Iditarod – Thank Yous

Thank you all so very much for your support during the Iditarod. We hope you enjoyed following along with us – we enjoyed bring you coverage and reading all your comments. Thanks to everyone that read, liked, shared or commented. We love that so many of you were engaged with us and with each other. Our goal is to get good, positive and truthful information out “there” and you all helped with that.

We have a number of thank yous to make:

To the many fans and supporters of the race and of SP Kennel. We appreciate your support more than you know. Thanks to our Dog Sponsors, Kennel VIPS and Champions, Red Team and Black Team members, Dog Fan Club members and those who donated to SP Kennel and our dogs. You are all part of the SPK Family and we couldn’t do it without you.

Thank you to all of you who helped Gear Up The Dogs for the Iditarod: Sudevi and Ryan Burich, Mary Duffy, Mika Labrador, Diane Michaels, Sue King Mills, Gaye Morgan-Walton, Becky Pacas, Heidi Phillips, Debbi and David Robinson, Connie Ziegler, Lisa Barricella, Marilyn Cozzens, Kathleen Devore, Sissy and Scooter Freeman, Michelle Wheeler, Leanna Anderson, Val Lycette, Beth and Mike Metcalf, Ann and Tom Shillington, Andrea Trzaskos, Metta Canez, Debi Riley, Beemer and Viper Eckhoff, Chemo and Team Adirondack, The Straw Ladies (Charlene and Lisa), Barbara Thompson, Vivian and Greg Martin, Nancy Diersen.

Thanks to our handler crew Jeff, Sheila, Mark, Bridgett and Moira. And to Linda, Barbara, Jennifer, Scotty, Padee, Lindsay, Will, Ian, Rebecca, Chris and Rodney for helping at the Ceremonial Start and Willow Restart.

To our family of major sponsors: Matson, Verizon Alaska, Bob Huston, Comfort Inn Ship’s Creek, Pleasant Valley Store, North Pole Vet, T Rose Vet, Head-lites.com, Howling Dog Alaska and Kenai Satellite Phone Rentals.

To Linda and Midnight for taking such good care of our benched and returned team mates. They looked quite at home! It is a relief for us to know they are being so well loved.

Thanks to Barbara for all the beautiful pictures you took of our teams.

To Clare for making all of Aliy’s trail bars. I don’t know if you caught her Facebook Live interview but those was about all she ate for 10 days out on the trail: Clare’s Bars and Mountain House.

Thank you to the Iditarod Trail Commitee and staff for staging the race. All that you do behind the scenes is probably little known but much appreciated. To the Iditarod Airforce for getting the supply bags into the checkpoint and for getting our returned dogs out. To the race judges and officials, a thankless task at times. Special thanks to the Trail Crew and trail sweeps, without the work you did before and during the race no one was going anywhere!

Thanks also to the Insider crew, the photographers and those writing for the Iditarod website for bring the race to us. Most of us can’t follow the mushers along the trail so we love to see your images and read your words about our loved ones. You bring the race alive for us.

To the hundreds and hundreds of race volunteers – whether you helped bag the straw pre-race, updated the current standings on the website, sold a T-shirt, checked mushers in or out of checkpoints, cooked them eggs and bacon, raked up the straw after our dogs slept, took care of our benched and returned dogs or sold raffle tickets. That you want to spend your own free time or vacation to support the race, some of you year after year, is amazing to us. Thank you.

Thanks all to the villages, towns and individuals who host the race, the mushers and their dogs as they move along the trail. We are so thankful to you for letting them all pass through your land and welcoming them so warmly.

Sincere thanks to the veterinarian and vet-tech team led by Dr Stuart Nelson. Your support for all the teams prior to and during the race is invaluable. Your love, care and attention for our athletes is obvious to all and we are greatful for your advice and guidance about the health of our team.

The Iditarod Race Sponsors are a special bunch. Thanks to all of you who continue to support and stand beside the Last Great Race.

That’s not the end of our Iditarod coverage. Aliy took a bunch of video and photos out on the trail and we’ll share them with you over the next few weeks.