Category — Iditarod

The real racing got under way at 2PM AKST [5PM CST] at Willow with teams leaving on at 2 minute intervals. The teams have to take a 24-hour break on the trail, an 8-hour break on the Yukon, and a final 8-hour break at White Mountain. The start time differential is corrected as part of the 24-hour break.

Dalles Seavey won last year by treating the race as a series of sprints, while John Baker won the year before by maintaining a consistent marathon pace. The weather and trail conditions will govern the most successful strategy.

Only 65 teams will be racing as Ed Stielstra (41) scratched at Campbell Airfield at the end of the parade. He was injured in a training run in late February and knew he couldn’t make the entire race, something he has done 7 times before. Ed is from McMillan, Michigan, so I assume he had already paid for everything and wasn’t going to get his money back, so now he can watch in comfort.

Please note that I have made the decision not to be an ‘Iditarod Insider’, which, among other things, would give me access to the GPS tracking. The Iditarod is very corporate, and the information they provide through their ‘Insider’ is certainly encumbered with non-disclosure and a lot of legal barriers. I follow the race in a blog. If I can’t put what I find out on the blog, it is worthless to me. They would probably want a licensing agreement and controls on what I do with the information. Not going to happen.

All 65 teams are on the trail as of 4:10PM AKST [7:10PM CST]: [Read more →]

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 →]

It’s the southern route that includes the namesake ghost-town of Iditarod as the midpoint. The Stepping Stones, the Burn, Rainy Pass, the Glacier, all of the hazards of the first half are still part of the race, as well as the long open stretch between Ophir and the Yukon.

The day is about 10 and a half hours at Anchorage and the moon is waning with the last quarter on March 4^th. The temperature is in the lower 30s in Anchorage, which is warm for the puppies, so people are going to want to run at night and sleep during the day.

Things start off tomorrow, Susan Butcher Day, with the ‘parade’ from Anchorage to the airport. The actual racing starts on Sunday at Willow.

[Read more →]

Jan Steves (40) made it into Nome at 5:57AM CDT this morning, two minutes after Bob Chlupach (49), and took the Red Lantern for the Iditarod XL.

There were 1052 dogs and 66 teams at the start, but only 557 dogs and 53 teams finished. 139 dogs and 13 teams left the race when they scrathed or were withdrawn, meaning 356 dogs were dropped during the race for various reasons. There were no deaths.

Only three of the 13 teams that failed to finish were rookies. There were 4 scratches and a withdrawal at Unalakleet, tied to the wind that came up. Only three teams scratched during the first half of the race.

[Read more →]

The course is down to the 77 miles between White Mountain and Nome. Dan Seavey is heading in, while the Red Lantern is waiting out the 8-hour mandatory rest period at the checkpoint.

The best news is that, barring some unforeseen event, all three will finish and get their buckles, some of the most expensive belt buckles in the world when you look at the time and effort required to move by dogsled across 1000 miles of Alaska. I would hope that Bob lets Jan have the Red Lantern, rather than holding back. If you receive the Red Lantern your name is on the short list for the race, and you get an actual lantern to take home and prove you did it.

Dan Seavey made it in, His Safety to Nome time was faster than any of the first five finishers. His puppies were happy to see the “vacation” end.

At about 11:30PM CDT the Jan & Bob show was 2 miles from Safety, so they have missed the banquet but might make it in around midnight AKDT.

I’ll do a Red Lantern post tomorrow which will finish off my sled dog racing obsession for another year.

Update at 5:30PM CDT

Finished At Nome
46 Travis Cooper(19)^R
47 Jaimee Kinzer (30)^R
48 Matt Failor (57)^R
49 Hank Debruin (48)^Q
50 Karen Ramstead (56)
51 Dan Seavey (65)
Beyond White Mountain
52 Jan Steves (40)^R
53 Bob Chlupach (49)Φ

The Mushers in bold are former winners of the Iditarod, while italics indicates Yukon Quest winners. The numbers in parentheses are their Bib numbers. The small “R” indicates a total rookie, while the small “Q” indicates an Iditarod rookie who has completed a Yukon Quest.

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.

Everyone should be in Nome before the banquet tomorrow. The Red Lantern will probably be decided between Safety and Nome as Bob and Jan are traveling together, not unusual given the trail and weather conditions they have encountered on the coast, and their desire to get the belt buckles.

The end of the race is at Koyuk, putting the wind to side of teams, rather than in their faces, as they parallel the North shore of the Norton Sound.

It is 48 miles to Elim from Koyuk, then 46 miles to White Mountain, 55 to Safety, and 22 to the finish – the final 171 miles.

