Documentary Review - Iditarod 2010: Chasing History

The Iditarod Insider has done it again with their latest documentary on the Last Great Race On Earth. The Emmy Award winning crew bring Iditarod 38 to life as they follow each team all the way to Nome. Many firsts happened during this year's race as well as lasts - each are captured by the cameras.

We follow, of course, Lance Mackey as he runs his way to a fourth straight title (the first musher to do so). We follow Dallas Seavey as he takes hold of destiny and becomes the first of Mitch Seavey's sons to beat his father. We follow Newton Marshall as he becomes the first Jamaican musher to finish the race. And, we follow Jeff King on his final "competitive" journey to Nome.

The Photography is fantastic, and even though you know the outcome before the video even starts you still feel the excitement and tension. These characters are real men and women and dogs running an amazing feat of a race. They are personable, they are blunt, they are entertaining, and they're heroes. Each loving their dogs with more and care than they're given credit for. Their stories are shared thanks to the wonderful direction of Iditarod Insider.

This is a great addition to any sled dog enthusiast's collection, Iditarod fans and dog fans alike will love their copy. You can purchase a copy from the Iditarod directly by clicking here.

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Yeah, Mon! New Iditarod documentary centers around Jamaican Musher.

Iditarod Veteran, Newton Marshall and the Jamaican Dog Sled Team will be featured in a new one hour documentary "Cool Mushings" this fall the official facebook page announced this morning. Marshall's rookie run was during the 2010 Iditarod where he leased a team of [Lance] Mackey dogs on his quest to Nome.

Newton Marshall runs a team of dogs out of his home in Jamaica, and has sparked a huge fan club after signing up for the Iditarod last year. He's already signed up for Iditarod 39 set to start the first week of March in 2011. Newton's story inspired many world wide, and was the talk of this year's race. His self promotion rivaled that of the professional promotions the big name mushers have. The entire crowd at each stop were chanting "Mush Mon" as Marshall ran his team up the trail.

According to the Official Jamaica Sundogs Racing Team website, the film follows Marshall the entire race, and spares nothing. In the trailor we hear Marshall state he wishes to make his family, his friends and his country proud. Later on he wishes he were back in Jamaica [instead of the middle of nowhere Alaska]. Lance Mackey is interviewed along with other mushers and racing supporters.

No date has been released, but you can read about the documentary and catch a sneak peak by visiting their site. Click here.

History in the making.

Yes, Lance Mackey winning four Iditarods in a row is amazing and ground breaking and blah blah blah.

But can I just say what's even greater? It looks like this will be the first Iditarod in memory where there have been no deaths on the trail! While a lot of sled dog "saviors" can't WAIT to read about the first death so they can begin their plight to "save the sled dog" (why is it only THEY get excited about something like that, it's almost as if they want it - wait, they DO!). Forgetting them, though, that means the trail was awesome and the mushers involved knew what they were doing. Looks like some of the steeper restrictions worked in everyone's favor.

Take that PETA/Friends of Animals/Save The Sled Dogs - you can't do your 'death dance.'

Lance Mackey is Iditarod Champion... again.

Same song, different verse. Mackey was untouchable as he rode into Nome at 3:58pm today. It's a huge accomplishments on many levels. Four wins is huge enough, four in a row is unheard of...

Of course, until today, that is.


Lance almost beat Martin Buser's fastest time record. Wow. And, what's better for the sport and for Mackey - he did it without the drugs. Maybe now he'll realize he doesn't need the stuff in order to function. Then again, I doubt he needs the excuse as is.

Mackey states he's in it, for sure, next year. After that who knows. Anyone want to bet we'll be seeing much of the same reporting when it comes to Team Mackey come this time next year?

Lance to enter the 4 time champion ranks.

Barring a leap off of some random cliff before hitting Nome, it's pretty much a done deal: Lance Mackey Iditarod 38's Champion. He will be the first to win four consecutive titles, and joins the likes of Jeff King, Martin Buser, Susan Butcher, Doug Swingley and Rick Swenson (the only one with five). Jeff's last stretch strategy, once again, has thwarted all efforts to overtake his team. It's almost anticlimactic when you think about it. This whole race was a who's who of champions and going to be champs and one by one those teams faltered, all the while Lance was steadily running in the mix.

