Although Saturday dawned very early around the kennel, as it always does the morning of the Ceremonial Start, it seems to have been a great day! I will admit, this Mad Blogger was a little bummed to not be there in person, but I was thankful for the Iditarod Insider and being able to live stream the event.
I haven’t spoken to Anna or Kristy yet, but we’ve exchanged some texts. And in case you missed it, I can tell you what I saw courtesy of the live feed.
The crowd was out in full force and plenty of fans surrounded the starting line. It was a bit weird to see so many fans without hats on, and several were just wearing hoodies. Temps were in the high 30s (trust me, southern friends ... that's balmy for Alaska in March). And the only snow lining the streets was what the crews hauled in overnight to literally make the trail. It was flanked with bare asphalt.
Which almost created a problem for the first musher out. Dean Osmar, 1984 Iditarod champ, and good friend of Seeing Double, was driving the honorary #1 sled with Emily Robinson, the only 4-time Junior Iditarod champ, riding in the sled basket. Right as the dogs were leaving the starting line, the leaders veered right. As far as I could see, there might have been a gap in the snowbanks lining the trail (or perhaps a reindeer sausage vendor?), but somehow the dogs got on the wrong side of the snowbank, started going down the asphalt, and nearly ran over a cameraman! Anyone who knows Dean will surely find this as comical as I do. Fortunately the dogs were quickly guided back over the bank onto the trail, Dean didn’t tip the sled, and everyone continued down the trail.
Anna and Kristy, the latter riding tag position as the 2nd safety musher, didn’t have any similar issues. They cruised to the line, Anna made her rounds visiting each dog on the day’s 8-dog team, said hi to some folks, and hopped back on the runners. 3-2-1 from the announcer and with Tesla and Rampage in lead, they were off.
Lesley, Anna’s Iditarider, was all smiles in the sled basket. It sounds like she had a really great time. I believe Lesley is Hawaiian and brought the twins the beautiful flowered leis you saw them wearing.
Given how short the run was, I’m sure the dogs were fired up when they got back to the dog truck. I know Anna and Kristy didn’t waste much time before loading the dogs up and hightailing it back to the kennel. I also suspect they got the dogs out for a longer run Saturday afternoon, to placate those dogs that didn’t go today, and make up for the short C-start run with those that did!
The rest of their Saturday will be spent straightening things up around the kennel, making sure things are set for the pups staying home with the dog sitter, and get ready to hit the road Sunday morning for Fairbanks.
I think the weather looks mostly ok, so hopefully they’ll have a smooth drive. Imagine making a 360 mile road trip with a dog truck and trailer before mushing over 1,100 miles?! Mushers are a different breed of folk entirely.
I will be back on Monday with a recap of the Restart, unless some other breaking news arises. If you hope to see Anna off the restart line, get your biscuits to Fairbanks or be in front of your screens by 11am AKST Monday. As far as I know, mushers will be launching in the usual 2-minute intervals and the honorary musher is omitted. Anna, in Bib #12, and her full team of 16 dogs should be officially on their way to Nome by 11:20am AKST, give or take.
You can also look forward to Anna’s full Dog Team Biography within the next few days.
'til then.
I haven’t spoken to Anna or Kristy yet, but we’ve exchanged some texts. And in case you missed it, I can tell you what I saw courtesy of the live feed.
The crowd was out in full force and plenty of fans surrounded the starting line. It was a bit weird to see so many fans without hats on, and several were just wearing hoodies. Temps were in the high 30s (trust me, southern friends ... that's balmy for Alaska in March). And the only snow lining the streets was what the crews hauled in overnight to literally make the trail. It was flanked with bare asphalt.
Which almost created a problem for the first musher out. Dean Osmar, 1984 Iditarod champ, and good friend of Seeing Double, was driving the honorary #1 sled with Emily Robinson, the only 4-time Junior Iditarod champ, riding in the sled basket. Right as the dogs were leaving the starting line, the leaders veered right. As far as I could see, there might have been a gap in the snowbanks lining the trail (or perhaps a reindeer sausage vendor?), but somehow the dogs got on the wrong side of the snowbank, started going down the asphalt, and nearly ran over a cameraman! Anyone who knows Dean will surely find this as comical as I do. Fortunately the dogs were quickly guided back over the bank onto the trail, Dean didn’t tip the sled, and everyone continued down the trail.
Anna and Kristy, the latter riding tag position as the 2nd safety musher, didn’t have any similar issues. They cruised to the line, Anna made her rounds visiting each dog on the day’s 8-dog team, said hi to some folks, and hopped back on the runners. 3-2-1 from the announcer and with Tesla and Rampage in lead, they were off.
Lesley, Anna’s Iditarider, was all smiles in the sled basket. It sounds like she had a really great time. I believe Lesley is Hawaiian and brought the twins the beautiful flowered leis you saw them wearing.
Given how short the run was, I’m sure the dogs were fired up when they got back to the dog truck. I know Anna and Kristy didn’t waste much time before loading the dogs up and hightailing it back to the kennel. I also suspect they got the dogs out for a longer run Saturday afternoon, to placate those dogs that didn’t go today, and make up for the short C-start run with those that did!
The rest of their Saturday will be spent straightening things up around the kennel, making sure things are set for the pups staying home with the dog sitter, and get ready to hit the road Sunday morning for Fairbanks.
I think the weather looks mostly ok, so hopefully they’ll have a smooth drive. Imagine making a 360 mile road trip with a dog truck and trailer before mushing over 1,100 miles?! Mushers are a different breed of folk entirely.
I will be back on Monday with a recap of the Restart, unless some other breaking news arises. If you hope to see Anna off the restart line, get your biscuits to Fairbanks or be in front of your screens by 11am AKST Monday. As far as I know, mushers will be launching in the usual 2-minute intervals and the honorary musher is omitted. Anna, in Bib #12, and her full team of 16 dogs should be officially on their way to Nome by 11:20am AKST, give or take.
You can also look forward to Anna’s full Dog Team Biography within the next few days.
'til then.
 Tesla, Rampage, and Anna |  Mad Blogger / Iditarod Insider home edition! |
Kristy, Anna, Lesley in the sled basket, and the dogs on their way.
