The Iditarod has been won, with the top five finishers of: Mitch Seavy, Ally Zirkle, Jeff King, Dallas Seavy and Ray Reddington Jr. It looked to be an exciting race as it was the 4th closest finish in history. Just as a side note, and in case you haven't read comments on other posts, Mitch is the oldest driver to ever win the Iditarod (at 53 yrs old). This is the second time Ally has come in second - she came in second last year. And, by the way, she is a new Hampshire native (who relocated to Alaska). Jeff King is even older than Seavy, and has won the Iditarod multiple times. Dallas Seavy is the son of Mitch, and he was as the youngest to ever win in last year's race.
The Iditarod is not over, there are still two teams running: Bob Chlupach is at White Mountain and Christine Roalofs (rookie) is at Elim. The race is not over until everyone has either finished or scratched. There is a great celebration when the last team rolls in and they get the Red Latern award.
There are still many interesting stories to read. There is the insider story of dropped dogs (dogs that are sick, injured, or just don't want to run any more are left at checkpoints). There is the story of the all white dog team, Lanier's Northern Whites, fielded by a guy that has run 16 Iditarod's, and he has run a race in every decade that the Iditarod has been run in. There are pictures from the Finish Line.
From other sources (Alaska Daily News), there are other stories: The Long Journey of May, a dog that got loose and retraced the trail and was found several hundred miles from where she got loose - amazingly in fairly good condition. There is the story of Cym Smith, who had to stop shortly before the end of the race because his lead dog got confused - he replaced the lead dog with his oldest and slowest dog, and caught up to Paul Gephardt who had passed him while the lead dog change was taking place.
Lots of good stories and pictures galore at both sites, so go take a look and marvel at the athletes and their feats.
Thanks for the great stories, Bogie. I loved the one about May.
Posted by: buffy | March 17, 2013 at 10:35 AM