Tuesday, March 26, 2013

All Good Things Must End

It was a lot of fun, but the Money for Mushers fundraiser is officially over.

Congratulations to Mitch Seavey, winner of the 2013 Iditarod! Mitch's time was 9 days, 7 hours, 39 minutes, 56 seconds. Jeannette Johnson in OGM selected Mitch as her musher in our Money for Mushers fundraiser and receives a $5 gift certifcate to the coffee place of her choice.

We will be giving the Multnomah County Animal Shelter $470 from our fundraiser this year. Nice job, everyone!

Thank you to everyone who participated. Special thanks to the 2nd floor tamale lunch group who donated $16, Teresa Hall who donated $10, and the FMS/IT bottle return fund which donated $25.

Thank you for letting me share my enjoyment of the Iditarod with you. I hope you all thought this was fun. The Charitable Giving team would love your feedback on what you liked, didn't like, learned, would like to see next year. Feel free to post here or email me.

See you all again on March 1, 2014 when Idiarod XVII starts!

2013 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Index

Winner: Mitch Seavey, 53, Sterling, Alaska

Noteworthy: Oldest musher ever to win Iditarod

Iditarods run, won: 19, 2

Like father, like son: Dallas Seavey, Mitch's son, became youngest-ever Iditarod champion in 2012

Iditarod family lineage: Three generations of racers (Dan, Mitch Dallas, Conway)

Time between Mitch Seavey, Aliy Zirkle into White Mountain: 13 minutes

Number of women who have twice finished Iditarod as runners up: 2, DeeDeeJonrowe and Aliy Zirkle

Oldest-ever Iditarod musher: Col. Norman D Vaughan, 86 years old

Total Iditarod 2013 prize money: $600,000

Who qualifies for purse winnings: First 30 Iditarod finishers

Number of lead changes in this year's race: 7

Race course: Southern Route

Number of checkpoints: 25

Longest distance between checkpoints: 85 miles, Kaltag-Unalakleet

Winner's purse in dollars: $50,400 plus new Dodge Ram 4x4 (estimated value: $40,000)

Iditarod champion Mitch Seavey's lead dog: Tanner

Famous lead dogs of 1925 Nome Serum Run: Balto, Togo

Musher's commands for 180-degree turns: Come gee! Come haw!

Warmest known temperature along the trail: 52 degrees between Iditarod-Shageluk checkpoints, March 9

Women who've won Iditarod: 2

Last female Iditarod champion: Susan Butcher, 1990, 11 days, 1 hour, 53 minutes, 23 seconds

Highest cumulative purse earnings by a musher, won by Jeff King, 1981-2013: $852,719.78

Approximate calories consumed by an Iditarod dog during a day of racing: 12,000

Iditarod 2013 rookie musher of the year: Joar Leifseth Ulsom

Planes flying with Iditarod Air Force: 25

FAA officials monitoring flight conditions and regulating air traffic along trail: 10 or more

Location of open-water overflow mushers had to fjord as temperatures climbed on the trail: Iditarod-Shageluk

Checkpoint famous for pies: Takotna

Dogs lost on the trail: 2

Dog fatalities on the trail (through March 13, 2013): Zero

Years since a dog died in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race: 4

Contact Eric Christopher Adams at eric(at)alaskadispatch.com

Monday, March 18, 2013

Stories From the Trail

There have been all kinds of articles and information published about individual mushers and their time on the trail. I thought I'd link some here for you to check out.

Mikhail Telpin

Foreign Flavor - Luan Marques, Mikhail Telpin

Angie Taggart

Mike Williams, Sr.

B x 2 + Bailey = OME - Kristy & Anna Berrington and Jodi Bailey

Travis Beals (I totally love this one. Check out his important question under the finish line.)

DeeDee Jonrowe

Jim Lanier's Northern Whites

Trio into Nome - Mike Ellis, Kelly Maixner, Wade Marrs

Michelle Phillips, Jessica Hendricks

May's journey - Missing dog from Newton Marshall's team

Cindy Abbott - Wow. This woman is lucky to be alive!

