2004 Iditarod Update 1

This is the first installment of a series of articles that Ultimate Iditarod will post periodically as the mushers and dogs of the 2004 Iditarod make their way to Nome.

And They're Off!  (Sunday, March 7, 2004)
by Ultimate Iditarod's Jim Gallea

Click Here for a Map of the Iditarod Trail
After a ceremonial start in Anchorage yesterday (March 6), 87 mushers and over 1,300 dogs began the 32nd running of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race this morning from Willow.  With a starting field that ranks as one of the largest in the race's history and overall trail conditions that are some of the best in recent memory, this year's Iditarod is certain to be an amazing test of endurance, stamina, and skill.  

Despite predictions for good trail conditions throughout much of the race route, unseasonable weather in the Anchorage area in the weeks preceding the start of race forced race organizers to move the re-start to Willow, 20 miles further north of the traditional restart in Wasilla.  Trail conditions at Willow were much better than in Wasilla, and, with the safety of the dogs and mushers as a top priority, the change made good sense.  This minor change is a far cry from the 2003 Iditarod (known to the mushers as the Idita-Detour) which started in Fairbanks and bypassed the first 650 miles of the usual race trail.

A few mushers to keep an eye on...

As with any world-class sporting event, everyone has their favorites for the top prize in the race.  I won't go out on a limb and make a hard and fast prediction at this time, but I do have a list of mushers who I am watching very closely.  

Kjetil Backen  On the top of my list is Kjetil Backen from Norway.  If you followed last year's race, you'll certainly remember that Norwegian Robert Sorlie was last year's champion.  You may also have noticed that Sorlie is absent from this year's race.  That may be true; Sorlie is not racing, but Backen is running many of the same dogs Sorlie ran last year, and Backen is no stranger to the Iditarod.  He placed in the Top Ten in 2002, and, like Sorlie, Backen is part of the Norwegian combined team that has pooled the resources, knowledge, and dogs of some of the best kennels in Norway.  This combined team was formed with the goal of winning the Iditarod, and Sorlie's victory last year showed that this group is not to be taken lightly.  This year is Backen's turn to run the race, and many people across the circumpolar region are looking to Backen to bring Norway a second Iditarod championship.

It is important to note, however, that Robert Sorlie is the only foreign musher and only the second non-Alaskan to win the Iditarod in 31 runnings of the Last Great Race on Earth.  The other non-Alaskan to have won the Iditarod is Doug Swingley from Lincoln, Montana.  And that brings me to some of my other heavy hitters in this year's race.  

Doug Swingley  In 1995, Doug Swingley shocked everyone in Alaska when he set a record-breaking pace and ran the first ever 9-day Iditarod.  (It took at least ten days to win the race prior to that.)  Doug repeated his victories in 1999, 2000, and 2001, and in the process became the oldest person to win the race when he won in 2001 at the age of 47.  Following his three-peat victories, Doug stepped on the brakes and finished close to the back of the field in 2002, claiming that he was retiring and that he wanted to run his last Iditarod at a more leisurely pace.  Staying true to his retirement plan, Doug was a reporter during last year's race and watched the race unfold from a comfortable seat in an airplane.  But apparently retirement doesn't suit this Montana native very well, and the 50-year-old is back in the running this year with his eye on another Redington Trophy (the 90-pound bronze trophy awarded to the champion every year).  

Martin Buser  Ask any Alaskan about the Iditarod and you will likely hear one name in common:  Martin Buser.  Along with Doug Swingley and Susan Butcher, this Swiss-born musher holds claim to four Iditarod victories.  In 2002, Martin set the current course record, finishing in 8 days and 22 hours, the only 8-day Iditarod victory in history.  The trail in 2002 was considered to be one of the best in the race's history, and with this year's trail predicted to be in similar condition, Martin is certainly one to keep an eye on.  In the past few years, Martin has placed a great deal of emphasis on breeding dogs that can run long distances at faster speeds, and good trail conditions will certainly allow these dogs to "stretch their legs."

Jeff King  Jeff King is constantly trying to think of new equipment and techniques to use with his dog team.  A few years ago, Jeff built a kennel into his dog sled so that he could always give a dog a break by letting it ride in the sled.  The theory was that if he rotated dogs through the kennel, each dog would get a slightly greater amount of rest, but the team as a whole didn't have to stop at rest stops any longer.  Last year, Jeff came to the race with a new style of harnesses for his dogs that had a lot of mushers talking.  And we've also seen Jeff do things like play music to his team on speakers built into his sled and put small LED lights on each of his dogs so they can see the trail better at night.  Musher Karen Ramstead Jeff's team to "Moving, barking disco show."  Karen is right.  Jeff is not afraid to think outside the box.  

