Maple Park Girl Sees the Iditarod Up Close
Take a self-proclaimed “country girl,” her love of dogs and outdoor sports, and her love of Alaska, and you get Olivia Goodenough’s dream vacation: riding in the legendary Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.But the 11-year-old Maple Park girl’s maturity made the trip last week even better than planned: She was…
Chugiak Man Wrote the Book on Iditarod history
Chugiak’s Rod Perry wrote the book on the history of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race.Perry, who ran the original race in 1973, recently published his first-hand account of the trials and tribulations faced by the race’s early founders. Entitled “TrailBreakers Volume II: Pioneering Alaska’s Iditarod – Founding the Last…
Less Than One Second Separates Eight-dog Leaders in Limited North American Championships
After two days of racing and 22 miles on the trail, Jennifer Probert and Christian Taveau are less than a second apart atop the eight-dog class of the Alaska Dog Mushers Association Limited North American Championships.After Taveau won Friday’s first heat at the Jeff Studdert Racegrounds by a mere 0.2…
Better Late Than Never – Paige Drobny Wins Yukon Quest Sportsmanship Award
Normally the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race awards its sportsmanship award at the finish banquet at the end of the race. It’s one of a handful of awards that are given out at banquet and the only award selected by other mushers.But this year wasn’t normal. Mushers forgot to…
Elder of Iditarod Trail, 71-year-old Jim Lanier keeps Five-decade Career Going
If you happen to find yourself at an Iditarod checkpoint and notice someone walking around wearing hockey gear, you’ll have spotted race elder Jim Lanier, 71. He got tired of getting beat up and started wearing the protective padding about two years ago – not a bad idea considering the…
After Years in the Cold, are Women’s Iditarod Fortunes Reviving?
Even today, the T-shirt slogan faintly echos: “Where men are men and women win the Iditarod.”After Libby Riddles won the 1985 Iditarod and the late Susan Butcher followed up by dominating with four victories in the next five years, T-shirts proclaiming women’s stranglehold on Last Great Race were seen throughout…
Analyst: One Tactic that could win the 2012 Iditarod
As the Iditarod leaders arrive here in Unalakleet this morning and prepare for the long push up the Norton Sound coast, there’s one tactic that may emerge.You’ve already seen it once before in this race. The decision by Aliy Zirkle to ignore checkpoint rests and break up the run from…
Day 8: Zirkle gets Gold; Seavey, Burmeister get closer
Though Dallas Seavey and Aaron Burmeister made sure she didn’t have the place to herself for very long, Aliy Zirkle couldn’t have gotten a better greeting Sunday morning in Unalakleet.Her husband, Allen Moore, was there to meet here, as were two representatives from Wells Fargo, who presented her with $2,500…
Iditarod Becomes Test of Stamina for Leaders
The Yukon River can be dull for a dog.No twists and turns. Just a flat, snowy desert interrupted by islands of spruce and willow trees. Scenery that can lull a musher to sleep after seven days on the Iditarod Trail.”About five miles ago we had a collective ‘Holy crumb, we’re…
As Iditarod lead teams slow down, will a young gun make a move?
Whether you are a casual observer of Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race or a true mush-a-holic, this year’s race is shaping up as one of the most exciting in recent history. A lead group of 15 talented mushers and strong dog teams is driving toward the finish in Nome, separated…