Squirt - leader of Cim Smyth's team

Christine Roalofs - Red Lantern award winner

Gresham Employee Participants

Below is the list of Gresham employees that participated, what musher they followed and that musher's finishing order. Scratched means the musher pulled out of the race without finishing. Many thanks to everyone that participated!

Employee	Department	Musher Assigned	Musher placement
Jeannette Johnson	OGM	Mitch Seavey	1
Kris Leibrand	FMS	Aily Zirkle	2
Charlene Siegfried	FMS	Jeff King	3
Tam Driscoll	DES	Dallas Seavey	4
Pam Nooyen	ITD	Ray Reddington, Jr.	5
Terryl Aguon	FMS	Nicholas Petit	6
Elizabeth McCann	BFP	Joar Leifseth Ulsom	7
Janelle Seriotti	IT	Jake Berkowitz	8
D. Mayzak	FMS	Sonny Lindner	9
Elizabeth McCann	BFP	DeeDee Jonrowe	10
Diane Gallucci	FMS	Aaron Burmeister	11
Diane Gallucci	FMS	Ken Anderson	12
Elizabeth Mccann	BFP	Peter Kaiser	13
Charlene Siegfried	FMS	Josh Cadzow	14
Jeannette Johnson	OGM	Cim Smyth	15
Stacy Humphrey	UDP	Paul Gebhardt	16
Leah Isaac	MC	Martin Buser	17
Bernard Seeger	FMS	Jessie Royer	18
Mark Tolliver	FMS	Lance Mackey	19
Annie Watt	FMS	Ramey Smythe	20
Jeannette Johnson	OGM	John Baker	21
Janelle Seriotti	IT	Brent Sass	22
Wendy Marshall	DES	Michael Williams, Jr.	23
Leah Isaac	MC	Michelle Phillips	24
Bernard Seeger	FMS	Jessica Hendricks	25
C. Mayzak	IDD	Kelley Griffin	26
Diane Gallucci	FMS	Curt Perano	27
Frances Moore	DES	Matt Failor	28
Janelle Seriotti	IT	Linwood Fiedler	29
Wendy Marshall	DES	Mike Ellis	30
Frances Moore	DES	Kelly Maixner	31
Wendy Marshall	DES	Wade Marrs	32
Wendy Marshall	DES	Allen Moore	33
Elaine Peyton	DES	Paige Drobny	34
Charlene Siegfried	FMS	Jim Lanier	35
Beverly Tobias	DES	Richie Diehl	36
Robin Pederson	DES	Travis Beals	37
Frances Moore	DES	Justin Savidis	38
Janelle Seriotti	IT	Matt Giblin	39
Ritha Metcalf	BFP	Karen Hendrickson	40
Leah Isaac	MC	Aaron Peck	41
Janelle Seriotti	IT	Kristy Berington	41
Bernard Seeger	FMS	Anna Berington	42
Robin Pederson	DES	Jodi Bailey	44
Rita Humphrey	CDD	Mike Williams, Sr.	45
Ritha Metcalf	BFP	Gerald Sousa	46
Stacy Humphrey	UDP	Louie Ambrose	47
Orion Jarrell	FMS	Angie Taggert	48
Heather Johnson	ITD	Luan Ramos Marques	49
Heather Johnson	ITD	Michael Telpin	50
Bernard Seeger	FMS	Cindy Gallea	51
Janelle Seriotti	IT	James Volek	52
Charlene Siegfried	FMS	Bob Chlupach	53
Janelle Seriotti	IT	Christine Roalofs	54
Ritha Metcalf	BFP	Charlie Bejna	Scratched
Diane Gallucci	FMS	Cindy Abbott	Scratched
Ritha Metcalf	BFP	David Sawatzky	Scratched
Janelle Seriotti	IT	Gerry Willomitzer	Scratched
Pat Hartley	ITD	Jan Steves	Scratched
Beverly Tobias	DES	Jason Mackey	Scratched
Elaine Peyton	DES	Michael Suprenant	Scratched
Leah Isaac	MC	Newton Marshall	Scratched
Frances Moore	Des	Robert Bundtzen	Scratched
Jeannette Johnson	OGM	Rudy Demoski, Sr.	Scratched
Elizabeth McCann	BFP	Scott Jansen	Scratched

2013 Iditarod Finisher's Banquet Award Winners

Sorry for not keeping up with the blog over the weekend. We had a nasty incident involving a cat, a keyboard, and a glass of water at my house on Friday night that made posting impossible.

