Jr Iditarod Race Committee needs your help

The Junior Iditarod turns 50 next year and the race committee is asking for race alumni and fan help. They hope to have a slideshow celebrating the fifty years of the Junior race, but they are lacking in photos dating further back than 2010. 

The Junior Iditarod was started to encourage the youth of Alaska to stick with Dog Mushing. It is an event that continues to draw teens from all over the state to run dogs and compete for scholarship monies. The race has produced some of the top names in the sport, and helped even more junior mushers achieve their academic goals post high school.

While the Junior Iditarod may not get the celebration and fanfare that *the* Iditarod gets, it is an important event in the mushing season. The mushing community comes out to celebrate and encourage the teens. 

Jeff Schultz, long-time official photographer of the Iditarod (and Junior Iditarod), put out a plea on social media Thursday looking for photos ahead of the celebration. 

The Junior Iditarod takes place the last Saturday in February ahead of the start of the Iditarod.

Seavey wins Jr. Iditarod after moose attack

Conway Seavey at the finish of the JrT in January.
Seavey just won his first Junior Iditarod title.

Conway Seavey can breathe easy now that the monkey of last year is off his back. Last year Seavey lost what many believed would be his first Jr. Iditarod win when he and another prominent Jr. Musher took the wrong trail just miles from the finish line. This year, Seavey came charging into the Willow Lake finish line with Ben Lyons on his heels in what is being called one of the closest finishes in history of the race.

It almost didn't happen, however, as both Seavey and Lyons - who were nearly neck and neck for the entire race - had a run in with a moose while on the trail this afternoon. Seavey's brother shared the information over facebook, making sure to share that they were shaken up but that teams and mushers were ok. There was concern that Seavey may be disqualified for his contacting his family and not the race marshal - Seavey wanted to let race officials know that the moose was still on the trail and to warn other teams. Mushers are to report to the race officials first, however Seavey reportedly tried to contact officials but no one answered his calls, so he called his father to try to get in touch that way.

Lyons was just twenty feet behind Seavey when the boys crossed the finishline. Lyons also runs with a team of Seavey dogs.

Junior Iditarod sits at the halfway point.





Ben Lyons at the finish of the JrT - Jan 2012
Lyons holds a small lead at the halfway point
of the Junior Iditarod this weekend.

Nine of the ten mushers who started the race this morning have made it into the halfway checkpoint at Yentna Station. Rookie Ben Lyons - who is sponsored, in part, by the Seavey family and is running their dogs - came into Yentna first at 5:51pm AKST. Ben does not have a cusion, however, as Conway Seavey was right on his heels coming in just two minutes later and Bailey Vitello checked in one minute after Conway. Benjamin Harper came in just five minutes after the leader. 

This is not the first time Conway and Ben have been neck and neck from the half way point. In January they were one and two in the JuniorT, with Conway coming into the finish just minutes before Ben. Their banter in the checkpoints then was entertaining to the volunteers, their friendship is evident, but both proved they were equally competitive.

Conway was poised to have a close finish last year with Merissa Osmar, but a wrong turn found both mushers finishing near the back of the pack. Conway told the Junior Iditarod organizers that one of the reasons he wanted to run this year was so that he could redeem himself for the mistake, that there were members of his family making sure he didn't forget it.

Only one team is out on the trail this evening trying to make his way to Yentna. As of 8:40pm Brayson Bruton - a rookie from Willow, Alaska - was at mile 52.75 of the trail, Yentna is mile 75.