Iditarod

I truly apologize for not writing more about the Iditarod. I have had my eyes riveted on my GPS tracker and have, therefore, neglected the blog. Now that the team is well under way, I can fill everyone in.
The race officially started on Sunday, March 4th. The day before, the ceremonial start took place in Anchorage. This is just a "circus" for the masses. The teams consist of 12 dogs and they run for about 11 miles to Campbell Airstrip. The real race begins the following day from Willow, AK.
At 2:06pm Alaska Standard Time on March 4th, Bill and the team took off from the start. He picked Bib #4, so he was able to leave at the very beginning of the pack. This was very beneficial, as the dogs didn't stand around feeding off the anxious energy. Also, this means that Bill had to take a longer mandatory break in order to compensate for his early start time. 16 dogs left Willow: Rincon, Attla, Daikon, Kiana, Juno, Spit, Spur, Spirit, Luma, Osiris, Kobuk, Kayenta, Zion, Hudson, Oly, and Lynx.

Daikon and Rincon
Kobuk and Hudson

The dogs took off with their usual energy. He raced straight through the night and took about 6 hours at each checkpoint to recuperate. This pace has continued for the past week. The team has averaged around 8mph, even through the harsh terrain in the Denali Wilderness. At Finger Lake checkpoint, Bill dropped 2 dogs. A third was dropped at Rainy Pass. This is typical in the race, but I inevitably freaked out for a bit. All three dogs are fine; Lynx, Zion, and Kobuk were flown back to Anchorage to recuperate. I don't know the exact reason for the dog drop; however, I can postulate that Lynx was dropped due to a pulled muscle that had aggravated him the week before the race, Zion was dropped because he's just too big to keep up the fast pace, and Kobuk was dropped due to the mental stress of the race. All I know for sure is that the pups are ok and that is all I really care about.
Since the drop, Bill has completed his mandatory 24 hour rest at Takotna checkpoint. His wife, Jodi, was able to fly in for the day to visit the team. I'm sure this was a serious morale booster for both Bill and the dogs. From the pictures that I've seen, it looks like the dogs slept straight through the day on their little piles of straw. From Takotna, Bill moved on to Ophir and Cripple checkpoints. It looks like he's dropped another 2 dogs in Cripple, but I have yet to hear news on who and why. Right now, he is at mile 440 and headed towards Ruby checkpoint. My eyes have been glued to the GPS tracker, noting every movement and every rest.

Coming into Takotna Checkpoint. Attla in lead!

The next part of the race consists of tundra and ocean. They'll be battling high winds, massive drifts of snow, and ice that allows little purchase. I am still very nervous for my dogs, but I know that Bill is putting them first. He is the type of musher that truly cares about his team. If he notices that they are laboring even a little bit, he will take them out of the race. I respect this attitude way more than a musher that is willing to do anything to win. The Iditarod isn't just about winning. It's about being in the wilderness with a team of dogs that you have spent countless hours raising and training. It's about relying on these amazing animals to run through blizzards and face the dark of night. It's about seeing the dogs that I have come to love so much run their little paws out with a massive grin on their face.