Tuesday, March 15, 2022
Bethel's Boys race for fifth
Okay, well, Richie is really from Aniak, but that didn't have quite the same ring to it.
Equally as exciting as the race for third is the race for fifth. This is made even more fun - in my not so humble opinion - because the two racing for that prize are the two Kuskokwim Champions and hometown heroes Richie Diehl and Peter Kaiser. Kaiser, as you know, is also the 2019 Iditarod champion.
The two Native mushers (making up 50% of this year's race's Native Alaskan mushers) are close friends as well as close rivals. They've often said they push each other to be better dog men as well as competitors. To see them go head to head for that final top five spot should be entertaining.
Richie Diehl was out of White Mountan first at 12:50pm Alaska Time, Peter Kaiser was out eleven minutes later at 1:01pm. A quick look at the tracker shows the teams having less than two miles between them.
Meanwhile the race for third has seemed to open up as Jessie Holmes is going full throttle thru the Topkok Hills. Holmes is headed for the blowhole which we know gave Iditarod Champion Brent Sass a whole lot of trouble last night (adding over an hour to his total time into Nome). Jessie has outrun Dan in most runs physically but time wise Dan has posted the faster run. This may come down to one of those classic runs for the finish line where the musher runs with the team to give them some extra speed.
Next out of the chute will be Aaron Burmeister at 1:57pm followed eleven minutes later by Chad Stoddard who is running Dallas Seavey's B+ team (7 Iditarod finishers, 7 "puppies"). Chad's run a heck of a last run with an unproven dog team and will be very happy with a top ten finish, but don't be surprised if he challenges Aaron for the 7th place.
Who do you think will take the winning spots out of these duels? Comment below with your predictions!
The race for third is about to get underway
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| Dan Kaduce at the Ceremonial Start of Iditarod 50. March 5, 2022. Anchorage, Alaska. |
With just thirteen minutes between them speed will be key in final placement. It will come down to how well they managed their teams throughout the race to get to this point and how much gas is left in the tank. Jessie's driven hard this last half (or more), Dan's taken a more conservative approach and found himself more than within striking distance of his highest placement yet.
Dan said in an interview earlier in the race that he has no desire to push another team or go faster than his team needs to, but with it being the last 77 miles of the race (give or take, Meredith Christine Mapes says it's actually 69) I would hope he'd punch the gas if he was in range.
It took Brent 10 hours and 32 minutes from White Mountain to Nome (if I did my iditamathing correctly). Dallas took 9 hours 1 minute. Of course, we know Brent was hit with wind gusts to where he was blown over and off the trail. Depending how the run goes today teams in the chase pack may have an easier go.
Dan also had a much faster time to White Mountain than Jessie did and is running a full team of 14 (which we have yet to find out if he will continue with all 14, but it seems likely that's his goal at this point). Jessie has 9 dogs coming into White Mountain and, again, we don't know if he will return more dogs off the trail before heading to Nome or not. It's doable with less. Dallas just completed the race in a windstorm with 8 very strong looking dogs in the finish (and in previous Iditarods he's finished with 7).
Gear up, Iditarod fans, this race is far from over. While Dallas and Brent gave us a show in a windstorm, there's nothing quite like a nailbiter finish even for third!
*I'm still hoping for ski-pole jousting in No-Man's-Land (yes, I know they say that's against the rules, but it would make me happy).
Wild and Free
Legend has it that Hobo Jim's song "Wild and Free" inspired a young man named Brent Sass to build a sled dog kennel and win the Yukon Quest. The kennel was going to be named after the song by Alaska's Balladeer.
That young man did build his kennel, and did win the Quest (several). But he didn't stop there. Soon after setting his sights on the Quest, he turned his attention to the "more Hollywood" race of Iditarod. His rookie year he was 13th.
Sass would have a somewhat infamous Iditarod career soon after. In 2015 he was disqualified for having a two-way communication device, which at the time was against the rules. It was a wifi capable ipod and fans and other mushers alike disagreed with the ruling but the musher graciously accepted the decision and vowed to come back strong the next year.
