Iditarod part 1: The Start

I made it back to my home for the winter in Denali Park this past Tuesday after the adventure of a lifetime. It was everything I wanted it to be, and I am already dreaming of the next time. Because I couldn't possibly put it all down in one blog update, the details of the race will come in several issues... Enjoy!

The day I had dreamed about for half my life was almost upon me. What lay between that day and the day we left the kennel in Denali Park with 20 dogs was 3 days of meetings, visiting with friends and family, taking care of 20 crazy huskies in the big city, and 3 sleepless nights. The Thursday before the race start found 82 mushers sitting in the ballroom of the Millenium Hotel in Anchorage listening to race officials go over the rules (there really aren’t that many, which might surprise some), media protocol, what we should do at the ceremonial start and the real start, and finally 1000 miles of trail (this part took them all of 45 minutes!). In the end, the meeting lasted well less time than normal and we were out of dodge by lunchtime.
Thursday evening found us 82 mushers along with 1,000 + Iditarod fans packed into the Sulivan Arena. Dinner was served and autographs were signed, but the main purpose of the night was for the mushers to pick their starting position. Each musher, in the order that they signed up in, went up on stage and picked their starting position, along with thanking sponsors, family, etc. I signed up 63rd, but by March several ahead of me had dropped out, so I was somewhere in the 50’s. I went to the stage and picked number 76. Why 76? No scientific reason, other than 6 is my lucky number and I wanted to leave towards the end of the pack.
Friday was filled dog care and purchasing of last-minute supplies. Saturday is dedicated (informally) to sponsors and fans of the race. What takes place Saturday is the ceremonial start. We take off from 4th Avenue in downtown Anchorage and “race” 11 miles through town to the finish line for the days run. Thousands of people come to watch the start, not only at the start line on 4th Avenue, but all along the trail. There are people having barbeques, sitting in lawn chairs, and almost every one of them has food of some sort to slap in your hand as you wiz by. Each musher also has what is called an Idita-rider in their sled for this run. In December each year every musher’s sled is auctioned off for the chance to ride in his or her sled during the ceremonial start. The price for this 1 hour ride can easily go upwards of $2,000! So if you ever wanted to run the Iditarod, but don’t want all the work, cold, and scooping dog crap to go along with it, here’s your chance!
All went well on Saturday, including my dad making it around the track with no troubles (during the ceremonial start every musher has a second sled towed behind their sled for extra control; my dad rode this sled). I slept like a baby on Saturday night, believe it or not, and was all business Sunday morning. We drove the short drive out to Willow, this year’s official starting line of the Iditarod. The problem was we needed to be there by 11:00; I wouldn’t leave the starting line until 4:30. Waiting = lots of nerves! But the day passed quickly, and we were soon on our way. It was a hard choice of which 16 dogs to start with, but here are the ones I decided on: Texas, Tahoe, Tin, Claire, Jester, Dublin, Shannon, Klarney, Ross, Chandler, Pheobe, Monica, Ivan, Galway, Choco, and Danner.
So we were off… to be continued soon!