Monday, March 6, 2023

Rookie Jennifer LaBar scratches in Rainy Pass

Jennifer LaBar during the Ceremonial Start
of Iditarod 51. March 4, 2023.
Anchorage, Alaska
The Iditarod has its first scratch of the race in rookie musher Jennifer LaBar. LaBar was running a good race until she encountered trouble on the Happy River Steps where she sustained an injury to her ring finger on her left hand during a sled crash. While in good spirits retelling the story to the Insider earlier in the day, after talking with medical staff, LaBar made the very difficult decision to cut her race short. All dogs were doing well when she made her decision. See the full statement from the Iditarod below:

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 6, 2023


 Rookie Iditarod musher, Jennifer LaBar, scratches at Rainy Pass Checkpoint

Anchorage, Alaska – Rookie Iditarod musher, Jennifer LaBar (bib #13), of Healy, Alaska,  scratched at 8:30 p.m. today at the Rainy Pass checkpoint.

After speaking with medical professionals, Jennifer made the very difficult decision to scratch due to a hand injury sustained earlier in the day.

LaBar had 13 dogs in harness when she arrived in Rainy Pass, all in good health.

All teams into Rainy Pass, leaders out of Rohn

Anna Berington's lead dogs during the Ceremonial
Start of Iditarod 51. March 4, 2023.
Anchorage, Alaska.
After a perfectly crisp (read: downright cold for us normal folk) weekend of starts, the Iditarod's first full day saw temps climb into the 40s thanks to the crystal clear blue sky and bright sun. Teams all along the trail chose to rest early and longer than their original schedules called for because it was just too dang hot. Reports of soft trail explained the numerous returned dogs reported so early in the race. Nothing major with the pups, just sore muscles and mushers not willing to take that chance.

Among those returned dogs is Ryan Redington's famed dog Wildfire. Wildfire, fans will recall, was the dog in Redington's team who last year in a training run was hit by a snow machine that then left the scene (and the coward never came forward). Through extensive surgeries and rehab, the goal originally was just for the dog to regain mobility and not lose the leg that ended up broken in several places. Instead, just over a year later, Wildfire was back on the main team coming in third place in the competitive field of the John Beargrease marathon. Redington had to leave Wildfire in the checkpoint of Skwentna late Sunday evening due to Wildfire showing signs of soreness in his leg. Ryan was visibly bummed that Wildfire couldn't continue commenting to Insider, "[all of the dogs] are my buddies, but he's extra special." While Wildfire is not continuing down the trail, Ryan is carrying the pins that Wildfire had surgically placed in his leg to repair it, Ryan had them made into something like a keychain when they were removed.

Also having some difficulty on the trail were rookies KattiJo Deeter and Jennifer LaBar. Deeter is on her second attempt at an Iditarod finish after the musher had to scratch during the windstorm that knocked out several teams in the Topkok Hills. Today it seemed like her race may end before even making it out of the first set of mountains. During a crash down the Happy River Steps, notorious for these sort of issues, KattiJo broke two stanchions on her sled. She had to detour from her planned run schedule to stay in Rainy Pass and try and repair her sled. Thanks to some assistance from a checkpoint volunteer she was able to get the material she needed to make the sled useable again. Deeter is now back on the trail heading for the Gorge (and the checkpoint of Rohn).

LaBar equally had a difficult time on the Steps, and in the first flight she had an epic crash where her left hand became pinched between a snowbank and her handlebar (she thinks). Her ring finger is at the very least dislocated and at worst broken. She still seemed in good spirits when chatting with the Iditarod Insider in the checkpoint of Rainy Pass as she iced her finger. This is a typical mushing injury for humans and while Insider suggested in their caption that the rookie musher was contemplating what this means for the rest of her race, most mushers are already chiming in saying it's no big deal and that she will continue on down the trail. 

The lead pack of Redington, Holmes, Sass, Maixner, Diehl, Burke, Porsild, Kaiser, and Failor are all out of Rohn and headed to Nikolai. Trail reports from Race Marshal Mark Nordman for this stretch of the trail are not looking good. Nordman told the mushers that the moguls were the worst he's ever seen and were roughly four feet high. There's reports of little to no snow (common for the burn, an area that is barren land due to a large forest fire that swept through the area around one hundred years ago and nothing has seemed to grow back. With no trees to block the wind any snow that lands there is swept away quickly leaving bare ground.) which means it's just hold on and hope your sled survives. The burn is roughly forty miles long. Don't expect teams to come into Nikolai until morning (Insider guesses around sun up which would be 7am...ish).

