Iditarod Lead Up

This time next week Aliy and her 14 team mates will have been on the Iditarod Trail for over a day. It seems to have taken forever to get here but this last week will go by in a flash. Here’s what’s going on…

Between now and Wednesday Aliy and Allen will be taking all the potential Iditarod dogs out for their final runs on local trails. Aliy will narrow her team down to 15 or 16 during this time. She can take 14 with her on the race – a decrease from the 16 dogs allowed in previous years and she currently has 20 in the running.

Aliy, Allen and Moira head to Anchorage Wednesday evening for a sponsor function and ready for Aliy to attend the musher meeting on Thursday morning. There the mushers will learn about the trail, logistics for the start and restart and other critical info for them to embark on their adventure. It will be the first time all the mushers will be in the same place at the same time and many won’t have seen each other since the Finish Banquet in Nome last year.

During the day on Thursday Karolyn and Mark will drive Hollywood down to Anchorage with their precious cargo, probably 15 or 16 dogs so Aliy can make her final decision on Sunday morning.

Thursday afternoon is the only “Musher Meet and Greet” opportunity for the public. It will be at 4pm in the Dena’ina Civic & Convention Center and there will be merchandise available to purchase and free posters that you can get Aliy and other mushers to sign. There is no other face-to-face opportunity for signatures so I recommend heading along there if you’d like to meet Aliy. More info at the Iditarod website (click red link)

Later that evening at 6pm, is the Start Banquet. This is an opportunity for all mushers to get up on stage to thank family, friends and sponsors and to draw their starting position. More merchandise and posters are available at this event but there will be no musher signing stations as there have been in previous years – this has been replaced with the ‘meet and greet’ at 4pm.

Friday is a down day, set aside for final preparations. We have a sponsor event in the morning but other than that it is a chance for us to give the dogs (and Aliy) some final pampering before their cross-state expedition. We are staying privately so won’t have any public dog greeting opportunities while in Anchorage.

Saturday morning is the carnivalesque Ceremonial Start on 4th Avenue. The first musher leaves at 10am then every two minutes after that another will leave the chute. There are several fantastic spectator vantage points throughout the 11 miles to Campbell Airstrip so keep an eye on the Anchorage Daily News this week as they are sure to have some information about the best places to go. Aliy will take up to 12 dogs with her and Allen will ride the tag sled. This event is all about fun! You can come by the truck to say “Hi” prior to the start and to see the dogs.

Sunday is game-day. The fun and celebration of the Ceremonial Start is put aside for the serious business of racing proper. The first team will leave the start chute on Willow Lake at 2pm with mushers joining them on the trail every two minutes after that. This staggered start time differential is made up at the mandatory 24 hour rest – where ever the musher chooses to take it. Aliy will take the maximum 14 dogs with her as she leaves Willow.

Sunday evening is where we all come in. Aliy told me she is aware we are watching the tracker as it inches it’s way along the trail. She can feel the support and good vibes, so get ready to send your best wishes out into the universe!