In 2016 Sass was poised to take a top placement when in White Mountain his team stopped on him. He had pushed them too far and even after 8 hours of rest they didnt budge. He finally coaxed them to Nome, winding up 20th, but he was met with harsh criticism for how his race ended.
Faced with the humiliation of having done what no musher worth their salt ever wants to do, Brent vowed to do better. The musher from Eureka, Alaska stopped racing. He took the time off to rebuild his kennel and mindset. He got back to just mushing for the fun of it while developing a healthier training program.
He returned to racing three years later running the Quest and winning in 2019. He returned the following year to the Iditarod where he finished 4th after winning the Quest the month prior. In 2021 he came in 3rd for the Iditarod. It seemed the wake up call of 2016 worked.
And worked it has. Brent has completed what many call a magic run. Early in the race he told Insider that his team was scary fast. Faster than he had planned to go, but they were staying on their schedule. When pressed about the competition of faster teams behind him he pointed to his arm where the words "run your own race" are tattooed.
Brent's magic run was still hard fought, though. The 50th Iditarod was going to make him earn it. In his run from White Mountain the 20mph winds from the North turned into 40-60mph gusts as he came out of the hills and into the infamous "Blowhole". He stalled for at least 40 minutes just shy of a known shelter cabin as fans watched anxiously.
As Brent and team hunkered down, Dallas Seavey and his merry band of 8 still charged through the wind. They took a 22 mile gap down to 10 miles. Brent was again on the move but stopped again as wind raged around him. Race fans knew they had seen this before. The same section of trail blew Jeff King so off course he had to scratch just miles from his 5th Iditarod win in 2014. Dallas Seavey won that year. Was history repeating itself?
Either the winds died down, or Brent's team proved to him they could do it because they started up and took off for the final checkpoint of Safety. From there the continued up over the final mountain, across the beach and up onto Front Street.
Brent's redemption story is complete. Sass now joins a very elite club of champions of both the Quest and Iditarod. As if winning one wasn't hard enough, it is very rare for a Quest champion to win the Iditarod. Brent is the latest champion to accomplish that feat and he did it with style and grit.
This team has truly been Wild and Free.
Monday, March 14, 2022
Sass and Seavey both headed for Nome
Brent Sass took off right on time at 7:05pm Alaska time.
Dallas Seavey just left right on time at 9:42pm Alaska time.
Depending on trail conditions and what have you we should have a winner between 4am(Danny Seavey's guess) and 6am (my guess) Tuesday morning.
Tomorrow will be a doctor pepper day for me.
The chase pack is still too close to call, but it looks like Dan Kaduce has conceded 3rd place to Jessie Holmes. A lot of the chase are in Elim, but Jessie is going straight to White Mountain it seems.
Brent Sass poised to take win
With just a few miles until White Mountain and a final mandatory 8 hour rest, Brent Sass looks poised to take his first Iditarod Championship. The three-time Yukon Quest champion is about to become a member of a very elite club of mushers who can say they've won both long distance races.
Now, before you think I'm getting cocky and calling a race before it finishes - we do have to remember Brent's had some not so great moments in White Mountain in the past. In 2016, Brent found himself sitting in White Mountain for far more than 8 hours as his dogs decided to play Forrest Gump and just stop running. The incredibly humbling experience as many analysts talked about the reasons behind it saw Brent take time off from long distance racing to focus on a breeding program as well as change his training and racing habits.
In Sass's return first to the Quest and then to Iditarod he's found himself to be more consistently in the top five, and has won several Quest races. It looks like, to most, that whatever he needed to learn - he did. He is having that once in a lifetime, magical run and he deserves to enjoy it. If all things go according to plan and he is first on front street.