The ADN blog has a nice, short video with Colleen Robertia and Penny, the tiny [≤ 30 pounds] lead dog who led their team through the wind. This was Penny’s last Iditarod.

Update at 11:30PM CDT

Finished At Nome
41 Art Church Jr (64)
42 William Pinkham (4)
43 Anna Berington (33)^R
44 Kristy Berington (31)
45 Justin Savidis (38)
46 Travis Cooper(19)^R
47 Jaimee Kinzer (30)^R
48 Matt Failor (57)^R
49 Hank Debruin (48)^Q
50 Karen Ramstead (56)
At White Mountain
51 Dan Seavey (65)
Beyond Elim
52 Jan Steves (40)^R
53 Bob Chlupach (49)

The Mushers in bold are former winners of the Iditarod, while italics indicates Yukon Quest winners. The numbers in parentheses are their Bib numbers. The small “R” indicates a total rookie, while the small “Q” indicates an Iditarod rookie who has completed a Yukon Quest.

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.

Half of the teams that started the race had made it into Nome by yesterday. The teams are all finally on the coast, but the temperatures are dropping again and the wind out of the North is still there for -40° [F/C] wind chills.

Jan Steves and Bob Chlupach are going to have a cold run up the coast. Dan Seavey, the grandfather of the winner, should be into is in Koyuk this morning.

Looking at the times of the finishers, it is obvious that the winds added about 9 hours to everyone after Hugh Neff who was 17^th. The Busers were next, and Martin would never have allowed Hugh a 9-hour cushion. Before and after the separations average about an hour or so, but then there is this huge gap.

Update at 11:00PM CDT

Finished At Nome
31 Ryne Olson (46)^R
32 Kelly Maixner (12)
33 Jim Lanier (3)
34 Mike Santos (22)^R
35 Bruce Linton (36)
36 Karin Hendrickson (43)
37 Trent Herbst (16)
38 Matt Giblin (52)
39 Scott Janssen (37)
40 Curt Perano (61)^R
41 Art Church Jr (64)
42 William Pinkham (4)
43 Anna Berington (33)^R
44 Kristy Berington (31)
45 Justin Savidis (38)
[Read more →]

The ‘convoy’ is coming in as a group. The group that formed to push up the coast in the winds left White Mountain this morning for a 77-mile sprint race to Nome.

Colleen Robertia’s team of ‘rescues, rejects, and runts’ is still being led by Penny, her 30-pound 7-year-old who makes up for size with spirit and attitude. The Anchorage Daily News did a piece on Penny in 2010. Colleen’s husband has been blogging the race.

The official site is very slow with updates after the first teams are in, while I hang around until the Red Lantern is out. I don’t look at these things as just winning – it’s the finishing that matters, and that’s a lot harder at the back than the front.

Hank Debruin, who runs pedigreed Siberians, spent nearly an entire day on the trail from Shaktoolik to Koyuk, a distance of 48 miles. I assume he lost the trail in the wind blown snow and drifting.

Update at 11:30PM CDT:

Finished At Nome
16 Michelle Phillips (26)
17 Hugh Neff (27)
18 Martin Buser (41)
19 Rohn Buser (62)
20 Gerald Sousa (58)
21 Colleen Robertia (42)
22 Lance Mackey (18)
23 Jodi Bailey (6)
24 Cim Smyth (8)
25 Ed Stielstra (45)
26 Anjanette Steer (32)^R
27 Kelley Griffin (20)
28 Braxton Peterson (63)^R
29 Nicolas Petit (9)
30 Rick Swenson (60)
31 Ryne Olson (46)^R
32 Kelly Maixner (12)
33 Jim Lanier (3)
[Read more →]

The top 10 are in this morning, but the route between Unalakleet and Koyuk really compressed the field and slowed things down for those who arrived at the coast after the wind picked up.

Kirk Barnum scratched in Kaltag. The puppies weren’t happy and the run up the coast was next. If they didn’t like the wind from the side, they would have hated it in their faces.

Michael Suprenant (13) scratched at Unalakleet after the puppies looked at the Weather Channel and took a vote on a strike action [just kidding, but dogs don’t like the conditions on the coast.]

Update at 10PM CDT

Finished At Nome
1 Dallas Seavey (34)
2 Aliy Zirkle (14)
3 Ramey Smyth (21)
4 Aaron Burmeister (44)
5 Peter Kaiser (28)
6 Ray Redington Jr (2)
7 Mitch Seavey (35)
8 Michael Williams Jr (51)
9 John Baker (11)
10 DeeDee Jonrowe (17)
11 Sigrid Ekran (24)
12 Ken Anderson (39)
13 Brent Sass (50)^Q
14 Sonny Lindner (59)
15 Paul Gebhardt (25)
[Read more →]

The end game is set up at White Mountain. Dallas has a one hour and eleven minute lead over Aliy. Aliy made the trip from Elim to White Mountain one hour and 12 minutes faster than Dallas.

