IDITAROD: Special Coverage from APRN

With the Ceremonial start of the 2010 Iditarod sled dog race slated for Saturday March 6th, racers are preparing for what looks to be a very competitive field. Various groups are putting together their pools for picking the winners. Here is a breakdown of some of the favorites in no particular order.

John Baker – 3rd in last years race and almost always a top 10 finisher. He beat an impressive field in this years Kusko 300.

Sebastian Schneulle – Wild hair. 2nd in last years race. He thought about retiring, but coming back for one more kick at the can. There was much less racing for him this year as he elected not to defend his title in the Yukon Quest.

Lance Mackey – winner 3 years in a row. Need we say more? He showed he can be beat at Kusko 300 and Yukon Quest this year. In anticipation of new drug testing at the Iditarod this year, the medicinal marijuana user has already had to adjust his race practices at the Yukon Quest, and he still seems to be hitting on all cylinders.

Hugh Neff – trail buddy with Mackey. They always seem to run together, so if Mackey is in position to win, Neff might be there too.

Hans Gatt – 4 time winner of 1000 mile Yukon Quest. The only other musher to do that is Mackey. Won the Quest this year over Mackey and some other formidable foes. He beat previous record in that race by 23 hours with a step change in strategy, running long and resting short.

Zack Steer – doesn’t always race Iditarod, but when he does he is good. He set the pace in this years Quest, however fell behind later in the race when he chose to still do long rests and the leaders didn’t.

Jeff King – 4 time Iditarod winner, and donated $50,000 to the Iditarod prize pool. Jeff is always in the hunt. He may well be on his farewell tour this year but he does have a young team with fresh legs.

Martin Buser – 3 time Iditarod winner and still holds the fastest time. His epic 2002 race in 2002 completed in less then 9 days was done with the traditional run/rest schedule, however his team that year had some incredible speed. He still resists the new strategy to run long and rest short opting instead to challenge with team speed.

Dallas Seavey – Great race last year finishing 5th. He bought Aaron Burmester’s 7th place team. Son of Mitch Seavey, who is a pretty good pick as well. Both of them adhere to traditional run/rest schedules.

Jesse Royer – She finished 8th last year by dealing with the extreme weather. Her training in cold weather this year may end up helping her. Jesse seems to improve her game every year, but modern veterinary science suggests she will be without her incredible 11 year old lead dog Kuling in this year’s event.

Paul Gebhardt – powered by twinkies and always toward the front, yet always dealing with hard luck. He is a master of all trail conditions. It will be worth watching his wife’s race blog, as it is one of the best.

Ken Anderson – Mackey’s neighbor in Fox Alaska, so he knows what a new Dodge pickup looks like. He is trying the “double” again this year by racing both the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod. This has worked well for him in the past and there is an additional week between the races this year (Thank you YQ), so his team that did not push hard in the Quest should be primed to go. After his trick broke down at the Yukon Quest, he will be dreaming about the new Dodge pickup given to the winner of the Iditarod similar to how Mackey was dreaming about it 4 years ago. His wife Gwen Holdman maintains a top notch race blog.

Cim Smyth – 5th place finish last year, and no less then 12th over the last 4. He is always fast at the end and this could be his year.