- Joined
- Jun 27, 2003
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
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