If he keeps the pace he's running now I expect him into Nome tomorrow between 2:30 and 3:30. Iditarod veteran Perry Solmonson predicted this afternoon that Lance should be in by 3pm. While chatting with Perry we both see it as possible that Lance could tie, or BEAT Martin Buser's record winning time. This year's race has been fast, the trail was great for fast moving teams, and we're seeing them all benefit from it!

Congratulations, Lance. It's a huge accomplishment.

Is this 2009? 2008? 2007?

It's Mackey and King one and two... this is starting to get pretty predictable. King is an hour behind Mackey running out of Shaktoolik. You would think that King would remember how he lost the race the last three years. Running behind Mackey is not going to win you the championship here, buddy!

According to the GPS tracker, King is running 6 miles behind Mackey at this point, and his team is also running slower - how is that possible? King's team is always faster. Oh well, if Mackey wins his fourth and King once again comes in second at least we'll have a legendary rivalry in this decade.

Seavey's seem to be losing a little bit of steam. Mitch is now sixth after running steadily in 4th up to now, and Dallas is in 14th and I don't see them moving too much further up (but hey if I'm wrong I will gladly eat my words). Still they've raced extremely well again this year (Dallas was absolutely fantastic getting first to Cripple), but it's a little diappointing when they're the ones I consistantly cheer for. Seeing Gebhardt as far down as he is, is also disappointing. Come on Peninsula Mushers! lol

Can't believe the race will be over by midweek for the front runners. It's exciting - if they keep up the speeds and times that they are, they could possibly rival or beat Martin Buser's record time - but depressing. All this build up and they're just zooming through this year.

Top Ten reach Unalakleet

First four are out. Do I even need to give you their names at this point?

Looks like it's a strong group of teams this year all vying for that first position. I don't want to say it's once again a Mackey King love fest, because Hans Gatt and Hugh Neff are definitely making it difficult for the two champions to run away with the game again. Seavey and Baker are also still in the mix, though they may be stuck duking it out for fifth at this point.

This race is going to be another nail biter (I would love to see King and Mackey take a run for a win like Lance's dad and Rick Swenson did twenty some odd years ago.) and what a way for Jeff to retire from the Iditarod (though I'm still in denial that he won't be in the mix next year. How can he just give this up?).

Unlucky thirteen is the number of teams scratched with Judy Currier joining the unlucky ranks. She injured her back earlier in the race, and by Galena the pain was just too much. Speedy recovery, Judy! May you come back next year stronger than ever!

Warren Palfrey scrathes.

And then there were twelve. Palfrey is the latest to scratch on the Iditarod trail. It's yet another team that has ended its quest because the "dogs were no longer able to continue to be competitive."

What does that mean? It's not like they were up there with the leaders anyway. So what does it mean to be competitive? Was it the musher who was discouraged because, once again, he paid a boatload of money to run this 10 day race and he wasn't getting anywhere in the standings? Seems a little silly and very anti-mushing.

So is it because teh dogs didn't want to pull/run anymore or because they're ill? In that case he should be commended. At least he didn't go the Ramy Brooks route and try to beat running into the dogs.

Still, it just seems odd - the reasons being given for the scrathes this year.

There are bets beginning on when DeeDee will be forced to scratch, she's still got a third leg to go and she's down to eight dogs. What gives?

Reddington is the 11th musher to scratch.

News just broke that Ryan Reddington scratched this afternoon citing concerns for his dogs - they reportedly were not feeling well. This brings the number of teams to not finish this year's race to 11.

The leap frogging has been going on all day for the top mushers as well as the middle of the pack. It's still anyone's game, though Mackey is making it clear it's his to lose at this point. He is fiercely determine to get four in a row, a feat not accomplished by any musher. It will also solidify that he needs no drugs to enhance his performance (nevermind that's not what the ITC says the drug testing was about).

Continuing to follow the GPS tracker and waiting for official reports to come out via Iditarod.com... it's gonna be a long night, I can tell ya that much!

Mackey takes the lead.

Around lunchtime today, Mackey made his move. Up to this point it was anyone but Mackey leading the pack, concerning some that he may not make it to the finishline in first this year. Mackey's strategy was definitely kept hidden until he made his move just a little over an hour ago.

