Well, folks… I cannot postpone the inevitable any longer. It is time for this Mad Blogger to drop the mic on Iditarod 2024.
First off, I would like to thank The Academy… whoops! Wrong blog (kidding… just kidding).
Eh-hem ~ First off, on behalf of Seeing Double, I would like to thank all of the Iditarod race personnel - officials, organizers, technical staff, trail breakers, Iditarod Air Force, all volunteers, villagers, and especially the veterinarians. We know all of the hard work that goes into making this event a reality, and we know you guys do all of this hard work. And for that, we are grateful and so appreciative!
Thank you to the overall Iditarod race sponsors. Corporate race sponsors stand behind this event and make sure the necessary resources are available to make the event both possible and safe. Individual sponsors also help put the pieces together through Iditarod Insider subscriptions, donations, Iditarider and general auction purchases, and merchandise purchases.
A HUGE thank you goes out to Seeing Double’s personal sponsors in particular. GCI has been instrumental in sponsoring the twins and making sure they get to the starting line. GCI also proved to be a key partner simply by making sure Anna had reception out on the trail when she needed it most this year. Thank you to Musher brand for selecting the twins to try out your dog collars, padded harnesses, and insulated dog jackets. The gear worked and looked great! Thank you to NTI Boilers, who not only sponsored Seeing Double, but also turned up in force at both the Ceremonial and Restart this year to help lead the dog team from the staging area to the start line. This crew was so good, they got recruited to help a couple other teams at the Restart! Thank you to Berni and the gang at GBA Corona for your continued financial support and the new embroidered Seeing Double shell jackets that both Kristy and Anna were wearing. Thank you Alaska Trauma & Acute Care Surgery (ATACS), friends and long-time supporters. Thank you to Borealis Vet Clinic for working so well with our dogs and helping us keep them healthy and happy. Thank you to Alaska Missions, especially Scott and Keith, for giving Anna and Kristy such a warm welcome in Nome, a great place to stay, and your overall help with the race. Thanks to Mike of Mike’s Welding & Fabrication in Wasilla - Mike has done great work for the twins and delivered some of the best pickled halibut this Mad Blogger has ever tasted. Thank you to Ellen Redington and the Redington family for the support, advice, and loaning Anna both Rocky and Trout for her Iditarod race team. Thanks to our friends at Scoop Up Landscaping. And thank you to Double Shovel Cider Company, a new sponsor, for the support and publicity. Be sure to check out Double Shovel’s hard ciders and, if you can get to Anchorage March 23rd, visit their tap room for a Meet and Greet with Kristy and Anna!
Thank you to all the individuals that liked an Instagram post, left a supportive comment, or went so far as to plunge through this Mad Blogger’s verbose commentary here in The Blog! Thank you to everyone who purchased merchandise or made a very generous personal donation. We know who you are, and we want you to know that this additional support does more to keep Seeing Double afloat than you might imagine. Thank you to the teachers that incorporated the Iditarod into their lessons, introducing the Iditarod and sled dog racing to a whole new generation. Thanks to the kids that made fleece blankets for the dogs, sent videos, and wrote the most adorable letters of encouragement.
Thank you, Mom, for always being supportive emotionally and financially. Nobody lifts a person up quite like Mom does! Even if she is lifting up twins.
Thank you, Kristy, for putting your heart and soul into training this year, even though you knew you weren’t setting up to race 1,000 miles yourself. Your dedication to the dogs and your twin is something all Seeing Double fans can aspire to.
Last, but always far from least, thank you to the Dogs. The retired racers that show young pups the ropes. The young dogs at home, still in training. The dogs that ran mid-distances races with Kristy and Anna over the season, but didn’t make the final Iditarod team roster for one reason or another. Thank you to all sixteen dogs that left the Restart line, and particularly the eight dogs that love what they do so much, they pulled Anna all the way to Nome. The dogs are really the driving force behind everything Anna and Kristy do.
And thank you, Anna, for being tough enough, crazy enough, and talented enough to lead a bunch of armchair mushers over the mountains and through the woods, all the way from Anchorage to Nome.
My name is Kat, “not-a-twin” sister and Mad Blogger for Seeing Double Sled Dog Racing. Thank you for joining me on this adventure. Remember to be kind - to others, to animals, and to yourself. Rekindle the lost art of agreeing to disagree whenever possible. Work hard, play hard, and smile through it all.
And, with a nod to the late, great Bob Barker…
“Mad Blogger, to remind you, help control the pet population - have your pets spayed or neutered. Goodbye everybody!”
First off, I would like to thank The Academy… whoops! Wrong blog (kidding… just kidding).