It's still far too early to declare an outright leader. We won't know how that shakes out until teams take their 24 hour mandatory rest (plus their time differential). That won't happen until they start to hit McGrath at the earliest (unless someone's race is going off the rails which no one appears to be in trouble like that) so we have another day of just trying to make it out of the mountains and burn for most of the teams.

Get some rest, Iditafans, the race is still just finding its rhythm. 

Mushing Radio: Heat Wave!


Join hosts Robert Forto and Toni Reitter as they present Heat Wave! on their daily coverage of the Iditarod.

LISTEN HERE

Saturday, February 25, 2023

2023 Iditarod top ten (ish)

One week from today we'll be cheering teams in Anchorage as they run through the city in the Ceremonial Start of Iditarod 51. The roster of thirty-three dog teams is a possible signal of a new era as many of the fan favorites chose to either sit this season out, or have moved on into retirement. Still, the race has nine rookie teams, and eight women are in the 51st running of the last great race. 

With those thirty-three teams we have a highly competitive field as well as the potential for many teams to jump up in standings and make themselves known. Time will tell how the rosters of the future shake out and whether or not we'll have an uptick in entries. But, for now, we have a strong roster of newbies and veterans. Only two teams have won Iditarod previously, so it is a true dawning of a new era in the sport.

Even though it's a small roster it's a competitive one. So many strong teams with the ability to take the top prize are in this race. It's time to do a rundown of who has the best chance to be in the top ten.

Brent Sass - The reigning Iditarod Champion won by running through a ground storm in the Topkok Hills. In true Iditarod fashion the finish was a dramatic one as the same storm hammered many of the teams (to the point where Martin Buser decided he'd retire after surviving the storm). Sass is coming off his Yukon Quest 550 win and many of his team will be with him on the run to Nome. Expect Brent to run his own race spending time out of checkpoints (except for mandatory rests).




Dan Kaduce - Best dog care anywhere could easily be Kaduce's motto. The musher came in fourth running a strong team of all 14 dogs from start to finish. He challenged for third for most of the race (and sometimes was even leading or nearly leading). Dan (and Jodi) has a solid program in Dew Claw Kennel and it's coming to fruition. With this small but highly competitive roster it won't be surprising to see Dan come out near the top.




Eddie Burke Jr - It isn't often a rookie gets named in a top ten list, but Burke has proven himself capable to put on a winning race. The 2023 Knik 200 champion is running a team out of Wildstyle Racing owned by Aaron Burmeister and Tony Browning, with Burmeister taking a step back from racing to focus on family, Burke is running a powerhouse team that just two years ago nearly took the prize in Iditarod 49. Burke has learned from two of the best mushers in the business and should challenge for a top ten spot. It will really come down to whether or not Burke remains focused on running his race, or if he makes the rookie mistake of racing others.


Jessie Holmes - That Jessie Holmes is even on the roster is a miracle after the musher was in a life threatning accident this summer. Holmes managed to prove that his recovery has gone exceedingly well this season as he challenged for top placement in several mid-distance races before returning home to continue to train for the big one. Holmes was third last year and appears to have no plans of slowing his team down. After all, this is Team Can't Stop we're talking about.




Jessie Royer - The leader of "The J Team" is back to Iditarod having taken last year off due to the Covid restrictions in Canada (she travels from Montana), among other reasons. Royer is a perennial favorite of fans, as well as a consistent top ten (and top five) finisher of the last great race. She successfully managed a top five finish with SIXTEEN dogs on the Iditarod (the only to do so). Her dog care is outstanding as is her competitive drive. Royer just won the Race to the Sky 300 mile race in Montana and her team looks fantastic as ever. Expect Jessie to stick to the front of the pack, but not push until the Coast.


Mille Porsild - Mille is coming off a somewhat rocky season with mid-distance races. She had some rough patches before coming second in the Yukon Quest 450 in Canada just a couple of weeks ago. In an incredibly short roster that wasn't as competitive as its Alaskan counterpart, Mille was a rookie in name only. Porsild has extensive experience within the sport of mushing as well as expedition mushing. She's as tough as they come and can bark orders better than any grizzled musher on the trail. She was 14th last year in a very difficult finish of a race (where she was originally penalized and then had that penalty repealed). It will be interesting to see how she does in a smaller roster chock full of competitive teams.


