Iditarod 2013 Parade
The 2013 Iditarod started at 10AM AKST [1PM CST] with Jan Newton as the Honorary Musher/parade marshal for the procession out to the Campbell Airstrip 11 miles away.
The teams will then take their puppies to Willow for the start of the real race tomorrow, with Martin Buser leading off. Bib number 1 is permanently assigned to Susan Butcher and is only worn in the parade by the lead team with the Honorary Musher. The racing bibs start at number 2 and run to 67 this year for the 66 teams entered.
The winner of the Yukon Quest, Allen Moore, and the YQ 300, Michelle Phillips, are both in the field, as well as more than a half dozen former winners of the Iditarod and/or the Quest. Since Lance Mackey made it clear you could run both races and be competitive, there are a lot of people who do it.
I see that Mikhail Telpin of the Chukota Peninsula has entered the Iditarod this year. Mikail is a subsistence hunter and trapper, and runs the native sled dogs of his area. He finished the Yukon Quest last year, but had problems with all of the trees. He will be much happier with the route of the Iditarod, although the temperature is a bit warm for him.
After the fold, the starting order for the parade and race: [Read more →]
March 2, 2013 Comments Off on Iditarod 2013 Parade