2013 Iditarod Finisher’s Banquet Award Winners

Posted by Erin McLarnon in Iditarod
Date: March 17, 2013 9:40 pm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Iditarod XLI Finisher’s Banquet Award Winners

Nome, Alaska - Sunday, March 17, 2013 – Iditarod XLI Special Awards given at the Finisher’s Banquet:

Pen Air Spirit of Alaska Award – Aaron Burmeister
GCI Dorothy G. Page Halfway Award – Lance Mackey
Millennium Alaskan Hotel First Musher to the Yukon Award – Martin Buser
Wells Fargo Bank Alaska Gold Coast Award - Mitch Seavey
Anchorage Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Winner’s Truck Award – Mitch Seavey
Wells Fargo Bank Winner’s Purse – Mitch Seavey
ExxonMobil Mushers Choice Award - Mike Williams, Sr.
Alaska Airlines Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian Award – Jake Berkowitz
Horizon Lines Most Improved Musher Award - Nicolas Petit
Northern Air Cargo Herbie Nayokpuk Memorial Award – Mikhail Telpin
Sportsmanship Award –Cim Smyth
City of Nome Lolly Medley Golden Harness Award Winner – Tanner, Mitch Seavey Leader
Nome Kennel Club Fastest Time from Safety to Nome Award - Ramey Smyth, 2 hours 19 minutes
Jerry Austin Rookie of the Year – Joar Leifseth Ulsom
Northern Air Cargo Four Wheeler Drawing Winner – Anna Berington
Golden Clipboard Award – Ophir
Golden Stethoscope Award - Dr. Sterling Thomas & Dr. Dirsko VonPfeil
Red Lantern – Christine Roalofs

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Thursday 3/14 - Still racing

A little over half the field is in to Nome now. Here are the finishers so far:

As of March 14, 2013 07:03:48

Finished

Pos	Musher	Bib	Checkpoint	Time In	Dogs In	Days	Hours	Minutes	Seconds	Average Speed	Time Enroute	Previous
Pos	Musher	Bib	Checkpoint	Time In	Dogs In	Days	Hours	Minutes	Seconds	Average Speed	Time Enroute	Checkpoint	Time Out
1	Mitch Seavey	36	Nome	3/12 22:39:56	10	9	7	39	56	4.41	3h 2m	Safety	3/12 19:37:00
2	Aliy Zirkle	27	Nome	3/12 23:03:35	10	9	8	3	35	4.41	3h 1m	Safety	3/12 20:02:00
3	Jeff King	18	Nome	3/13 00:21:56	11	9	9	21	56	4.38	2h 45m	Safety	3/12 21:36:00
4	Dallas Seavey	19	Nome	3/13 01:20:51	7	9	10	20	51	4.36	2h 42m	Safety	3/12 22:38:00
5	Ray Redington Jr	52	Nome	3/13 02:04:54	9	9	11	4	54	4.35	2h 56m	Safety	3/12 23:08:00
6	Nicolas Petit	16	Nome	3/13 02:39:13	10	9	11	39	13	4.34	2h 55m	Safety	3/12 23:44:00
7	Joar Leifseth Ulsom (r)	32	Nome	3/13 03:34:00	10	9	12	34	0	4.32	2h 48m	Safety	3/13 00:46:00
8	Jake Berkowitz	44	Nome	3/13 03:34:16	15	9	12	34	16	4.32	2h 49m	Safety	3/13 00:45:00
9	Sonny Lindner	67	Nome	3/13 04:11:02	9	9	13	11	2	4.31	3h 4m	Safety	3/13 01:07:00
10	DeeDee Jonrowe	28	Nome	3/13 04:24:39	10	9	13	24	39	4.30	2h 59m	Safety	3/13 01:25:00
11	Aaron Burmeister	24	Nome	3/13 05:19:02	9	9	14	19	2	4.29	3h 33m	Safety	3/13 01:46:00
12	Ken Anderson	6	Nome	3/13 07:09:20	11	9	16	9	20	4.25	2h 49m	Safety	3/13 04:20:00
13	Peter Kaiser	10	Nome	3/13 08:36:34	9	9	17	36	34	4.23	3h 5m	Safety	3/13 05:31:00
14	Josh Cadzow (r)	55	Nome	3/13 09:07:37	8	9	18	7	37	4.22	2h 36m	Safety	3/13 06:31:00
15	Cim Smyth	51	Nome	3/13 10:08:22	11	9	19	8	22	4.20	2h 32m	Safety	3/13 07:36:00
16	Paul Gebhardt	11	Nome	3/13 10:09:32	9	9	19	9	32	4.20	3h 8m	Safety	3/13 07:01:00
17	Martin Buser	2	Nome	3/13 11:01:33	11	9	20	1	33	4.18	3h 13m	Safety	3/13 07:48:00
18	Jessie Royer	30	Nome	3/13 11:20:15	7	9	20	20	15	4.18	3h 8m	Safety	3/13 08:12:00
19	Lance Mackey	5	Nome	3/13 11:52:14	9	9	20	52	14	4.17	3h 10m	Safety	3/13 08:42:00