This year, Jeff has come to the race with a new sled.  Dubbed the O.M.S., it reportedly stands for "Old Musher Sled" and features a lazy-boy style chair behind a slightly shortened cargo bed.  The chair itself can be stuffed with some gear to make up for the smaller cargo bed.  As any Iditarod musher will tell you, standing for long periods of time during the race can be really hard on your legs and feet.  Most mushers now utilize small fold-out seats when they are traveling on straight and level trail, but these seats leave a lot to be desired in the comfort department.  Jeff's new chair appears to be more comfortable and also appears to allow the musher to sit lower to the ground.  This is a key feature for two reasons:  (1) a lower center of gravity helps prevent the sled from tipping and (2) sitting lower exposes the musher to less wind, which keeps the musher a bit warmer and reduces wind drag on the team.  I am very interested to see how this new design works.  Apparently Martin Buser built himself and "O.M.S." sled after seeing Jeff's, and he, too, will be streaking along the Iditarod Trail in a never-before-seen style.

Ramy Brooks  While the "Old Guard" of Doug Swingley, Martin Buser, and Jeff King must now rely reclining dog sleds to race in the Iditarod, Ramy Brooks is a few years younger and willing to push himself to his own physical limits in his quest for an Iditarod championship.  Ramy, the son of sprint mushing legend Roxy Wright, has placed second in the past two Iditarods, and he has proven to everyone that he has what it takes to be a serious competitor in the Iditarod.  Watch for Ramy to keep right up with the front runners and very possibly take the lead as the teams race up the Bering Sea Coast to Nome.

What's happening in the race right now?

As of my writing this article late Sunday night, the first 23 teams have arrived in Skwentna, the first major checkpoint in the race and about 80 miles from the re-start at Willow.  Near the foothills of the Alaska Mountain Range, Skwentna is a small community on the banks of a river with the same name.  The teams park on the river, and mushers are treated to hot apple and cherry pie from a propane-fired oven that is hauled down to the river ice just for the occasion.  

At Skwentna, the food drops begin.  Food drops is the term given to the food and supplies that each musher sends out to the checkpoints prior to the race start.  18 of the 22 checkpoints are designated "food drop" checkpoints, and these are the only places where mushers have access to additional food and supplies.  Remember:  ONLY FOOD DROPS, STRAW FOR THE DOGS TO SLEEP ON, AND STOVE FUEL are provided at the checkpoints.  NO ASSISTANCE of any kind is allowed throughout the race.  The mushers and dogs are on their own.  This is better than any SURVIVOR TV show to date!

Teams will continue to enter and depart Skwentna all night, and by early tomorrow afternoon, nearly all of the mushers should be through this checkpoint.  It is really too early to determine who has the "lead."  One of the major reasons for this is that the teams start the race at two-minute intervals, so the first musher to start the race has a nearly three-hour head start on the last musher to start the race.  This time differential will be made up at the mandatory 24-hour layover that each musher takes at some point during the race, but until everyone has completed this layover, the standings can sometimes be very misleading.

At this point in the race, all of the mushers and dogs are trying to get into their "racing mode."  The crowds of well-wishers and excitement of the start are behind them, and a long trail lies ahead.  The more quickly a musher and dog team get into their daily routine of running and resting, running and resting, the better the team and the driver will perform.  Key in the mushers' minds is keeping the team moving SLOW enough during these first few days to prevent the dogs from exerting too much energy too soon and to minimize the risk of a dog taking a wrong step.    

Also running through the minds of the mushers is the next 200 miles of trail.  This portion of the trail is considered to be the most dangerous and difficult to negotiate.  The really bad stretches have names.  For example, the drop into the Happy River Canyon between the checkpoints of Finger Lake and Rainy Pass is known by all mushers as the "Happy River Steps," and the descent from Rainy Pass to the checkpoint of Rohn is known as the Dalzel Gorge, or to the initiated, as simply "The Gorge."  Nothing about the Iditarod is easy, but the next 200 miles will likely spell trouble for at least a handful of the 87 contestants in this year's running of the Iditarod.  

We'll keep you posted.  --Jim Gallea