King led the way into Kaltag where he still sits, while Mackey came up behind and blew through the checkpoint. Both men have taken their manditory 8 hours on the Yukon, so the next time they must stop will be towards the end when they stop for 8 in White Mountain before continuing on to Safety and Nome for a victory.

It's definitely becoming a story of Deja Vu. What will we do without Jeff to challenge Mackey next year?

Neff and Seavey are still sitting in 3rd and 4th respectively. Seavey's team is slowing down a bit compared to the other teams, but it could be the veteran musher's strategy to slow them down and let them haul out a little bit later on in teh trail. Who knows. Seems the only mushers the media focusses on these days is Mackey and King.

Not that I blame them, this rivalry ranks right up there with Butcher and Swenson or Swingley and Buser/King... maybe it even tops it.

Dog Drop

Last night while volunteering at the sales table I took a break and went out to see the dog drop area. This is my first time ever seeing the operation, and I apparently missed most of the action of the afternoon when they had about 60 dogs at one time waiting for pick ups. Several of the dogs were definitely wanting to be left alone, but most were incredibly energetic which makes you wonder why they were there in the first place.

One such dog (the one in the picture above) was one from Jeff King's team. Don't know his name but he was absolutely adorable. Totally into attention seeking. He was playful, upbeat, and having a heck of a time. I loved on him quite a bit before moving on and taking photos of other dogs, but he would have none of it. He kept mouthing me arm and when I finally walked away he played tug-o'-war with the back of my jacket! Loved my time with "greatness" (as I told the pup). How many people get to love on a Jeff King Iditarod dog?


I'm going to to into rant mode for a moment now. I've read a lot of stupid things on the internet about this race over the years. Lies about how dogs are destroyed/killed if they can't finish the race, dogs dying at the hands of volunteers, dogs being put down when they are too old to run anymore. It's simply not true. I'm sure someone somewhere is a cruel and heartless musher, but not those that run the Iditarod year in and year out, and it's certainly not the volunteers that hate these dogs. I would venture that it's "Friends of Sled Dogs" and "PETA" and the like that hate these awesome athletes. Why would you deny an animal what it was bred to do. These aren't pugs that are bred to be lap dogs, these aren't labradors that are bred for companionship and hunting, these are dogs that are bred to run as a team, to pull, to run.

The saddest looking dogs may in fact be the dogs in the dog lot that were left off of this year's Iditarod team. The dog drop dogs might be a little sad, or even feel they let their pack down, but there was also a sense of pride in most of them like they'd done their job and now it was time to rest. They are well cared for while they wait for their turn to be picked up and put on the dog truck. This isn't for show or for pulling the wool over someone's eyes. There were no 'spectators' where I was, there would be no reason to hide "evil" if we were all the cold and heartless volunteers that PETA, Friends of Animals, and Save the Sled Dogs would have you believe.

I've had the priviledge to work within the Seavey Kennel, and I've seen how those dogs are treated. They may not get to be couch potatos, but I can't see a single one of them wanting to be either. They're very well cared for, very well respected, very well loved. I've seen the mushers be devastated over the loss of a teammate, and I've seen them be overjoyed at what some would see as a minor triumph but to them it's a "king of the world" moment. It's the stupidity of these groups that hurts the sport with their hate and lies they send to sponsors and fans every year, those of us who have seen it first hand know the truth.



In race news, Dallas Seavey is back in teh top ten (in tenth) and really not a lot else has changed since yesterday. It's still King in first, Mackey second, Neff third and Mitch Seavey fourth. Hopefully we'll see some mushers pull out some tricks so that we can see some movement in the places!

10 teams have scratched, but really it's been a pretty positive race for all.

King first to the Yukon!

As expected, Jeff King was first into Ruby which means he's the one that gets the tasty prize of a nice hot meal provided by the Millennium Hotel's top chef! If being first along the way wasn't incentive enough, the food would be!

While Jeff is eating his 7 course gourmet meal, the rest of the mushers are also fine dining on the trail thanks to sponsors and family alike keeping them fat and happy with their meals tucked away and kept safe with vaccuum sealed baggies. Click here. All of the meals sound tasty... except Paul's Grape Jelly and Miracle Whip sandwich. YUCK!

The top teams are picking up speed as they head on up the trail. Will Baker and Dallas be able to keep up?

Can you say Deja Vu?