20	Ramey Smyth	38	Nome	3/13 11:54:56	7	9	20	54	56	4.17	2h 19m	Safety	3/13 09:35:00
21	John Baker	13	Nome	3/13 12:49:16	12	9	21	49	16	4.15	3h 23m	Safety	3/13 09:26:00
22	Brent Sass	62	Nome	3/13 14:24:03	8	9	23	24	3	4.12	3h 27m	Safety	3/13 10:57:00
23	Michael Williams, Jr.	46	Nome	3/13 16:57:30	9	10	1	57	30	4.08	3h 23m	Safety	3/13 13:34:00
24	Michelle Phillips	7	Nome	3/13 17:22:09	13	10	2	22	9	4.07	3h 23m	Safety	3/13 13:59:00
25	Jessica Hendricks	54	Nome	3/13 19:57:49	7	10	4	57	49	4.03	3h 1m	Safety	3/13 16:56:00
26	Kelley Griffin	9	Nome	3/14 00:47:34	9	10	9	47	34	3.95	3h 43m	Safety	3/13 21:04:00
27	Curt Perano	45	Nome	3/14 04:21:14	10	10	13	21	14	3.90	2h 59m	Safety	3/14 01:22:00
28	Matt Failor	61	Nome	3/14 04:39:46	10	10	13	39	46	3.89	2h 51m	Safety	3/14 01:48:00
29	Linwood Fiedler	42	Nome	3/14 06:00:52	12	10	15	0	52	3.87	2h 59m	Safety	3/14 03:01:00

Charlie Bejna Scratches

Charley Benja Scratches Between Unalakleet and Shaktoolik

Posted by Erin McLarnon in Iditarod
Date: March 13, 2013 3:46 pm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CHARLEY BEJNA SCRATCHES BETWEEN UNALAKLEET AND SHAKTOOLIK
Nome, Alaska – Wednesday, March 13, 2013 – Rookie Iditarod musher Charley Bejna (Bib# 15) of Addison, Illinois scratched between Unalakleet and Shaktoolik at 15:15. Bejna made the decision to scratch for the best interest of his team. He had 7 dogs in his team.
Charley and his team will be transported to Shaktoolik with local support from the community. Both musher and dogs are fine.
#

Cindy Abbot Scratches in Kaltag

Cindy Abbott Scratches in Kaltag

Posted by Erin McLarnon in Iditarod
Date: March 13, 2013 11:20 pm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CINDY ABBOTT SCRATCHES IN KALTAG

Nome, Alaska - Wednesday, March 13, 2013 – Rookie Iditarod musher Cindy Abbott (Bib# 60) of Irvine, California scratched in Kaltag at 23:00. Abbott made the decision to scratch due to a muscle strain and the best interest of her team. She had 12 dogs in her team.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Current Standings

As you know the winner of the Iditarod is in the history books already. Mitch Seavey won his 2nd Itidarod title last night with a time of 9 days, 7 hours, 39 minutes, and 56 seconds. Mitch received a check for $50,400 (which he promptly turned over to his wife) and the keys to a shiny new Dodge pickup.

