Mar. 2, 2008

Oh joy!

Yesterday was a nice enough day, sunny and warm at 70 degrees, but today is better. I woke up to SNOW, glorious SNOW. Nothing gets a puppy's heart racing and feet dancing like fresh snow!

Marianne laughed at Madeleine, Mina and I galloping around the back yard this morning. "You know," she said, "the official start of the Iditarod is today."

Iditawhat?

"The Iditarod is a race in Alaska," she explained. "Teams of dogs and their humans race from Anchorage to Nome, which is over 1,100 miles! This year's race features 96 teams, the most they've ever had. Although one musher already scratched, so it's really 95 teams."

"WHAT?" I excalimed. "They wouldn't let him race because he had an itch?!"

"No, no," Marianne laughed. "Scratch is a race term that means he dropped out."

Ah.

Of course I had lots of other questions. "How many dogs are on a team? Do they all get along? Who gets to lead or do they take turns? How do they know where they're going? Do they stop to sleep or (more importantly) eat? Are there hotels along the way? What happens if a dogs gets tired? Or sick?"

"Whoa, slow down!" Marianne said. "Those are all good questions. Let's go do some research."

Turns out there are Web sites with all kinds of information about the Iditard, including maps, rules, participants, photographs, and even videos. I'll put the links below.

Some history: The Iditarod trail itself started out as a supply and mail route between little towns in Alaska. Dog sled teams were used to take the mail and supplies, because that's the only method of transportation that was available. In 1925 when Nome was threatened by a diptheria epidemic, mushers (those are the humans) and the sled dogs relayed the antitoxin serum and other supplies to Nome. What would you humans do without us dogs? I ask you!

The Iditarod race (as it's run today) started in 1973. The northern route is run in even-numbered years (like 2008), and the southern route is run in odd-numbered years. The fastest time ever recorded was in 2003 by Martin Buser. He finished in 8 days, 22 hours and 46 minutes. Rick Swenson has won the most times -- 5. Libby Riddle was the first woman to win in 1985, and Susan Butcher was the second woman to win, going on to win a total of 4 times. (Sadly, Susan died of leukemia in 2006.) There's even a Golden Harness Award for the lead dogs of the winning team.

The race started Saturday in Anchorage, but it's more of a ceremonial start. The actual race time is calculated from the 2 p.m. start Sunday in Willow.

There are lots of rules for running the Iditarod, 13 pages in fact! Everything from how to qualify and enter to the kinds of equipment the mushers must use, how many stops they have to make, how many dogs they can use, and lots of other stuff. Just reading the rules made my head spin!

Because this is such a long race, the rules include mandatory stops so the mushers and their dogs can get some rest. One 24-hour stop is required "at the musher's option at a time most beneficial to the dogs." In addition, each musher must take one 8-hour stop at some point on the Yukon and one 8-hour stop at White Mountain."

The sleds can't use wheels or sails, and must be able to carry sick or injured dogs. Mushers have to have the following gear at all times: Proper cold weather sleeping bag weighing a minimum of 5 pounds; an ax; one pair of snowshoes with bindings; 8 booties for each dog in the sled or in use; one operational cooker and pot capable of boiling at least 3 gallons of water at one time and adequate fuel; veterinarian notebook, to be presented to the veterinarian at each checkpoint; cable gang line or tie out capable of securing the dog team; and adequate emergency dog food in addition to what is carried for routine feeding and snacking.

Now, that doesn't sound like enough stuff for a 1,100 mile race to me! It turns out that the mushers ship dog food, human food, and other supplies to 19 check points along the trail. That way they don't have to carry everything on the sled, and they know they have supplies waiting for them. They can even ship an extra sled to a checkpoint! The supplies are flown to the checkpoints by the volunteer Iditarod Air Force.

Every musher has to sign in at each checkpoint. Some mushers feed their dogs and rest at the checkpoints, while others prefer to do those things camping along the trail. It's up to each musher to decide how long to rest, other than the mandatory stops. Factors include the weather, how tired the dogs are, how tired the musher is, and of course, race strategy.

Mushers can have a maximum of 16 dogs and a minimum of 12 at the start of the race, and they must have at least 6 dogs in harness at the finish. I was relieved to find out there are lots of rules regarding the care and treatment of the dogs. Mushers, just like puppy raisers, love their dogs and want to make sure they are healthy and happy. There are vets all along the trail that check every dog throughout the race for any health issues. Dogs that get sick or exhausted are dropped from the race. The vets treat them and they are reunited with their mushers after the race ends. Anyone found to be mistreating a dog is disqualified. Whew!

The dogs are harnessed together, so they really do have to work as a team. The lead dog is the one in front. He (or she) has to be fast and smart. (I think I'd be a great lead dog, don't you?) The swing dogs are next. Their job is to help swing the team in turns or curves. The wheel dogs are the ones directly in front of the sled. Their job is to pull the sled out and around trees and corners.

Obviously running the Iditarod takes an enormous amount of planning, training, and fund-raising. Today 95 teams headed out, some rookies running for the first time and some old-timers running for the last time. Marianne says we'll check the Iditarod Web site every day to see what's happening. See you at the finish line!

Chow for now!

Parker

Here are some links to lots more information about the Iditarod:

www.iditarod.com

www.iditarod.com/pdfs/2008/2008Rules-Final-062607.pdf

www.iditarodairforce.com

www.adn.com/iditarod

And Marianne says these are great books about the Iditarod:

"Winterdance -- The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod" by Gary Paulsen

"Iditarod Dreams: A Year in the Life of Alaskan Sled Dog Racer Deedee Jonrowe" by Lew Freedman and Deedee Jonrowe

"Adventures of the Iditarod Air Force: True Stories About the Pilots Who Fly for Alaska's Famous Sled Dog Race" by Ted Mattson

"Susan Butcher and the Iditarod Trail" by Ellen M. Dolan

"My Lead Dog Was A Lesbian: Mushing Across Alaska in the Iditarod--the World's Most Grueling Race" by Brian Patrick O'Donoghue

"Honest Dogs: A Story of Triumph and Regret from the World's Toughest Sled Dog Race" by Brian Patrick O'Donoghue

"Back of the Pack: An Iditarod Rookie Musher's Alaska Pilgrimage to Nome" by Don Bowers