Happy Weekend, Race Fans! I don't know when exactly you're reading this, but I know when I'm writing it, and we have less than 20 hours until go-time as of this post.
First, the NEED 2 KNO for Sunday (yeah - March 7th):
TIME ZONES, PEOPLE! Know your's.
Free broadcast on Iditarod.com set to launch at 1:30pm ALASKA TIME.
Mushers leave the start at 2pm Alaska time in 2-minute intervals.
Kristy is Bib 4.
Anna is Bib 13.
If you're super keen to see it, give yourself a buffer to make sure you've got the site up before 2pm.
What site, where?! Iditarod.com/LIVE
With that said, if you have technical difficulties (and I'm going to try and say this as nicely as I can...):
Try Iditarod.com's home page.
Try refreshing your web browser.
Try the time-proven IT support suggestion: save open work, reboot, and start over.
Heck, try cleaning your cache. But don't try contacting me. I won't know. I don't work with the lovely folks at Iditarod, I'm physically in Wisconsin, and am likely having the same problem you are!
Phew. Thank you. Ah-hem...
After the twins hit the trail, I will update the blog at least once or twice a day, indicating where they are according to their Iditarod GPS trackers (subscription required, and I have one... get yours here), any insights I have on their current section of trail, weather, other news, and pretty much whatever I can find or know worthy of sharing. I'll even toss in a few Special Features along the way.
To that end, I did have a great conversation with both Kristy and Anna earlier today and am armed with all sorts of kibble and tid-bits that I'll use to enhance the blog along the way. We're also lucky to have several RDCs (Returned Dog Correspondents) with boots on the ground in and around the kennel in Alaska ~ Kristy's husband, Andy, Dog Handler Extraordinaire Aaron, and returning RDC and good kennel friend KennyMc. We'll get great updates on any dog that needs to leave the team during the race and head home. Which brings me to...
Dog Team Update: Ok, let's all face it. We love the twins. But we ooohh and awww and gush something fierce over the marvelous Seeing Double Dogs. I have all the details about both Kristy and Anna's 2021 dog teams, including their names, gender, age, whether they're Iditarod veterans or rookies, if they belong to Seeing Double or are on loan from another musher, and what position each dog typically runs in.
I need to both receive and organize all of the pictures that accompany that info, but I'm working on it and I will be back with full DOG TEAM BIOS ASAP!! Always good fun, don't miss it.
Covid-19 Bulletin: All mushers were tested as part of the Iditarod-Bubble concept on Thursday March 4th and will be tested again immediately upon arrival at the Deshka Landing start line on Sunday. Anyone testing positive cannot proceed, and the twins are all-clear thus far. Mandatory testing will also take place later in the race when mushers reach the checkpoint of McGrath (north), and again upon official exit (withdrawal or finish) from the race. I believe there were a couple positive cases caught within non-racing Iditarod volunteers or personnel through this process so far, and I hope those individuals are ok. But it is also nice to see the process in place works. Hand sanitizer availability, masks, and the checkpoint-bubble concept throughout bodes well for a safe race for all.
Those are the key NEED 2 KNOs for now. I'll get back to work on the dog team bios!
In case you're looking for some extras to go with Sunday brunch and while waiting for the race to start, may I highlight on the menu:
Visit the Blog sidebar. Seeing Double's official 2021 flyer is available for you adorable super-fan-collector-types. Seeing Double's Flickr album collection is also great to get you in the Iditarod mood!
CNN, Boom! They don't mention the twins explicitly, but if you flip through the pics, you'll see Anna!
Did you catch the Tales from the Trail podcast with Kristy and Anna? It's from early February, but features some great insights. Roughly 30 minutes of gold.
First, the NEED 2 KNO for Sunday (yeah - March 7th):
TIME ZONES, PEOPLE! Know your's.
Free broadcast on Iditarod.com set to launch at 1:30pm ALASKA TIME.
Mushers leave the start at 2pm Alaska time in 2-minute intervals.
Kristy is Bib 4.
Anna is Bib 13.
If you're super keen to see it, give yourself a buffer to make sure you've got the site up before 2pm.
What site, where?! Iditarod.com/LIVE
With that said, if you have technical difficulties (and I'm going to try and say this as nicely as I can...):
Try Iditarod.com's home page.
Try refreshing your web browser.
Try the time-proven IT support suggestion: save open work, reboot, and start over.
Heck, try cleaning your cache. But don't try contacting me. I won't know. I don't work with the lovely folks at Iditarod, I'm physically in Wisconsin, and am likely having the same problem you are!
Phew. Thank you. Ah-hem...
After the twins hit the trail, I will update the blog at least once or twice a day, indicating where they are according to their Iditarod GPS trackers (subscription required, and I have one... get yours here), any insights I have on their current section of trail, weather, other news, and pretty much whatever I can find or know worthy of sharing. I'll even toss in a few Special Features along the way.
To that end, I did have a great conversation with both Kristy and Anna earlier today and am armed with all sorts of kibble and tid-bits that I'll use to enhance the blog along the way. We're also lucky to have several RDCs (Returned Dog Correspondents) with boots on the ground in and around the kennel in Alaska ~ Kristy's husband, Andy, Dog Handler Extraordinaire Aaron, and returning RDC and good kennel friend KennyMc. We'll get great updates on any dog that needs to leave the team during the race and head home. Which brings me to...
Dog Team Update: Ok, let's all face it. We love the twins. But we ooohh and awww and gush something fierce over the marvelous Seeing Double Dogs. I have all the details about both Kristy and Anna's 2021 dog teams, including their names, gender, age, whether they're Iditarod veterans or rookies, if they belong to Seeing Double or are on loan from another musher, and what position each dog typically runs in.
I need to both receive and organize all of the pictures that accompany that info, but I'm working on it and I will be back with full DOG TEAM BIOS ASAP!! Always good fun, don't miss it.
Covid-19 Bulletin: All mushers were tested as part of the Iditarod-Bubble concept on Thursday March 4th and will be tested again immediately upon arrival at the Deshka Landing start line on Sunday. Anyone testing positive cannot proceed, and the twins are all-clear thus far. Mandatory testing will also take place later in the race when mushers reach the checkpoint of McGrath (north), and again upon official exit (withdrawal or finish) from the race. I believe there were a couple positive cases caught within non-racing Iditarod volunteers or personnel through this process so far, and I hope those individuals are ok. But it is also nice to see the process in place works. Hand sanitizer availability, masks, and the checkpoint-bubble concept throughout bodes well for a safe race for all.
Those are the key NEED 2 KNOs for now. I'll get back to work on the dog team bios!
In case you're looking for some extras to go with Sunday brunch and while waiting for the race to start, may I highlight on the menu:
Visit the Blog sidebar. Seeing Double's official 2021 flyer is available for you adorable super-fan-collector-types. Seeing Double's Flickr album collection is also great to get you in the Iditarod mood!
CNN, Boom! They don't mention the twins explicitly, but if you flip through the pics, you'll see Anna!
Did you catch the Tales from the Trail podcast with Kristy and Anna? It's from early February, but features some great insights. Roughly 30 minutes of gold.
I took this picture of the starting line back in 2010 or 2011. Hasn't changed tooo much, even if I'm not there to see it in person this year.
