Most everyone has taken their 24 hour layover - and by everyone I mean the ones competiting for the title, of course lol. Buser and Lanier are in Ophir taking their respective rests, which means we have the giant leapfrog affect. Next up, the Yukon River. This is where we see the change in trails every year. There's the Northern Route and the Southern Route. It alternates years which one is the one they travel on. This year, being Odd, they're taking the Southern Route. Now, according to Dallas this is the harder of the two trails because instead of having the wind at your back you have the frigid yukon wind in your face.

Now, the first one into Iditarod gets the gold nuggest prize, Iditarod is also the half way mark. Yes, that's right folks, we're half way there! The serious race begins in just a few more checkpoints!

At this moment it looks like Aaron Burmeister will be getting that pouch of Gold, but anything could happen. This is a long stretch of trail and it's all about strategy and priorities.

Following behind in third is Lance Mackey, 6th Jeff King, 7th Mitch Seavey, 8th Paul Gebhardt. Dallas Seavey (yay!) is in 13th.

Jonrowe's in 19th, Buser is 22nd (and taking his 24), Lanier 23rd (also taking 24), Swenson rounds out the top 25.



Teams are still strong, only Paul has dropped more than two dogs (he has a team of 13). That is another team strategy. You don't NEED 16 dogs to get to Nome. In fact you don't really WANT that many.

I forgot to give this link earlier but I love reading the descriptions of the check points and the trail - http://www.iditarod.com/race/route.html - great link.

And an update on Holt's dog Victor who died on the trail - http://www.adn.com/iditarod/2009/story/719120.html - cause is still unknown.

just a small update: Lance Mackey is first into Iditarod!