Before the racing of the Willow Junior 100 got underway on Friday afternoon, Doug Ruzicka had a couple rule changes to announce to the mushers. This year, no cell phones are allowed, he warned. And when the mushers arrive at the halfway point, they are not allowed to talk to their parents.“This is the only time before you’re an adult that you can say to your parents ‘get away’,” he said.Ruzicka explained that help from parents, by phone or on the trail, would violate the rules restricting outside assistance, and they’ve had just that problem in recent years. Though it might be understandable that parents would want to help, junior racing tries to give up-and-comers the chance to work through challenges on their own and demonstrate good dog care. They’re here to gain that experience, organizers say.Read more here: http://community.adn.com/adn/node/159746