Still, Sass has lead for over half the race, and riding that fine line can be arduous. If there's 2014 like storms who knows what could happen, or if Sass has tricked us all and his dogs stall in White Mountain like 2016... both years Dallas Seavey won. Dallas is currently over two hours behind Brent. Many are expecting Dallas to pull some magic trick out of his sleeve and challenge Brent, but even the five-time Iditarod Champion has noted multiple times that unless Brent makes a major mistake he won't catch him.
The Chase Pack had to wait out the storm in Shaktoolik and so there's an even bigger gap between second and third now as they are just now crossing the Norton Sound. Currently in third place is Chad Stoddard (wait, how?!) who is running Dallas's B-team. I don't have the history of puppy teams in front of me, but I'm pretty sure this would be the first time the A and B team of the same kennel come in 2nd and 3rd if Chad manages to hold his position.
That probably won't be the case as this chase pack just keeps leap frogging over one another.
With the championship nearly set in stone it's truly time to focus on the chase pack and the human interest stories. They're far more exciting in most years, and this year is proving no different.
Sunday, March 13, 2022
Sass nearing Shaktoolik
Brent Sass was first into Unalakleet a little bit before midnight Saturday night and is now closing in on Shaktoolik. Sass has a lead of 15 miles on Dallas Seavey, and it does not look like his team plans to slow down. Brent is having one of those once in a lifetime runs so far. Perhaps if DSeavey's dogs hadn't been slow to get in race rhythm perhaps the gap would be smaller. Still, the coast can change even the best teams out flat.
While Seavey has gained some time/miles on Brent since the Yukon, there's still a wide margin that right now seems insurmountable. While anything could happen (let's not forget 2014 and Jeff King having a similar run until a freakishly strong windstorm knocked him out of his 5th win completely, had Aliy hunkered down and further back third place Dallas Seavey ended up winning his 2nd Iditarod Championship) it will have to take the lead team making some very big mistakes for Dallas to catch Brent and take off ahead of him.
Meanwhile the chase pack has an amazing among of leap frog going on that will probably continue even past White Mountain. As each team jockeys for position their different strategies have fans finding it impossible to understand who is running in which position. As with many Iditarods the excitement is really third through tenth at this point.
For those watching Jeff King's race intently, after finishing his 24 in Ruby he made it onto the Yukon and he currently sits in Galena - where he may decide to take his 8. He is currently in 32nd place, which I'm sure he is happy with, but his dogs are probably ready to keep going. He has done amazingly well without too much warning or preparation, using Nic Petit's drop bags as well as his team, and while he's still recovering from surgery (from back in October). As always, Mr. The King is inspiring multiple generations of mushing fans and mushers.
For the back of the pack they are all out of Cripple on the standings, and the GPS shows no one back tracking to the checkpoint to suggest a scratch is forthcoming. Lisbet Norris is solidly bringing up the rear at this point with her team of all pure-bred Siberian huskies. Soon all teams will be on or past the Yukon.
And, for those wondering about the middle to back of the pack, Insider has heard our pleas and while they cannot follow them through the length of their race they do plan to have live cams in Koyuk and White Mountain until all teams have made it safely through those checkpoints.
Saturday, March 12, 2022
Sass and Seavey finish their Yukon 8
Brent Sass and Dallas Seavey have finished their mandatory 8 hour rests on the Yukon and are back on the trail. It's not exactly a cat and mouse game at this point, and they both seem to be solidly in the first and second positions with not a lot of room or threat of shake up without some of Mother Nature's intervention. Dallas took his mandatory in the Yukon Village checkpoint of Nulato, coming in at just after Midnight. Brent Sass, right on script, ran all the way to Kaltag and declared his 8 there, getting in just after 2:30am AKST.
Sass has picked up all of the "first to" awards as he travels down the trail and looks to be the first to the Coast as well. Dallas is a good 3 hours behind him, not completely insurmountable... but not likely without Brent making a mistake and pushing the dogs a little too hard to where they slow or stop completely. All indications point so far to Brent managing his race extremely well, he's learned quite a bit since his team's premature stop in White Mountain in 2016.
