Iditarod 2009: Pre-Ceremonial Start

Okay! Here is a video of the action before the Ceremonial Start. It’s impossible to describe — or even show — what it’s really like to have almost a thousand dogs — and many thousands of people — in such a small area, but I think this will give you the flavor of it. As you will see, there is a lot going on for everybody on the SP Kennel teams. The handlers are constantly busy getting the dogs ready, and the mushers are just as busy with sponsors, friends, fans and the media. In some ways it’s just another race for such an experienced team, and in other ways it’s like nothing else in the world!

For those of you who have asked why there are two sleds behind each team, I think the answer is somewhere in these videos but I’ll elaborate here just a bit: Twelve Iditarod dogs — especially when they are hyped up on the excitement of 4th street — are so powerful that they are almost impossible to hold back with just the brakes on one sled. To keep them under positive control, two sleds are hooked up behind them to double the braking power. In addition to the two sleds and two mushers, there is an Iditarider in the front sled and additional ballast in the second sled. So, if you “do the math”, you will figure out that just twelve dogs are pulling almost a thousand pounds… And the mushers still have to be on the brakes the whole way!

This may give you some idea of what it will be like tomorrow when 16 dogs take off with just one sled, one musher and a “race load” of cargo. As Allen has said, “It’s like a carnival ride that you’ll never forget!” But that’s tomorrow… Right now you can catch up on today!… Enjoy!