Nicolas Petit - Petit has an outside chance of taking the top prize, but he'll most likely have no trouble making the top ten. Petit likes to burst out with speed from the get go and just hope that his team can make the full 900+ miles to the finish line with enough of a lead that when they start to stall out/get bored/decide to go on a camping trip that he can keep everyone behind him. Petit prides himself on not having a race strategy and just follows the dog's lead. He calls them his kids, and they supposedly call him dad, and so he's well liked by many. He also loves to troll social media and the journalists so he gives some of the best soundbites. Never dull with Nic, for sure, but I personally wish he'd run a race with a plan so that we could REALLY see what his dogs can do.

Pete Kaiser - The 2019 Iditarod Champion just won yet another Kusko 300 title (fighting off Matt Failor to take it). The champion musher originally did not plan on running Iditarod 51, but, like many mushers before him, the draw was just too great a pull and he's back. Pete is one of the best in the business and takes his role as mentor and role model seriously. Kaiser will no doubt be one of the teams to follow, expect him to sit back for the first half of the race to give his team the best shot to overtake the teams ahead of him when they get to their "home field" of the Western Alaska coast.



Ramey Smyth - Never, ever, ever, EVER count a Smyth out. The son of Iditarod legends Bud Smyth and Lolly Medley was an incredibly late entry to this year's Iditarod (we're talking FEBRUARY late). Smyth is another one of those consistent top 20 finishers who, with this smaller roster, could see a jump in number just as there will be fewer teams to leap frog over. Ramey is another who bursts out on the Coast and eats up a lot of trail on the front runners (in 2012 he made a HUGE leap on the coast and had the Seavey family VERY worried he would run down Dallas). Rumor has it the Smyth boys wear running shoes on the final leg into Nome. Ramey is the dark horse in this roster as we haven't really seen what his team can do in the smaller races (he entered them only to withdraw). Still, if he was willing to make the leap into running this race, he must believe in his team which means WATCH OUT.

Matt Failor, Matt Hall, Richie Diehl, Wade Marrs - I really could do a top fifteen but I'll just add these four names to the tenth spot because I believe we'll see a combo of this quartet in the top ten, but I can't place my finger on which of these teams has the best shot. Failor and Hall should see their standings in the Last Great Race rise due to the shorter roster as well as they're both having really great seasons. And Marrs is back to Iditarod after having to take time away due to the Covid-19 vaccination policy. Richie Diehl is another consistent top 20 team who knows how to manage a race. Marrs was running a great Yukon 550 until his dogs decided that they wanted to make puppies more than they wanted to run a dog race, that shouldn't be an issue now for Iditarod.

It also should be noted that while there isn't a Seavey on the roster, their dogs are running. Mitch Seavey's "A-Team" is being run by Christian Turner (who ran his rookie race with Dallas Seavey's puppy team), though the team was trained mostly by Mitch and crew in Sterling before Turner could make the trip over from Australia. Dallas Seavey has leased a team of A-list dogs to friend and former competitor Kelly Maixner. Maixner used to run dogs out of his own kennel and has hit the top 10 in the past. Kelly did train with the team on most weekends, but again the majority of the training went to Dallas's crew in Talkeetna. Still, both mushers and teams are pros and it will be interesting to see what they come up with on the trip to Nome.

In all honesty, the majority of the thirty three name roster have a great shot at being in the top ten and it will come down to strategy, weather, and trail conditions. It's a heavy snow year for most of Alaska and mother nature's had a lot of ups and downs lately temperature wise so I expect this race to throw a little bit of everything at the teams. As always, Iditarod will no doubt give much drama and excitement over their 10-14 days of racing. Time will tell how it all shakes out, of course, but for now we choose our fantasy teams and discuss what may happen.


Who do YOU have in your top ten? Thoughts on who maybe shouldn't be on this list and who should be there instead? Comment below with your take on Iditarod 51!

*Thanks to those who caught my adding a name to the roster that wasn't on there, and to those that noticed I didn't make mention of the Seavey teams.

As always, if you like what you see and want to support my addiction (I mean HOBBY) of following these races and stalking (I mean cheering on) the mushers, you can buy me a slice of pizza (that really goes to paying for my internet/web expenses).

Monday, February 20, 2023

2023 Iditarod musher roster

It. Is. Time! In just twelve days (cue me hyperventilating) the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race will run it's 51st race from downtown Anchorage in the Ceremonial Start, then truck the teams to Willow for the restart the following day when the real race begins. It's crazy to think that a race that began the process back in June of 2022 is finally upon us and yet it seems like it got here in a rush once the mushing season started.