And the race begins! Jeff King is first out of Cripple, with Mackey right on his heels. Though, in years past it's been King chasing Mackey. Still, it's starting to feel like old times with King and Mackey leading the way to Nome racing nearly neck and neck. Hugh Neff and Mitch Seavey aren't too far behind, either.

Back in Cripple still waiting for their chance to continue: Dallas Seavey, John Baker and Martin Buser - don't count these guys out. They've got an obvious strategy for the second half to wait until Cripple to take a break. It will be interesting to see if it costs them later on in the week, but the teams - especially Seavey's and Baker's - look really strong. It shouldn't be too big a deal, these mushers know what they're doing. (I hope lol)



In other news - Karen Ramstead has reportedly scratched from the race in Nikolai stating "personal reasons."

"Leaders" set to take 24 hour rest while others head up the trail.

Dallas, John and Martin will all have to wait and watch as some of the other top teams run out ahead of them tonight in Cripple. It's all about strategy at this point, there're obvious reasons why the leaders chose Cripple for their layover destination. Of course, they're not sharing that strategy with the rest of us.

While they are resting, Mackey, King, Seavey, and Schnuelle came pounding up the trail. All are in Cripple taking a breather before pushing on to Ruby. Last night's leaders will have to wait until Friday around 1:30am before continuing on. With King's impressive speeds, Dallas will be lucky if he stays 7 hours behind the 4 time champion. But Dallas has the drive and the energy to keep up, so long as the dogs hold out.


In other trail news, a seventh musher has scratched - bib #2, Linwood Fiedler, scratched in McGrath the official reason given by the press release was "best interest of the dogs". He had 11 dogs still racing when he scratched.

Speaking of dogs, if you see a dog named "Whitey" running by himself somewhere near McGrath, contact Justin Savidis who is hanging out in McGrath on his 24 hours hoping Whitey will return. If the dog is not found soon the team will have to withdrawl/be disqualified.



Some decent articles from those professional reporters (even if they don't do basic fact checking.)

Young Seavey has drive - ADN.com
Cripple has a long history of taking the steam out of teams! - IditarodBlogs.com
Pack of icons bears down on leaders - ADN.com

Dallas Seavey First In Cripple

After the confusion of last night, we still have no communication as to what was wrong with the GPS reporting - if there was any. ADN.com is reporting that Baker and Seavey are out of Cripple and that they just breezed through, which is in start contrast to what Iditarod.com's current standings are reporting. It can be assumed the leaders at the moment are taking their 24

Dallas Seavey was first into Cripple this morning with John Baker just 11 minutes behind. In third place, somewhat of a happy surprise, is Martin Buser.

King, Seavey, Neff, Schnuelle and Haltman are all out of Takotna after taking their 24 hour manditory layover. Wonder what Mitch thinks of his kid taking the lead at this point.


It's gonna be another great race day!

Where on the Iditarod Trail is John Baker?

Leave it to the GPS system that gives online viewers a 'live look' at the positions of the mushers on the trail. Of course, Jeff King's has been on the fritz since day one, where it won't update for hours on end... and now, it seems, John Baker is ahead of the half way point check point of Cripple - yet the Iditarod has no record of him making it into the checkpoint.

For that matter Dallas Seavey - about an hour behind Baker - is also apparently MIA after it was reported that he was expected sometime around 8:30. The Iditarod does not have any update to suggest either team has made it in.

John Baker blew through Takotna and Ophir setting his eye on being the first into Cripple. Now it appears he's missed that mark and is headed up the trail. Is he truly lost? According to his facebook fan page, the GPS is not set properly for Cripple and that is the explanation one has for why it's not reporting correct data. But is that the only reason we have for why it shows him being where he is?

In 2004, Mitch Seavey followed the wrong set of trail markers for a good 15 to 20 minutes before he realized he was on teh wrong trail - it was a mistake that could have cost him the Iditarod title. Thankfully he was able to correct the mistake before another team took advantage of the situation.

Is this another case of a musher being misinformed? Is it the GPS? No doubt this will be a hot topic as the night/morning goes on.

Just where is John Baker?

Let the 24 hour rests begin!

We're hitting the part of the race where mushers must start taking their manditory 24 hour rests. It doesn't feel like it's time yet for them to be hitting Takotna and Ophir, but apparently the mushers disagree with that idea.

