Ultimate Iditarod is gearing up to bring you our third year of the best Iditarod race coverage on the Internet.  For the 2003 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, Ultimate Iditarod will be featuring four Iditarod teams as they train, prepare for, and race in the Last Great Race on Earth^TM.  

Ultimate Iditarod's Featured Mushers

Jim Gallea, 22, has been raised around sled dogs from the time he was a small child.  As a boy growing up in Seeley Lake, Montana, Jim helped his parents train for numerous long-distance races, including the Iditarod and Montana's Race to the Sky.  Soon, the racing bug struck Jim, and, at the age of 13, he ran in his first real sled dog race.  Since that time, Jim has placed respectably in many races in both Alaska and the Lower 48, including a 43rd place finish in the 1999 Iditarod and a 30th place finish in the 2002 Iditarod.  
    As he did when running his first Iditarod in 1999, Jim is training and racing a team of inexperienced dogs belonging to Mitch Seavey for the 2003 Iditarod.  Jim is training this team in a cooperative effort with Tyrell Seavey, and the goal is to field two Iditarod teams from this group of 2-year-olds.  Jim says he is looking forward to running a "puppy team" again because "you get more sleep when you run the young dogs than when you are racing for real."
    Jim will provide insight and stories on the differences between training and running a competitive team in the Iditarod as compared to a young, inexperienced team.

Tyrell Seavey, 18, will be competing in his rookie Iditarod in 2003, but he is no stranger to sled dog racing.  Tyrell's racing accomplishments include a Junior Iditarod championship, three second place finishes in the Junior Iditarod, and a second place finish in the Klondike 300.  Additionally, Tyrell is an integral part of Seavey's Iditarod Racing Team and the highly competitive Iditarod team driven by his father, Mitch Seavey.  
    Tyrell founded Ultimate Iditarod in conjunction with Jim Gallea, and he has completed the Iditarod Trail on a snowmobile twice as a correspondent for Ultimate Iditarod.  His writing, computer, and mechanical skills have been put to good use in this role, but now he is ready to test his endurance and fortitude as a musher in the Iditarod.  Tyrell's team is composed of a group of 2-year-old dogs that he has raised and trained since birth.  Working cooperatively with Jim Gallea, Tyrell will strive to give these dogs the physical endurance and emotional confidence they will need to finish their first-ever Iditarod.  Running this "puppy team" is an important step in bringing new dogs into his dad's competitive team.
    Tyrell's excellent writing style will deliver excellent stories about getting to run his first Iditarod after a childhood spent "in the doghouse." 

Mitch Seavey, 43, has lived in Alaska for most of his life.  He has been around sled dogs since his family moved to Alaska from Minnesota in 1963.  Mitch has run nine Iditarod races, as well as numerous two and three hundred mile races throughout Alaska and even the Lower 48.  His best finishes in the Iditarod include a fourth place finish in 1998, a ninth place run in 2000, and 11th place finishes in 1999 and 2002.  The 2003 Iditarod will be Mitch's tenth run in this race, and the ninth consecutive year in a row that he has competed.  He continues to work on improving every aspect of sled dog racing as he strives for the winner's circle in the Iditarod.
    Mitch, along with his wife, Janine, and four sons, Danny, Tyrell, Dallas, and Conway, operate IdidaRide Sled Dog Tours in Seward, Alaska, where they offer fun and educational summer dog sled rides and tours.
    Mitch's experiences in preparing for and running the Iditarod will show the hard work, dedication, and strategy needed to be a front-runner in this race across Alaska.

Cindy Gallea, 51, will be running her fourth Iditarod in 2003.  This year, Cindy will be running many of the same dogs that her son, Jim, raced in the 2002 Iditarod.  These dogs have been raised and trained by Cindy and the other members of the Gallea family at their Seeley Lake, Montana, kennel, known as Snowcrest Racing Sled Dogs.  This team was closely followed in all of Ultimate Iditarod's racing and training coverage last year, and we are very excited to see what Cindy can do with this fine group of athletes this season.  Cindy's racing record includes two second place finishes in Montana's Race to the Sky and a third place finish in Minnesota's John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon.
    Cindy works as a family nurse practitioner in Missoula, Montana, and juggles her work schedule around training and racing.  Needless to say, she works very hard to make her Iditarod goals a reality, and she doesn't spend a whole lot of time sleeping or watching TV. 
    Cindy's race efforts will illustrate the way that many mushers balance a "real world" job with the full-time job of running the Iditarod.

The 31^st running of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race begins in Anchorage on Saturday, March 1^st, 2003.  For the mushers and dogs of this incredible race, training is already underway, and they are working hard to meet their goals for this season.  Through it all, Ultimate Iditarod's mushers, analysts, and cameras will strive to bring the adventure to you and place you on the dog sleds!  Hang on and enjoy the ride!  Click here to go to Current Updates and Features Index.

© 2002 Ultimate Iditarod, Snowcrest Racing Sled Dogs, Seavey's Iditarod Racing Team
Reproduction or distribution in any way or by any means prohibited without permission.
Ultimate Iditarod http://www.ultimateiditarod.com  email: dogboy@ultimateiditarod.com