Which of the Gresham employees had chosen Mitch Seavey as their musher? Jeannette Johnson from OGM! Jeannette wins a gift certifcate to the coffee place of her choice. And, since we had a side bet about whose musher would come in first as Mitch and Aliy battled the last 77 miles, lunch on me.

But just because the first mushers have finished, the race is by no means over. There are only 17 teams in to Nome, leaving 39 more teams out on the trail. For many mushers, coming in first is not their goal. They run for the love of the dogs, to prove something to themselves, or to fulfill a dream. In my mind anyone that even starts this race is a winner. It's too bad that we really only give a nod to the first few guys to the finish line, because there is still so much racing going on. The current Red Lantern carrier is Cindy Abbot (again) and she left the Eagle Island checkpoint last night at 6:45. Eagle Island is still about 400 miles from Nome.

Here is the current list of finished mushers:

As of March 13, 2013 11:19:27

Finished

Pos	Musher	Bib	Checkpoint	Time In	Dogs In	Days	Hours	Minutes	Seconds	Average Speed	Time Enroute	Previous		Insights
Pos	Musher	Bib	Checkpoint	Time In	Dogs In	Days	Hours	Minutes	Seconds	Average Speed	Time Enroute	Checkpoint	Time Out	Insights
1	Mitch Seavey	36	Nome	3/12 22:39:56	10	9	7	39	56	4.41	3h 2m	Safety	3/12 19:37:00
2	Aliy Zirkle	27	Nome	3/12 23:03:35	10	9	8	3	35	4.41	3h 1m	Safety	3/12 20:02:00
3	Jeff King	18	Nome	3/13 00:21:56	11	9	9	21	56	4.38	2h 45m	Safety	3/12 21:36:00
4	Dallas Seavey	19	Nome	3/13 01:20:51	7	9	10	20	51	4.36	2h 42m	Safety	3/12 22:38:00
5	Ray Redington Jr	52	Nome	3/13 02:04:54	9	9	11	4	54	4.35	2h 56m	Safety	3/12 23:08:00
6	Nicolas Petit	16	Nome	3/13 02:39:13	10	9	11	39	13	4.34	2h 55m	Safety	3/12 23:44:00
7	Joar Leifseth Ulsom (r)	32	Nome	3/13 03:34:00	10	9	12	34	0	4.32	2h 48m	Safety	3/13 00:46:00
8	Jake Berkowitz	44	Nome	3/13 03:34:16	15	9	12	34	16	4.32	2h 49m	Safety	3/13 00:45:00
9	Sonny Lindner	67	Nome	3/13 04:11:02	9	9	13	11	2	4.31	3h 4m	Safety	3/13 01:07:00
10	DeeDee Jonrowe	28	Nome	3/13 04:24:39	10	9	13	24	39	4.30	2h 59m	Safety	3/13 01:25:00
11	Aaron Burmeister	24	Nome	3/13 05:19:02	9	9	14	19	2	4.29	3h 33m	Safety	3/13 01:46:00
12	Ken Anderson	6	Nome	3/13 07:09:20	11	9	16	9	20	4.25	2h 49m	Safety	3/13 04:20:00
13	Peter Kaiser	10	Nome	3/13 08:36:34	9	9	17	36	34	4.23	3h 5m	Safety	3/13 05:31:00
14	Josh Cadzow (r)	55	Nome	3/13 09:07:37	8	9	18	7	37	4.22	2h 36m	Safety	3/13 06:31:00
15	Cim Smyth	51	Nome	3/13 10:08:22	11	9	19	8	22	4.20	2h 32m	Safety	3/13 07:36:00
16	Paul Gebhardt	11	Nome	3/13 10:09:32	9	9	19	9	32	4.20	3h 8m	Safety	3/13 07:01:00
17	Martin Buser	2	Nome	3/13 11:01:33	11	9	20	1	33	4.18	3h 13m	Safety	3/13 07:48:00