It’s 77 miles, so there is going to have to be some rest and feeding for the 9 dogs on Dallas’s team and 10 on Aliy’s. If there is fresh snow on the trail, the leader will be smoothing the path for the follower.

Ramey Smyth is surging, and 2 hours is not a comfortable lead at White Mountain, but he only picked up 16 minutes on Aliy in the run from Elim.

So, at the end of a thousand miles we have a 77-mile sprint race.

One other news: Brent Sass and Silver are poised to take ‘rookie’ honors on their first Iditarod.

Gerry Willomitzer (23) scratched at Unalakleet because his puppies are unhappy. They are unhappy about running directly into the 15mph wind out of the North that is dropping wind chills to the -30° range. You have to have a weather leader [Walter, Maple, Silver] to do that, as a sensible dog turns his/her back to the wind. This is why there are so many teams bunched up between Unalakleet and Koyuk – the trail heads due North right into the wind. The wind came up after the leaders made the turn and headed West.

Tom Thurston (5) has also scratched at Unalakleet, probably for the same reasons as Gerry.

Note: I just noticed that the people moving between Shaktoolik and Koyuk are moving in two groups – a group of nine followed an hour later by a group of five. The trail conditions must be really bad for teams to group like this. Lance Mackey is in the first group, and Rick Swenson is with the second. Bruce Linton has decided to stay at Shaktoolik. He has an insulin pump that can freeze in extremely cold weather, and when it does, he has a major problem. It happened to him on the Yukon on year.

Note: something kept Dallas at White Mountain 8 minutes longer than he needed to stay. He had better win, or lose by more than 8 minutes, otherwise he will be beating himself up over that 8 minutes for a long time.

Update [7PM CDT] Dallas has made it to Safety.

Update [8:45PM CDT]: Aliy is through Safety, but she lost 10 minutes on the run. If Dallas and his puppies can stay awake and keep moving, he should win.

Update at 10:30PM – Dallas made it to Nome and has won this year’s Iditarod.

Update at 11:30PM CDT:

Finished At Nome
1 Dallas Seavey (34)
2 Aliy Zirkle (14) +1:00
Beyond Safety
3 Ramey Smyth (21)
Beyond White Mountain
4 Aaron Burmeister (44)
5 Peter Kaiser (28)
6 Ray Redington Jr (2)
7 John Baker (11)
8 Mitch Seavey (35)
9 Michael Williams Jr (51)
10 DeeDee Jonrowe (17)
11 Sigrid Ekran (24)
[Read more →]

Aliy spent an hour less on the trail between Shaktoolik and Koyuk than Dallas did, so it is all down to rest time. He has a little over an hour and half lead, but he is running a rest deficit.

At this point it is who is the best judge of the amount of rest the puppies need, and then the amount of rest they need, to make the run to White Mountain, where there’s an 8-hour mandatory stop before the 77 mile sprint to Nome.

Update at Noon CDT: Aliy left Koyuk 22 minutes after Dallas.

Dallas dropped a dog at Koyuk and is down to 10, while Aliy has 12. John Baker is holding to his rest schedule. He also had a faster run to Koyuk than Dallas.

Update at 8:45 PM CDT:

Beyond Elim
1 Dallas Seavey (34)
At Elim
2 Aliy Zirkle (14) +0:32
Beyond Koyuk
3 Aaron Burmeister (44)
4 Ramey Smyth (21)
5 Mitch Seavey (35)
6 Peter Kaiser (28)
7 John Baker (11)
8 Ray Redington Jr (2)
At Koyuk
9 Ken Anderson (39)
10 Michael Williams Jr (51)
11 DeeDee Jonrowe (17)
12 Sigrid Ekran (24)
13 Sonny Lindner (59)
14 Brent Sass (50)^Q
[Read more →]

Aliy has an hour and a half lead over John, and that is pretty slim on trails John uses as soon as the snow falls.

The air temperatures have dropped to the -20°s so the interior and Arctic Circle teams will be in optimal conditiona, while the dogs that live and train in the southern area will be chilly. The mushers will all feel like they are popsicles, and will look like it as the moisture in their breath will freeze on the ruff of their parkas and any exposed hair.

Mitch is minutes behind John, and Aaron is within two hours of Aliy. It is down to rest time and how the puppies feel. Ally and John still have a dozen, Mitch has 11, and Aaron has 15. I’m guessing that the dogs that Aliy and Mitch dropped at Kaltag are perfectly healthy, but running a little slower than the others.

