Iditarod

“Run them puppies.......”

“hush you muskies”

“We had The U.P. 200 (an Iditarod qualifier) start from our town a few weekends ago. It was great! They closed off several blocks of one of our main streets, trucked in a BUNCH of snow to cover the street, then held the start of the race at night.”

“They will truck snow to Front Street in Nome to build the finish. I guess work on that will start sometime late next week.”

“I watched a cart race one time cause there was no snow. I never saw dogs more eager to get out and run than those critters. Every time a cart left the start the ones left would begin barking and howling. They wanted to go so bad.

I can't remember, is this the first running since Susan Butcher died? Are they doing anything special in her memory? She was one of the greats.
last edited: 2/28/08 10:06:11 AM”

“You shoulda got the Mal NonCon.”

“Last year was the first since Susan died. There is a memorial fund set up at this site: http://www.providence.org/alaska/foundation/donatenow.htm”

“The PETA people must be going nuts by now.”

“She was a major force in the iditarod? I truly don't mean disrespect by this, but just looking at her she looks like a granola like nobody else on earth. Seems like the last person you'd see doing breeding and mushing dogs.”

“Book by its cover, Sarge, book by its cover.

I have a former student near here who races. I don't know if he's been to the Iditarod or the Yukon Quest, though. When I drove by this morning there where two school buses parked at his kennels. I guess he's taking kids for rides.

Cool sport.

BTW, www.yukonquest.com”

“Definitely a cool sport when they head off into the tundra as the mercury hits 50 below!

I got interested three years ago when I found the Nome webcam site. Days later they turned the camera down Front Street to the finish line and I began checking the race out. The last two season Versus (or OLN as it was called) covered the race. My only gripe is that the coverage is delayed by nearly a week.

It is interesting though. Jeff King has been an innovator, devising the sit-down sled and later heated handlebars. All of that is nice, but in the end it's a battle against the elements and then the other teams.

One thing I like about the Iditarod is that the musher and dogs are a team, and the safety and welfare of the dogs is important to not only the musher, but to the overall race organization. Good mushers take care of the dogs first.

Susan Butcher was indeed a major force in the race when she was running it and winning. She was not only one of the female pioneers in the race, but a force with which to reckon. She worked hard to train her dogs and took exceptional care of her team during the race.

Susan was the second woman to win the race. She was the second four-time winner and the first racer to win four of five consecutive races. If not for her illness, she would still be a force in the race.

There are always a handful of racers who figure prominently in the race. And from time to time somebody else slips into that elite group and places high, or actually wins it.

But when you win four times, you're doing something right, and indeed something only a handful of people are capable of doing. I'd say that is a major force.”

“Not quite the halfway mark:

1 Lance Mackey IN TO Takotna 03/05 01:57
2 Jeff King IN TO Takotna 03/05 02:21
3 Kjetil Backen IN TO Takotna 03/05 02:27”

“Just don't post the winner until I can watch it on the tele!”

“3/16/2008 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm IDITAROD TRAIL SLED DOG RACE

3/16/2008 10:00 pm - 11:00 pm IDITAROD

3/17/2008 1:00 am - 2:00 am IDITAROD TRAIL SLED DOG RACE

3/23/2008 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm IDITAROD TRAIL SLED DOG RACE

3/23/2008 10:00 pm - 11:00 pm IDITAROD TRAIL SLED DOG RACE

3/24/2008 1:00 am - 2:00 am IDITAROD TRAIL SLED DOG RACE

3/30/2008 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm IDITAROD TRAIL SLED DOG RACE

3/30/2008 10:00 pm - 11:00 pm IDITAROD TRAIL SLED DOG RACE

3/31/2008 1:00 am - 2:00 am IDITAROD TRAIL SLED DOG RACE”

“Lance Mackey and Jeff King were last reported in to Shaktoolik running neck and neck with Mackey in the lead. Should be a great finish. The finish line is complete and ready in Nome. First Versus show is Sunday at 7 p.m. and again at 10 p.m.”

“Cool. I haven't followed it much this time around though. I've been avoiding the tv lately.”

“This is the finish line in Nome. The view will change as time goes by and soon teams will appear in the picture as they finish.

”