Fifty one races, fifty years of long distance mushing. It's the dawn of a new era judging by the small entries with many familiar faces choosing to step away from a race they've dominated for - at least this blogger's - lifetime. Gone from the roster are the names King, Buser, Zirkle, Jonrowe, and even Seavey. Sure, we still have Redingtons, Smyths, and there's a Mackey in the mix, but none have captured the same amount of media and fan attention and now they're in the spotlight by default. New names, up and comers, and perennial hopefuls are all poised to take their mushing to the next level in a competitive field all its own.

In the days ahead will discuss and analyze the field, but for now let's just run down the entire roster with links to their websites and social media.

Thirty-three teams are currently prepped and drop bags delivered for the race with twenty-four veterans and nine rookies in the mix. There are twenty-five men, and eight women in that pool. Among the veterans are two past Iditarod champions (including the reigning champ). Three of this year's rookies have unfinished business with the race having had to scratch in the Topkok Hills last year.

The bib draw is on March 2, so until then the mushers are listed in sign up order. I will be in Anchorage March 2 so the list with bib numbers may not be updated right away depending on how strong our wifi is (AND where we are/what we're doing that night as I will not be at the banquet). I've done my best to connect the musher with the kennel they're running out of. Most are running their own dogs but there are still that handful of mushers who have leased a team or are handlers being sent out to take another musher's team to Nome. As always if you see something that needs correcting let me know so I can keep everything as accurate as possible!

Oh, and don't forget to research these teams as you pick your Fantasy Mushing team - if you're looking for a pack to join you can always join the Iditafans pack! Alright, without further adieu, here's our class of 2023 Iditarod mushers!

Musher Roster

*Bib #1 - Honorary Musher 2023 - Lance Mackey. Mackey's youngest two children Atigun and Lozen are said to be riding in the Ceremonial Start in the Jr. Iditarod Champion's sled.

BibNameKennelLinkLinkLinkLink
2Jessie HolmesTeam Can't StopWebsiteFacebookInstagram
3Bailey VitelloTeam BaileyWebsiteFacebookInstagramTwitter
4Mille PorsildRunning Sled DogsWebsiteFacebookInstagram
5Ryan RedingtonRedington MushingWebsiteFacebookInstagram
6Kristy BeringtonSeeing Double RacingWebsiteInstagram
7Matt HallSmokin Aces KennelWebsiteFacebookInstagram
8Anna BeringtonSeeing Double RacingWebsiteInstagram
9Nicolas PetitTeam PetitWebsiteFacebookInstagram
10KattiJo DeeterBlack Spruce KennelWebsiteFacebookInstagramTwitter
11Dan KaduceTeam Dew ClawWebsiteFacebookInstagram
12Hunter KeefeRedington Mush AlaskaWebsiteFacebookInstagram
13Jennifer LaBarRockin' Ridge KennelWebsiteFacebookInstagram
14Brent SassWild and Free KennelWebsiteFacebookInstagram
15Richie DiehlReal Diehl RacingFacebook
16Matthew Failor17th DogWebsiteFacebookInstagram
17Eric KellyDaybreak KennelFacebookInstagram
18Eddie Burke, Jr.Alaskan Wildstyle RacingFacebookInstagram
19Bridgett WatkinsKennel on a HillWebsiteFacebookInstagram
20Jason MackeyMackey's Top Notch RacingWebsiteFacebook
21Riley DycheDark Horse KennelWebsiteFacebookInstagram
22Gerhardt ThiartSeavey's IdidarideWebsiteFacebookInstagram
23Kelly MaixnerDallas Seavey RacingFacebook
24Ramey SmythSmyth Racing TeamFacebook
25Joanna JagowMotley Crew KennelWebsiteFacebookInstagram
26Jessie RoyerThe J TeamWebsiteFacebookInstagram
27Jed StephensenNordic WayfindingWebsiteFacebookInstagram
28Wade MarrsStump Jumpin' KennelWebsiteFacebookInstagram
29Gregg VitelloNorthern Exposure Sled DogsWebsiteFacebookInstagram
30Christian TurnerSeavey's IdidarideWebsiteFacebookInstagram
31Aaron PeckElevation Sled DogsWebsiteFacebookInstagram
32Michael Williams, Jr.Mike Williams KennelFacebook
33Peter KaiserKaiser RacingWebsiteFacebookInstagramTwitter
34Deke NaaktgeborenNautique Sky KennelWebsiteFacebookInstagram
BibNameKennelLinkLinkLinkLink

Who are you cheering for? Who do you have on your fantasy team? Comment below with your picks and your favorites! And, as always, if you like what you see and want to support my addiction (I mean HOBBY) of following these races and stalking (I mean cheering on) the mushers, you can buy me a slice of pizza (that really goes to paying for my internet/web expenses).