The chase back began arriving in Nulato as Dallas was taking off. Jessie Holmes was first in and is running impressive speeds, but even the musher acknowledges that he can't keep up his pace forever. He's cutting rest and that never helps a team maintain the speed it would take to overtake and pick off the lead teams. It will be interesting to see how Holmes plays his cards from here on out. Richie Diehl was next followed by Ryan Redington and Aaron Burmeister. A quick glance at the GPS as I get ready to post this shows them all resting in Nulato except Burmeister who has chosen to continue (it looks like anyway).
In the back of the pack there's a little shake up in standings with Kaylin Davis leading the trio of ladies and Yuka Honda bringing up the rear. Lisbet Norris and her team of Siberians rests between them. The teams have run together most of the race helping each other through blizzards and other hazards.
Greg Heister just reported on Insider that the winds are so strong between Kaltag and the coast that flights are grounded and Insider can't get to Unalakleet. A storm was supposed to blow in on the West Coast last night and it sounds like it's on schedule. The race ain't over.
Friday, March 11, 2022
The chase is on
Brent Sass and Dallas Seavey have been mostly alone today as they've run down the Yukon, but they're about to get company. The chase pack of Jessie Holmes, Richie Diehl, Ryan Redington, Aaron Burmeister, and Mitch Seavey are all out of Ruby and onto the river after taking their mandatory 8 in the first Yukon checkpoint.
While Mitch Seavey has all but conceded the race and is "planning for the future" (according to a post by Danny Seavey on facebook today), the other teams are hoping that should Sass or DSeavey stall, they will be in striking distance and take advantage. To this point Burmeister has run the most conservative race of the chase pack, and Jessie Holmes is the one who seems most in control with a lot of speed.
The way the two in front have taken their rests on the river, it looks like Dallas will 8 in Nulato while Sass will push to Kaltag. There's a big gap between the two teams and right now in order for Dallas to overtake Sass, Sass has to make a mistake or his dogs have to decide to pull a Forrest Gump and just stop running. That's happened to Sass before, but he's shown he's learned that lesson as his team has come back stronger than ever and he's won two more Quests since then.
Both Seavey and Sass are very happy with how their teams are doing. Dallas was concerned going into his 24 that his dogs were not interested in eating enough, but that's switched up now and he says he can't give them enough food. Sass's team has been steady and fast, with the musher noting earlier this week that it was "scary" how fast they were going while staying on their schedule. That sounds a lot like Mitch Seavey talking about his record breaking finish time when he won in 2017 with a team that he "could not slow down" even going into the finish.
It's not time to call the race, but it definitely looks like the chase pack will be the more exciting race. I seem to recall saying that in 2014 though as we all wondered if it'd be Dallas or Mitch coming in 3rd. Jeff King was solidly in control of the race, and Aliy finally pulled away from the Seaveys to beat them to the finish - only to both have trouble in the final stretch due to a freak windstorm. King would scratch, Aliy would come second, once again, to Dallas Seavey.
Neff scratches in Ruby
Hugh Neff came into Ruby this morning pretty happy with how his team from Jim Lanier's Northern Whites Kennel looked coming onto the Yukon. He chose to rest his team in the checkpoint and as hours ticked by fans believed the musher had declared his 8 hour mandatory rest that must take place somewhere on the Yukon. As the countdown ticked down and Neff didn't leave, folks began to grow concerned. A zoom in of the tracker showed Neff's flag near the airport, which could only mean one thing. Scratched.
The press release read in full:
"Veteran Iditarod musher Hugh Neff scratches at Ruby checkpointAnchorage, Alaska –– Veteran Iditarod musher Hugh Neff (bib #50) of Anchorage, Alaska, scratched at 11:40 a.m. today at the Ruby checkpoint. In conjunction with Iditarod Race Marshal Mark Nordman, Neff made the decision to scratch due to their concern for his race team. Neff had 11 dogs in harness at the time he made the decision to scratch."
The press release's wording is peculiar as it's not the normal "best interest of the team". We'll have to keep and eye out to see if anyone gives more detail once the team is back at home.
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