Jeff King was awarded with Penair's "Spirit of Alaska" award last night after he ran into McGrath - though he didn't stay much longer than the presentation before heading onto Takotna where it's reported that he will take his 24 hour layover.

Hans Gatt and Cim Smyth blew through Takotna during the night and are sitting in Ophir. Both are down to 14 dogs, while King is still holding on to 16. This is around the time that mushers drop dogs maybe not due to illness or injury but simply because they don't need that much dog power. Many of the teams are running at 14 dogs. Click here to read adn.com's article on Gatt's run into the Ophir checkpoint.

Seems John Baker doesn't want to take advantage of all the hospitality Takotna has to offer, either, though he did stay for almost six hours (no doubt eating their wonderful pie offerings) he's on the trail headed up to Ophir. John's team is looking REALLY strong this year. Here's hoping he can finally make that win happen.

Dallas Seavey is somewhere between McGrath and Takotna running in 25th place according to the musher standings on Iditarod.com - the GPS tracker page won't come up for me this morning, drat!

Buser's team seems to be lagging back in 28th place, there's still a slim chance he can make up the time, but at this point I think we're just going to see a top 10 finish from him once again. At least teh dogs are having fun, and that's really all that matters (especially to Martin).

I have another stint at the Iditarod HQ tonight so this will probably be teh only update I can squeeze in. Keep watch at Iditarod.com, AlaskanDispatch.com and ADN.com

Pat Moon is 5th musher to scratch.

After this afternoon's mini rant about the confusion of reports on the trail, it was confirmed that four mushers had scratched. ADN.com reported the four mushers were out of the race as of about 3 in the afternoon.

Tonight's scratch is heartbreaking as Pat Moon's story is one of true inspiration. Moon is currently battling cancer and is taking a break from treatment in order to run the Iditarod. He was not in it to win it, but just to have the experience. Pat Moon is currently at Providence Medical Center here in Anchorage, follow the adn.com story here as the story develops.

Jeff King is letting his presense be known as he is currently leading the pack heading to McGrath leaving out of Nikolai in the first place position this afternoon. Schnuelle, Baker, and Mitch Seavey (who have been consistently in the top five the last 48 hours). Debates can be had about how long they all can keep their dogs up front, but it seems to be working so far. Lance Mackey is also in the hunt, though farther back, he seems to be waiting out the ride so far. Buser, Dallas Seavey, and Jonrowe are also back out on the trail headed up to McGrath. You can read about today's leap frogging and trail reports in this article from the ADN.

DeeDee has the running tally of most dogs dropped to this point, which is interesting so early on in the race, but chances are this is her plan. However she's at a low number so soon - at this time she's running with 11 dogs. There are no reports as to the reasoning, so one can assume this is part of her strategy and not due to injuries or illness.

Some mushers are having helpers keep us up to date on their races on their websites:
Martin Buser
Team Seavey
Jeff King
DeeDee Jonrowe

It's too exciting not to follow!

As many as five reported as scratched.

Confusion has begun for spectators relying on the internet and other news sources as reports begin to swirl about a number of teams scratching today. Iditarod.com's message boards are a buzz with the idea that so far there has been no one to scratch, but on facebook mushing groups this morning it was reported that Kirk Baunum of California had withdrawn, Anchorage Daily News reported three different mushers as scratched, and it's rumored elsewhere that another unnamed musher has also scratched from the race.

This is the first year in recent memory where so much confusion and miscommunication in regards to teams scratching. For fans stuck in their cubicles or homes living vicariously through the Iditarod Insider and other sources, one would hope to be getting the very best coverage. Can't blame it all on financial downfall, so what gives?

At this time it looks like Karin Hendrickson, Michael Suprenant, Zoya DeNure, and Kirk Barnaum have all reportedly scratched.

Top Mushers in the Burn

It seems most of the top names have gotten out ahead of the massive storm that hit south central last night and are now in the burn. Reports are that the Burn is almost without snow, which means it will most likely be slow going - though there are some meteorologists predict that it could have gotten upwards of two inches of snow dusted on it last night. Still, most of the teams are keeping a steady pace of 8mph.

Both Seaveys are in the burn (Dallas is apparently resting at the moment according to teh GPS tracker), as are Gebhardt, Schnuelle, King, Mackey, Steer, and about 13 others.

We're moving right along in the race!