Iditarod 2011 – Day 11
As much as I would like to see Jodi Bailey (16) crown her Quest/Iditarod rookie run with winning the race here, Nicholas Petit (14) has a solid lead to be the first rookie in.
None of the former Iditarod winners could break into the top 15 this year, which may reflect a difference in racing conditions, as the strategies that made them winners may no longer work. The weather was good this year, without precipitation to mess up the trail for the leaders.
I’ll hang in until the Red Lantern is extinguished.
Update: Just after I posted, I glanced at the weather report for Kaltag and see that temperatures have returned to normal on the Yukon -20° with a windchill of -31° for the Red Lantern teams to start their day.
At Nome
7 Ray Redington, Jr (3)
8 Peter Kaiser (54)
9 Ken Anderson (43)
10 Jessie Royer (58)
11 Aliy Zirkle (18)
12 DeeDee Jonrowe (2)
13 Michael Williams, Jr. (41)
14 Sven Haltmann (45)
15 Sonny Lindner (52)
16 Lance Mackey (17)
17 Michelle Phillips (39)
18 Martin Buser (11)
19 Robert Nelson (51)
Beyond White Mountain
20 Rick Swenson (49)
21 Bruce Linton (13)
22 Cim Smyth (59)
23 Matt Hayashida (61)
24 Allen Moore (5)
25 Kelley Griffin (20)
26 Trent Herbst (4)
At White Mountain
27 Karin Hendrickson (37)
28 Nicolas Petit (14)R
29 Ed Stielstra (56)
30 Kristy Berington (7)
31 Kelly Maixner (55)R
Beyond Elim
32 Lachlan Clarke (42)
33 Jodi Bailey (16)R
At Koyuk
34 Magnus Kaltenborn (22)R
35 Wattie McDonald (38)
36 Justin Savidis (63)
37 Cain Carter (48)R
38 Paul Johnson (46)
Beyond Shaktoolik
39 Billy Snodgrass (24)
At Shaktoolik
40 Gerald Sousa (62)
41 Matt Giblin (60)
Beyond Unalakleet
42 Scott Janssen (32)R
At Unalakleet
43 Tom Thurston (25)
44 Kirk Barnum (47)
45 Angie Taggart (19)R
Beyond Kaltag
46 G.B. Jones (40)
47 Heather Siirtola (50)
48 Ellen Halverson (26) Φ
- The Mushers in bold are former winners of the Iditarod, the numbers in parentheses are their Bib numbers, and the small “R” indicates a rookie.
- These are the official standings. That means they are official, not that they are correct. Things jump around a lot as people decide to update the standings. This problem is especially bad in the back of the pack, as no one bothers to update those standings when the lead is changing.
- This post will be updated during the day, and the map changed on all posts to reflect the current situation.
- All posts on the Iditarod can be seen by selecting “Iditarod” from the Category box on the right sidebar.
4 comments
Looks like Ellen Halverson may the most likely at this point for the Red Lantern. I looked up her bio, and she’s a psychiatrist out of Wasilla. She’s 50 and her first Iditarod race was in 2007, so she was something of a late bloomer. Interesting how people in their more mature 🙂 years take up such a strenuous sport. Not that I’m knocking it, mind you. I think it’s great to see. But one of your earlier comments is spot on – people in Alaska look at the world through a different lens.
You know, every year I look at the map and am amazed at how HUGE the State of Alaska really is. It’s something I never truly understood until following this race. These people go an enormously long distance with these dogs. I bet they and the dogs sleep for a week after this is over.
The people would love to, but the dogs will want to go after a day. They really are as close to perfect for long distance running as is biologically possible. They don’t build up the poisons that people do when running or exercising, and they convert almost every calorie into muscle movement. They eat pounds of fat, we are talking things like beef tallow, for treats, along with the high protein dry food they get. They can eat cat food without gaining weight, and cats can tolerate amazing amounts of fat. Feed a regular dog cat food, and be prepared to roll him/her to vet as they balloon in weight.
To live in Alaska takes a different frame of reference. You have to be prepared to deal with extended periods of darkness in the winter, and of light in the summer. You have to be able to deal with isolation for other people if you are on a homestead. You can’t just jump in the car and go get something to eat unless you live in one of the larger towns. It is a different world.
Most Alaskans just deal with it, but some go overboard, especially newcomers, who embrace the concept of “the rugged frontier”.
If Ellen wins the Lantern she will enter the record book – the only person to win it twice. She isn’t looking forward to it. The extremely fast pace has already eliminated the rookies who should win it. There are only 7 rookie left. Fortunately one of them is Jody Bailey, who is going to be counted as the first to be a rookie in both the Quest and the Iditarod in the same year. She is in her early 40s, and was ready for a challenge. I think she needs some time with Ellen, because I remember freezing when helping out when the Iditarod was “squadron duty”, which is like “community service”, except you didn’t do anything wrong.
If Ellen wins the Lantern she will enter the record book – the only person to win it twice. She isn’t looking forward to it.
Ouch! That wouldn’t exactly be what you’d want on your record, would it? But, hey, I couldn’t do what she’s done. If I were capable of this harsh sport and were able to FINISH twice, I’d be as happy as if I had good sense.
You lived in Alaska a long time, so what was worse, no sunlight for extended periods, or too much sunlight? Both seem really strange to me, but did you ever get used to it?
I think she needs some time with Ellen
Oh yeah, I think a whole bunch of them need some time with Ellen. I’m not even sure that Ellen might not need a bit of professional help herself. I’m fascinated by this sport (from a distance, don’t you know), but I can’t get inside the head of people that brutalize themselves out of choice. I have a lot of respect for what they’re capable of doing (especially the dogs), and that they’re keeping this sport alive but…masochists, every one of them.
Actually, unlike most of the world, the light bothered me more than the darkness. I have excellent night vision, but wear the darkest sunglasses available even during overcast days. It is just very difficult for me to sleep in the daylight. You make adjustments with “daylight” lighting, and blackout curtains.
As for the mushers, there are a lot of triathletes, marathoners, and “Iron Man” competitors among their ranks. I put it down to testosterone poisoning – it’s probably in the water, although it could be the result of eating moose, which are all psychos.
The fast pace of the race has really reduced the rest on the trail. The dogs need less rest than the humans, but sleep=deprived humans don’t think well. A whole lot of mushers fall asleep while standing on the runners, which is why lead dogs are so important. You can get away with it if you are following, but once you take the lead, you have to know what’s going on.