March 3 AM - Into Finger Lake

Well, the race is underway!  Did any of you watch the ceremonial start?  I watched part of it, but my dogs were getting too agitated hearing all the barking and carrying on those excited sled dogs were doing on the computer so I had to turn it off.  Silly dogs!  The Anchorage Daily News web site has a lot of great pictures of the restart in Willow on Sunday you might want to check out.

 

I plan to send you all a daily update on the progress of the race, peppered with interesting tidbits I find along the way.  If you have any questions at all, let me know and I’ll do my best to find an answer.  I do have the paid subscription to the Iditarod Insider that allows access to all the great videos and interviews.  If any of you are interested in seeing some, let me know.  There is a wonderful pre-race video that is 15 minutes long that I would love to share.  If you are interested, I can set up a room for viewing.

 

There are a couple of great sites to go to for information on the race and the mushers.  The first is, of course, Iditarod.com.  This is the place you can find all the up-to-date information and commentary as well as some great videos.  I also really like the coverage on the Anchorage Daily News.  They have a whole section devoted to the race.  It is, after all, Alaska’s favorite sport!

 

Some of the things I have gathered from reading articles and watching videos about this year’s race:

 

·         There are 6 past Iditarod winners running the race this year.  Of course the speculation is that they will all finish in the top 10, but there are a number of up-and-coming younger mushers toping the lists as well as the Norwegian mushers. 

·         The Norwegian mushers might be new to the Iditarod (except Robert Sorlie, who is a past winner), but they are not new to mushing.  All the armchair mushers I have listened to have said not to count them out.

·         Trail conditions will be tricky.  It has been an unusually warm winter in Alaska this year and the expectation is the trail will be rough.  The trails are cleared before the mushers, but imagine being the guy bringing up the rear after 68 other sleds and over 900 dogs have trod it before you! 

·         There is a lot of talk about Martin Buser’s unorthodox strategy from 2013 where he ran all the way to Rohn without a break then declared his 24 hour layover.  If trail conditions and weather hadn’t held him back, that may have been a game changer for the race.  Expectations say that he will do it again this year.

·         There is buzz about a new sled type that allows a “caboose” to carry dogs or equipment.  Check out this article for more info.

 

Sit back and enjoy the ride!  It’s going to be an exciting race.

 

Former Champion Takes Early Lead in Iditarod

ANCHORAGE, Alaska March 3, 2014 (AP)

By MARK THIESSEN Associated Press

A four-time champion has taken the early lead in the 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Martin Buser, who last won in 2002, was the first to reach the checkpoint at Rainy Pass, arriving at 5:42 a.m. Monday. In second is Kelly Maixner, who left the previous checkpoint at Finger Lake 30 miles to the southeast at 2:49 a.m., followed 11 minutes later by Nicolas Petit.

Sixty-nine mushers began the race to Nome on Alaska's Western coast Sunday afternoon in Willow. An 11-mile noncompetitive, ceremonial start took place in Anchorage Saturday.

The jockeying for the lead remains fluid until mushers begin taking a mandatory 24-hour layover and two eight-hour rests.

The race normally takes about 10 days, but warm weather this winter in Alaska has prompted concerns about the trail.