Eh-hem ~ First off, on behalf of Seeing Double, I would like to thank all of the Iditarod race personnel - officials, organizers, technical staff, trail breakers, Iditarod Air Force, all volunteers, villagers, and especially the veterinarians. We know all of the hard work that goes into making this event a reality, and we know you guys do all of this hard work. And for that, we are grateful and so appreciative!
Thank you to the overall Iditarod race sponsors. Corporate race sponsors stand behind this event and make sure the necessary resources are available to make the event both possible and safe. Individual sponsors also help put the pieces together through Iditarod Insider subscriptions, donations, Iditarider and general auction purchases, and merchandise purchases.
A HUGE thank you goes out to Seeing Double’s personal sponsors in particular. GCI has been instrumental in sponsoring the twins and making sure they get to the starting line. GCI also proved to be a key partner simply by making sure Anna had reception out on the trail when she needed it most this year. Thank you to Musher brand for selecting the twins to try out your dog collars, padded harnesses, and insulated dog jackets. The gear worked and looked great! Thank you to NTI Boilers, who not only sponsored Seeing Double, but also turned up in force at both the Ceremonial and Restart this year to help lead the dog team from the staging area to the start line. This crew was so good, they got recruited to help a couple other teams at the Restart! Thank you to Berni and the gang at GBA Corona for your continued financial support and the new embroidered Seeing Double shell jackets that both Kristy and Anna were wearing. Thank you Alaska Trauma & Acute Care Surgery (ATACS), friends and long-time supporters. Thank you to Borealis Vet Clinic for working so well with our dogs and helping us keep them healthy and happy. Thank you to Alaska Missions, especially Scott and Keith, for giving Anna and Kristy such a warm welcome in Nome, a great place to stay, and your overall help with the race. Thanks to Mike of Mike’s Welding & Fabrication in Wasilla - Mike has done great work for the twins and delivered some of the best pickled halibut this Mad Blogger has ever tasted. Thank you to Ellen Redington and the Redington family for the support, advice, and loaning Anna both Rocky and Trout for her Iditarod race team. Thanks to our friends at Scoop Up Landscaping. And thank you to Double Shovel Cider Company, a new sponsor, for the support and publicity. Be sure to check out Double Shovel’s hard ciders and, if you can get to Anchorage March 23rd, visit their tap room for a Meet and Greet with Kristy and Anna!
Thank you to all the individuals that liked an Instagram post, left a supportive comment, or went so far as to plunge through this Mad Blogger’s verbose commentary here in The Blog! Thank you to everyone who purchased merchandise or made a very generous personal donation. We know who you are, and we want you to know that this additional support does more to keep Seeing Double afloat than you might imagine. Thank you to the teachers that incorporated the Iditarod into their lessons, introducing the Iditarod and sled dog racing to a whole new generation. Thanks to the kids that made fleece blankets for the dogs, sent videos, and wrote the most adorable letters of encouragement.
Thank you, Mom, for always being supportive emotionally and financially. Nobody lifts a person up quite like Mom does! Even if she is lifting up twins.
Thank you, Kristy, for putting your heart and soul into training this year, even though you knew you weren’t setting up to race 1,000 miles yourself. Your dedication to the dogs and your twin is something all Seeing Double fans can aspire to.
Last, but always far from least, thank you to the Dogs. The retired racers that show young pups the ropes. The young dogs at home, still in training. The dogs that ran mid-distances races with Kristy and Anna over the season, but didn’t make the final Iditarod team roster for one reason or another. Thank you to all sixteen dogs that left the Restart line, and particularly the eight dogs that love what they do so much, they pulled Anna all the way to Nome. The dogs are really the driving force behind everything Anna and Kristy do.
And thank you, Anna, for being tough enough, crazy enough, and talented enough to lead a bunch of armchair mushers over the mountains and through the woods, all the way from Anchorage to Nome.
My name is Kat, “not-a-twin” sister and Mad Blogger for Seeing Double Sled Dog Racing. Thank you for joining me on this adventure. Remember to be kind - to others, to animals, and to yourself. Rekindle the lost art of agreeing to disagree whenever possible. Work hard, play hard, and smile through it all.
And, with a nod to the late, great Bob Barker…
“Mad Blogger, to remind you, help control the pet population - have your pets spayed or neutered. Goodbye everybody!”
Left to right, above: Mad Blogger Musher Handler badges, 2010 through 2024. Kat, your Mad Blogger, and her dog, Otis McGee. Mad Blogger in "the pants!" and Anna in Bib #2 at the Restart.