Dallas Seavey and Aaron Burmeister have decided to cut rest to take the lead. Dallas tried it last year and lost, because John Baker didn’t play. John still won’t play, and I doubt, Aliy will either. There is still a long way to Nome.

Update at 11:05AM CDT – Aliy is first to the Coast at Unalakleet.

Jake Berkowitz (29) was in 6^th place when he pulled into Unalakleet, but he had severely injured his hand on the trail and was withdrawn by the race marshal.

Lachlan Clarke (66) scratched at Galena, and Pat Moon (15) scratched at Ruby for the same reason, Clarke only had 8 dogs, and Moon 7 with a whole lot of trail left to cover.

Josh Cadzow (55) has scratched at Kaltag with unhappy puppies, and Jeff King (10), who had 14 dogs and was running 12^th, scratched at Unalakleet. Jeff has won 4 Iditarods and the Quest, so he didn’t need to prove anything.

Update at 10:30PM CDT:

Beyond Shaktoolik
1 Dallas Seavey (34)
At Shaktoolik
2 Aaron Burmeister (44) +0:27
3 Aliy Zirkle (14) +0:46
[Read more →]

Mitch took back the lead from Aliy, but it is only 2:33 and he has to stop someplace.

Jeff King had a very good run between Ruby and Galena, so he should continue to move up and John Baker’s puppies are happy as well.

Zoya DeNure and her team of ‘Rescues, Runts, and Rejects’ has had to scratch at Cripple. She left with 12 dogs, and then returned to scratch. [She didn’t like the look of the dogs on the trail.]

Aliy likes being at the front, and that’s where she’s been through Nulato and into Kaltag.

John Baker is positioning himself for his challenge on along the coast, which is his training area. His puppies will smell ‘home’ when they reach the coast. Aliy and John have nearly identical times between Nulato and Kaltag.

Update: Mitch picked up $3K for being first to the Yukon at Ruby, but no meal. The sponsor of that prize has dropped it, and Scott Janssen stepped up with the $3,000. [As Scott is a funeral director, I hope they don’t link the prize to his business.]

Update at 10:45PM CST:

Beyond Kaltag
1 Aliy Zirkle (14)
2 John Baker (11)
3 Mitch Seavey (35)
4 Aaron Burmeister (44)
At Kaltag
5 Dallas Seavey (34)
6 Jeff King (10)
Beyond Nulato
7 Jake Berkowitz (29)
8 Peter Kaiser (28)
9 Ray Redington Jr (2)
10 DeeDee Jonrowe (17)
11 Sonny Lindner (59)
12 Ramey Smyth (21)
13 Sigrid Ekran (24)
14 Ken Anderson (39)
15 Gerry Willomitzer (23)
16 Michelle Phillips (26)
17 Michael Williams Jr (51)
[Read more →]

Mitch beat Aliy to the Yukon, and picked up a 7-course dinner and $3,500 at Ruby.

Running the Yukon River valley is cold work. The cold air settles into the valley, and the sun has limited opportunity to warm it up. The wind channels down the valley, so the wind chills are even colder. It is currently -11° F [-23° C] at Galena with a windchill of -23° F [-30° C].

Teams are required to take an 8-hour break on the Yukon, so the leaders will jump around.

Aliy is taking her breaks on the trail, which is why she is blowing through the checkpoints, and keeps taking the lead back. Mitch left almost 5 hours after her at Ruby. He should be able to claim that as his mandatory stop on the Yukon because he did stay 8 hours, but it isn’t yet displayed that way.

Aliy made it to Galena, and Mitch, Dallas, and John are all credited with their mandatory 8-hour stops on the Yukon. Aliy is going to have to stop in one of the next few checkpoints.

At 8:30PM CST:

At Galena
1 Aliy Zirkle (14)
Beyond Ruby
2 Mitch Seavey (35)
3 Dallas Seavey (34)
4 John Baker (11)
At Ruby
5 Aaron Burmeister (44)
6 Jeff King (10)
7 DeeDee Jonrowe (17)
8 Ray Redington Jr (2)
9 Sonny Lindner (59)
10 Peter Kaiser (28)
11 Jake Berkowitz (29)
12 Sigrid Ekran (24)
13 Michelle Phillips (26)
14 Ken Anderson (39)
15 Gerry Willomitzer (23)
16 Michael Williams Jr (51)
17 Josh Cadzow (55)^Q
18 Brent Sass (50)^Q
19 Lance Mackey (18)
20 Ramey Smyth (21)
[Read more →]