Just a note for fans following the end of the race. We’re doing live online coverage of the last legs of the race online via Twitter.
You can find our Iditarod tweets online here:
http://twitter.com/iditarod
Given such a close race with only 70-odd miles to go, this should be fun! Be sure to send us your thoughts via Twitter as well.
Race reporter Libby Casey, who reported from White Mountain earlier today, is on her way to Nome to greet this year’s champion.
BONUS: If you follow us on Twitter, you’ll also be updated when a new post appears on this site.
DOUBLE-BONUS: We’re also re-posting tweets from other Twitter users worldwide (so long as they use the word “iditarod” in their tweet).
Lance Mackey blasted through Golovin this morning with Jeff King apparently deliberately hanging behind him. When the two of them come into White Mountain for their mandatory 8-hour layovers this morning, there will be 77 miles left to Nome. Both teams will be rested for that final race. Jeff King has remained just minutes behind Mackey, with more dogs.
Behind those two, the race is tight. Every team is turning out to be a strong competitor. At this point, Martin Buser leads Hans Gatt, Ken Anderson, Ramey Smyth, Paul Gebhardt, Mitch Seavey, Kjetil Backen and Rick Swenson.
The champion of this year’s race is expected to arrive in Nome sometime overnight tonight (Tues 3/11 - Wed 3/12).
The Iditarod trail sled dog race is entering the final push as Lance Mackey checked into Koyuk at 1:19 p.m. this afternoon and Jeff King chased right in behind him 8 minutes later. Checked out of Shaktoolik and heading toward Koyuk now are Ken Anderson, Martin Buser, Ramey Smyth and Hans Gatt. Checked into Shaktoolik are Paul Gebhardt, Mitch Seavey, Kjetil Backen and Rick Swenson. The Iditarod’s Unalakleet checkpoint saw heavy traffic this morning, as the second tier of mushers pulled in off the trail for a few hours rest. There’s plenty of action and a few surprises for race watchers that ought to keep this year’s race just that — a race — all the way to the finish.
Ellen Lockyer, APRN - Unalakleet
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Mushing the Iditarod is usually a solo journey between the team of musher and dogs. But some racers have family members out on the trail. KUAC’s Libby Casey has more about the unique relationships in this year’s race.
Blake and Jen Freking work with their dogs in Takotna. The husband-wife team has a kennel of Siberian Huskies in Minnesota.
Libby Casey, KUAC - Unalakleet
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A dog in the team of Minnesotan Jen Freking was killed Sunday night by a snowmachine. Freking was on the trail between Galena and Nulato, near Koyukuk. Iditarod officials say her dog Lorne was killed and another was hurt when they were hit around 10:00 p.m. last night. They said Freking is devastated, but has decided to continue on the trail. This is the second dog death in this year’s Iditarod.
- You can read a notice about this event on Freking’s web site here
Libby Casey, KUAC - Unalakleet
NOTICE POSTED ON JEN & BLAKE FREKING’S WEB SITE:
At 10 PM Sunday night, March 9th, Jen’s team was struck by a snowmachine on the Yukon River between Galena and Nulato. 3 year old Lorne was killed and Aries was injured. They emailed the message below from Nulato at 2 pm March 10th. -Cindy
After a good rest and reflection, we decided as long as the rest of the dogs were healthy and ready to go, we would continue to Nome. Aries spent the night here at the school getting IV fluids and pain meds. He was flown out this morning for further care. He has been a really good boy through all this. He has a lot of soft tissue damage beneath his left shoulder, but he has been stable and calm the whole time. Hopefully, he will be able to recover fully. Lorn had been an incredible member of the team the whole race. She had eaten well and performed 100% the whole way… I was so very proud of her. The accident was the worst nightmare imaginable. We are so lucky neither Blake or I was struck and more dogs were not injured. I thought we had just witnessed half my team killed at the time.
After 3 hours of sleep, we went out to feed and the dogs were all quite perky and ate great. At the time of the accident, we were both sure our race was over. However, on the long run to the checkpoint we realized we would be working through this tragedy wether we were on the trail or scratching. If we were not traveling together as we are, it would be harder to go on. But we have eachother for support and company. We just want to travel the rest of the trail with no thoughts of competition at all.
Thank you for all your support.
Jen and Blake
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The competition is fierce in this year’s Iditarod. Jeff King and Lance Mackey left Shaktoolik within minutes of each other last night, headed across the ice of Norton Sound. Behind those two there were more than 12 teams jockeying for the top 10, as they came into Unalakleet through the night. Kjetil Backen led them in, with Mitch Seavey and Rick Swenson closest behind him, then Martin Buser, Paul Gebhart and Ken Anderson. Seavey is down to 9 dogs. Anderson has 15, Buser 14. Scratches include Ryan Redington and some rookies, including arctic musher John Stetson, who had a dog death.
Get the full update by listening to the attached audio report.
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More than 20% of the mushers in this year’s Iditarod are running the race for the first time. Top rookie Rohn Buser is currently in 10th place, but most first-timers find themselves toward the middle of the pack.
David Shurtleff, APRN - McGrath
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Defending champ Lance Mackey is still leading the Iditarod at this hour. He’s the first — and only — musher to leave Ruby thus far, checking out just after 3:30 p.m. this afternoon. Six other mushers have checked in to Ruby. They include front-runners Jeff King, Kjetel Backen, Mitch Seavey and Rick Swenson.
Libby Casey, KUAC - Ruby
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Some cities — like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago — are racing their own version of the Iditarod and putting an urban spin on the traditional sled and dog team setup. They’re doing it in the name of charity… and fun. In Chicago, Ashley Gross brings us this report from the Chiditarod.
This story appears in this week’s edition of AK.
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For mushers racing in the real Iditarod, it’s a little more than a fun, pre-spring pick-me-up; it’s a passion, one that takes grueling, hard work. And while many mushers say it can be a selfish pursuit, plenty of them are also racing for a charitable cause - like Bruce Linton, Cindy Gallea, Karen Ramstead and former racer Mike Williams. AK’s Jessica Cochran speaks with Mike Williams.
This story appears in this week’s edition of AK.
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