XLI Iditarod Champion - Mitch Seavey

XLI Iditarod Champion – Mitch Seavey

Posted by Erin McLarnon in Iditarod
Date: March 13, 2013 12:46 am

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MITCH SEAVEY FIRST INTO NOME – IDITAROD XLI CHAMPION

Nome, Alaska - Tuesday, March 12, 2013 – IDITAROD XLI Musher Mitch Seavey (Bib # 36) of Seward, Alaska arrived into Nome, Alaska and crossed under the burled arch at 22:39 Alaska Time with 10 dogs on his team claiming his second Iditarod Championship, his first being in 2004. Thousands of fans lined the street to greet Mitch and his team on this clear, brisk night in Nome.

Seavey now holds the record for being the oldest person to have won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and his son Dallas, who was the 2012 Iditarod Champion being the youngest.

Seavey’s team traveled up the Iditarod Trail in 9 days, 07 hours, 39 minutes, 56 seconds. The record is still held by John Baker the 2011 Champion at a time of 8 days, 18 hours, 46 minutes, 39 seconds.

Mitch Seavey is a second generation musher, following in the footsteps of his father, Dan Seavey who has finished five Iditarod’s. Mitch’s son Dallas, 2012 Iditarod Champion is still on the trail and expected to finish within hours.

Other mushers expected to arrive into Nome, Alaska in the coming minutes and hours are Aliy Zirkle (Bib# 27), Jeff King (Bib# 18), Dallas Seavey (Bib# 19), Ray Redington, Jr. (Bib# 52), Nicolas Petit (Bib# 16), Rookie Joar Leifseth Ulsom (Bib# 32), Jake Berkowitz (Bib# 44), Aaron Burmeister (Bib# 24), and Sonny Linder (Bib# 67). Mushers from the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race will continue to their trek into Nome under the Burled Arch for the next days to come.

Robert Bundtzen Scratches at Shaktoolik

Posted by Erin McLarnon in Iditarod
Date: March 12, 2013 3:22 pm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ROBERT BUNDTZEN SCRATCHES AT SHAKTOOLIK

Nome, Alaska - Tuesday, March 12, 2013 – Veteran Iditarod musher Robert Bundtzen (Bib# 23) of Anchorage, Alaska scratched at Shaktoolik at 14:15. Bundtzen made the decision to scratch because his team wasn’t performing up to his expectations. He had 15 dogs in his team.

Jan Steves Scrathes at Eagle Island

Jan Steves Scratches at Eagle Island

Posted by Erin McLarnon in Iditarod
Date: March 12, 2013 6:08 pm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JAN STEVES SCRATCHES AT EAGLE ISLAND

Nome, Alaska – Tuesday, March 12, 2013 – Veteran Iditarod musher Jan Steves (Bib# 26) of Edmonds, Washington scratched at Eagle Island at 17:54. Steves made the decision to scratch in the best interest of her team. She had 15 dogs in her team. #

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

And We Have a Winner!

Congratulations to Mitch Seavey, winner of the 2013 Iditarod! Mitch's time was 9 days, 7 hours, 39 minutes, 56 seconds.

More info tomorrow. I'm off to bed.

White Mountain Accomodations

I thought it would be interesting for you all to know that in White Mountain, Alaska's (population 209) the mushers use the city hall as the checkpoint building. Mushers can grab a nap in an empty office and dry their clothes by the fire.

Can you imagine getting any work done with mushers, volunteers, veterinarians, fans and a zillion dogs barking in the parking lot?

Population 209 -- Just 77 miles from Nome, this village is located on the banks of the Fish River. It takes its name from that of a picturesque nearby mountain. The checkpoint is located in the community hall building up the hill from the store.