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Iditarod Update – Race Day 13 — Why Now?
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Iditarod Update – Race Day 13

map of the Iditarod Trail31 Gerald Sousa (10)
32 Rick Casillo (34)
33 Jason Mackey (36)
34 Scott Smith (35)
35 Robert Bundtzen (97)
36 Sven Haltmannr (73)
37 Rohn Buserr (37)
38 Louis Nelson Sr. (80)
39 Cindy Gallea (82) [Montana]
40 Jon Korta (71)
41 Clint Warnke (15)
42 Robert Nelson (70)r
43 Rudi Niggemeier (52)r [Germany]
44 Rick Larson (95) [Montana]
45 Kelley Griffin (86)
46 Bruce Linton (8)
47 Lachlan Clarke (58) [Colorado]
48 Fabrizio Lovati (77) [Italy]
49 Benoit Gerard (91)r [France]
50 Jennifer Freking (60)r [Minnesota]
51 Blake Freking (54) [Minnesota]

r – Iditarod rookie

Deborah Bicknell (21) is at the back in 80th place on the trail out of Shaktoolik.

Jennifer Freking and her husband, Blake, raise and race Siberian huskies. It was one of her dogs that was killed by a snowmobile earlier.

Ed Iten’s four-year-old male, Cargo, died earlier in the race, but the preliminary examination is unable to determine the cause of death. They will be conducting further tests.

From comments on my earlier post on Rachael Scdoris: apparently she and her dogs are fine, but they couldn’t make any progress on the sea ice, and she decided that scratching was better that wearing out the dogs going nowhere.

2 comments

1 Margery Glickman { 03.14.08 at 9:08 pm }

According to http://www.ktvz.com/Global/story.asp?S=8018221 , Scdoris’ two lead dogs developed a limp.

Margery Glickman
Sled Dog Action Coalition, http://www.helpsleddogs.org

2 Bryan { 03.14.08 at 11:39 pm }

Her problem was she didn’t have any lead dogs left when she entered the ice, so the team wasn’t working together. As I said above, there’s no point in trying to continue if the dogs don’t acknowledge a leader. You don’t train a leader, the dogs accept one. You don’t drive a team, they decide to run.

The biggest problem you have, and the difference being getting it right and being a disaster is controlling the enthusiasm, so the dogs are all ready to pull, but don’t over do it. A great leader, like Mackey’s leaders, commands respect from the other dogs and know how to pace themselves. That’s how you keep the dogs healthy and injury free.