I may be "only" five years older than the twins, but man... I'm feeling every minute of it today. Then again, maybe it's not the years, it's the mileage...! Whatever the case, I'm exhausted. And all I did was partake in the excitement of the Iditarod start and catch a couple flights back to Wisconsin. Anna and Kristy did so much more than that, and on less sleep, as a prelude to a nearly 1,ooo mile journey by dog sled. Needless to say, my sisters amaze me. With them as motivation, I mustered up the energy for one blog post before I go face plant into bed.
Both the Ceremonial Start and official Restart of Iditarod 2023 went really well. It was cold - a little below zero when we were leaving the kennel and single digits in the shade where we were parked to get ready for the C-Start run. Anna and Kristy had a chance to chat with and congratulate Junior Iditarod champ Emily Robinson of Nenana, Alaska. Plenty of fans stopped by to wish the twins well and see their dogs. They got a veritable parade of well wishers when over 30 members of the Ski Club of the New York Athletic Club came by. The group photo is priceless! A visiting group from Seeing Double sponsor NTI also came to hang out, as did fans and sponsors from South Dakota. Honestly, too many people stopped by to wish the twins well for me to recount them all, but they were welcome additions to an already effervescent crowd.
With the twins being so close together in the line up and the start several blocks away, it wasn't possible for this Mad Blogger to escort them both to the starting line. But I did help Kristy get on her way from the dog truck before hopping on one side of Anna's runners for a ride to the actual starting line. After seeing Anna off, I scurried back to the dog truck to hitch another ride - this time to Campbell Airstrip, the conclusion point for this non-competitive Ceremonial Start run.
Thanks to the calm efficiency and driving skills of Dr. Tom, whose family is close friends with Seeing Double, we got the dog truck and trailer to the airstrip, set up, and ready to receive the teams before they came in. Kristy arrived first and said it was a really good run. Lots of fans along the 11ish mile trail, many handing out everything from hotdogs to beer and happily receiving high-fives in return. Her tag sled driver was Issac Redington, great grandson of the Iditarod founder who also took Rookie of the Year in the 2023 Junior Iditarod. Anna came in not long after with Aaron, another close friend of Seeing Double, driving her tag sled. After they set their ice hooks, we got the dogs sorted, everything packed up, and beat tracks back to the kennel.
The remainder of Saturday was long but productive. The twins readied their race sleds, got their gear sorted, and did dozens of other little things in preparation not only for the long journey ahead but also for leaving their kennel for an extended time. It was a late night, particularly for Kristy and Anna, but us sisters did find time to sit down for dinner. Of course I left the "last meal" decision to the twins, and they opted for garlic bread, salad, and soup. They won't see much by way of veggies for the next couple weeks!
Sunday morning came cold and early. We were all up by 7am or so and headed to Willow Lake by 10am. We saw some moose bedded down in the snow along the way, but beyond that the drive was uneventful. The twins scored a sweet VIP parking spot in the dog lot for the restart, and we were able to get everything staged under a blazing sun and bright blue sky. Vets came around for final checks on the dogs, sleds were given their final touches, and this Mad Blogger made sure the twins called Mom for a final goodbye and words of encouragement.
Thanks to the proximity of our parking spot to the starting chute, I was able to ride with Kristy to the line, see her off, and then scurry back a little ways to rinse and repeat with Anna. After Anna went charging down the trail after her twin, I took a huge sigh of relief as I always do. The pomp and circumstance was over, and now all I had to do was get to the airport and fly home. The real adventure for Kristy and Anna was just beginning.
With that, I hear my pillow calling. But I do have the twins' dog team biographies queued up for Tuesday and I'll dig into our first Race Update and report on their movements up the trail so far. Don't go away!
Both the Ceremonial Start and official Restart of Iditarod 2023 went really well. It was cold - a little below zero when we were leaving the kennel and single digits in the shade where we were parked to get ready for the C-Start run. Anna and Kristy had a chance to chat with and congratulate Junior Iditarod champ Emily Robinson of Nenana, Alaska. Plenty of fans stopped by to wish the twins well and see their dogs. They got a veritable parade of well wishers when over 30 members of the Ski Club of the New York Athletic Club came by. The group photo is priceless! A visiting group from Seeing Double sponsor NTI also came to hang out, as did fans and sponsors from South Dakota. Honestly, too many people stopped by to wish the twins well for me to recount them all, but they were welcome additions to an already effervescent crowd.
With the twins being so close together in the line up and the start several blocks away, it wasn't possible for this Mad Blogger to escort them both to the starting line. But I did help Kristy get on her way from the dog truck before hopping on one side of Anna's runners for a ride to the actual starting line. After seeing Anna off, I scurried back to the dog truck to hitch another ride - this time to Campbell Airstrip, the conclusion point for this non-competitive Ceremonial Start run.
Thanks to the calm efficiency and driving skills of Dr. Tom, whose family is close friends with Seeing Double, we got the dog truck and trailer to the airstrip, set up, and ready to receive the teams before they came in. Kristy arrived first and said it was a really good run. Lots of fans along the 11ish mile trail, many handing out everything from hotdogs to beer and happily receiving high-fives in return. Her tag sled driver was Issac Redington, great grandson of the Iditarod founder who also took Rookie of the Year in the 2023 Junior Iditarod. Anna came in not long after with Aaron, another close friend of Seeing Double, driving her tag sled. After they set their ice hooks, we got the dogs sorted, everything packed up, and beat tracks back to the kennel.
The remainder of Saturday was long but productive. The twins readied their race sleds, got their gear sorted, and did dozens of other little things in preparation not only for the long journey ahead but also for leaving their kennel for an extended time. It was a late night, particularly for Kristy and Anna, but us sisters did find time to sit down for dinner. Of course I left the "last meal" decision to the twins, and they opted for garlic bread, salad, and soup. They won't see much by way of veggies for the next couple weeks!
Sunday morning came cold and early. We were all up by 7am or so and headed to Willow Lake by 10am. We saw some moose bedded down in the snow along the way, but beyond that the drive was uneventful. The twins scored a sweet VIP parking spot in the dog lot for the restart, and we were able to get everything staged under a blazing sun and bright blue sky. Vets came around for final checks on the dogs, sleds were given their final touches, and this Mad Blogger made sure the twins called Mom for a final goodbye and words of encouragement.
Thanks to the proximity of our parking spot to the starting chute, I was able to ride with Kristy to the line, see her off, and then scurry back a little ways to rinse and repeat with Anna. After Anna went charging down the trail after her twin, I took a huge sigh of relief as I always do. The pomp and circumstance was over, and now all I had to do was get to the airport and fly home. The real adventure for Kristy and Anna was just beginning.
With that, I hear my pillow calling. But I do have the twins' dog team biographies queued up for Tuesday and I'll dig into our first Race Update and report on their movements up the trail so far. Don't go away!