Lance Seizes the Lead

Lance heading out on the Iditarod Trail from the Willow Re-Start on Sunday, photo by Helen Hegener, Northern Light Media.

According to his Comeback Kennel website, Lance's team includes: Larry (Team Dog), Chucko (Team Dog), BoyCuz (Team Dog), Maple (Leader), Rapper (WheelDog), Tulasak (Team Dog), Pimp (Wheel), Dred (Leader) Rev (Leader), Battel (Leader), Niki (Team), Lippy (Leader), Shasta (Team ), Zena (Leader), Pauly (Wheel/Team)

From Lance's site: He still has 16 healthy, happy dogs running in his team. Four of those dogs are rookies to this years Iditarod trail. They have done good, trained well and now they have accomplished running over half the Iditarod trail. He couldn't be happier. "It's like watching your kids grow up and do well" he says" there's a certain amount of pride taken in watching them excel"

Iditarod Updates

Jon Little's Trail Notes:

Only Lance Mackey can lose about an hour getting lost at the end of a long run, and not have it effect his race much. Mackey is in control of this race now, the earliest he ever taken charge. Now the question is, can anybody challenge him?

Josh Rogers' Iditablog:

The question now shifts to if either Seavey, King, or Neff will be able to make up the distance between them, and Lance Mackey. Hugh Neff is facing some pretty formitable competitors in a hunt for his first victory, Jeff King is searching for a 5th Iditarod Championship, and Mitch Seavey is looking for his second.

Anchorage Daily News:

Mackey on Friday fell asleep on his sled during a 25-mile run from Shageluk to the Yukon River town of Anvik, took a wrong turn and cost his team a couple of hours, briefly sapping its spirit.

But by Saturday morning Mackey's 16-dog freight train was rolling again. He reached Eagle Island at 8:33 a.m., and an hour later he was still alone there.

Mitch Seavy Wins the Kusko 300

Mike Campbell reported for this morning's Anchorage Daily News:

Seavey early this morning wrapped up his second consecutive Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog Race, coming from behind on the last stretch to win in 38 hours, 30 minutes, just eight minutes faster than Martin Buser of Big Lake.

Jeff King of Denali Park, who led earlier Monday, slipped to third, 90 minutes behind Seavey.

Seavey's second consecutive Kusko victory was his third overall in the world's richest middle-distance sled dog race, earning him $20,000 of the $100,000 purse. Only King, who has won eight times in Bethel, owns more Kusko titles.

The Kuskokwim 300 site has complete race updates.

Klondike 300 postponed until Monday

The Klondike 300 has been postponed until Monday. From the site:

WE HAVE 18 MUSHERS SIGNED UP. AND WE DISCUSSED WITH THE DOG MUSHERS OF ALL THE OPTIONS WE HAD (AND THERE WEREN'T TO MANY OF THEM). WE DISCUSSED THE TRAIL SITUATION AND THAT PART CAN BE DEALT WITH. THE RIVERS HOWEVER ARE A WHOLE DIFFERENT STORY, WHEN I SPOKE WITH RON FROM DESHKA HE SAID IN A FEW HOURS THE 2 INCHES OF OVERFLOW ON THE MAIN TRAILS ON THE RIVER TURNED INTO 4 INCHES IN SEVERAL AREAS. WHEN HE GOT OFF THE PACKED TRAIL 8 INCHES OF WATER. WE LET THE MUSHERS DECIDE ON STARTING ON SUNDAY OR MONDAY AS THE WEATHER IS "PREDICTED" AS COLDER.
THE MAJORITY THOUGHT MONDAY AT 10 AM WOULD BE THE START. PAT PATTERSON AND I PLAN TO RIDE THE RIVER SATURDAY AND SEE FOR OURSELVES WHAT THE SITUATION IS AND HOW TO PROCEED FROM THERE, AND I'LL POST IT HERE ASAP. BEN KLEINENBERG

Mushers signed up for the Klondike 300, in starting order:

1. JESSICA HENDRICKS, TWO RIVERS .AK
2. CARMEN PERZECHINO, STERLING, AK
3. BECCA MOORE, MONTANA CR. AK
4. MATT HAYASHIDA, WILLOW, AK
5. ABBY WEST, TWO RIVERS, AK.
6. RAMY SMITH, WILLOW, AK
7. WADE MARRS, WASILLA, AK
8. LOUIS BISSONNETTE, TWO RIVER, AK
9. JEN SEAVEY, STERLING, AK
10. KRISTY BERINGTRON, KASILOF, AK.
11. RAY REDINGTON JR., WASILLA, AK.
12. CIM SMYTH, BIG LAKE, AK.
13. RYAN REDINGTON, WASILLA, AK.
14. WATTIE DONALD, SCOTLAND
15. STEVE GIEGER, WILLOW, AK.
16. JESSE ROYER, FAIRBANKS, AK.
17. MIKE BARNETT, SCOTLAND
18. DON KADUCE, FAIRBANKS, AK.

Link to CB300 Start Photos

Start photos for the Copper Basin 300 are posted at the Northern Light Media Journal.

10:00 Monday update: three mushers resting at the Sourdough checkpoint: Lance Mackey, Sven Haltmann, and Hans Gatt.

Gin Gin 200

2008 Gin Gin race poster

The Gin Gin 200 is a 200 mile race along the snow-packed Denali Highway from Paxon Lodge to MacLaren River Lodge and back. The race site explains the name of the race:

The Gin Gin 200 is named after a remarkable dog who dominated a dog kennel for over 10 years. She was an inspiration both on the trail and in the dog yard. She was a dog with unswerving loyalty and stubbornness. She did not know” quit”. Her ability, drive and attitude should serve as an example to dog drivers everywhere.

Relevant links include general Race Information and Rules, the Mushers entered, and the Race Blog.

Libby Riddles Riding the Rose Parade Float

Libby Riddles, the first woman to win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, will ride a dogsled on Alaska's 50th anniversary of statehood float. The float, designed and created by Fiesta Parade Floats, is slated to appear in the famous New Year's Day Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, and will feature five large masks made of flowers, moss and dried blueberries, representing the five cultural groups in Alaska.

Libby Riddles won the 1985 Iditarod, making race history as she became the first woman to win after a bold move across Norton Sound in a whiteout blizzard. Libby was honored by Iditarod veterinarians with the 1985 Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian Award for the treatment of her dogs, and her lead dogs, Dugan and Sister, also won the 1985 Golden Harness Award.

The theme for the 2009 Rose Parade is Hats Off to Entertainment: a collection of the world's greatest entertainers, both past and present. The parade route is 5.5 miles long, and there are generally 45 to 50 floats, each , 20 or more marching bands, and many equestrian teams. Each float is around 60 feet long and many feature computer-driven hydraulics and animation, while the surface of each float is covered entirely with natural materials such as flowers, seeds, bark and leaves.

The first Tournament of Roses parade was staged in 1890, patterned after the "Battle of Flowers" in Nice, France. More than 1 million spectators are expected to line the parade route through Pasadena, with more than 40 million television viewers.