ID 2020: Lead Up and Coverage Guide

In only a few days Aliy and her 14 team mates will be out on the Iditarod trail heading towards Nome. There is a bunch of stuff for them to do before that happens.

Wednesday

Wednesday is the final run for the team, they will head out for a short stretch out before their adventure really starts. Aliy, Allen, Doug and Moira head to Anchorage after that to attend a sponsor function on Wednesday night.

Thursday

Karolyn and Ryan will drive 16 athletes down to Anchorage in Hollywood on Thursday. They’ll stop along the way for the team look at the scenery (and perhaps do their ablutions), then arrive in time for a meal and walk around before the humans head to the banquet. They’ll get out of the truck later on for more snacks and walks before bed.

Aliy will attend musher meetings on Thursday morning. The mushers meet the officials and vet crews and hear about the trail and other logistics for the race. It’s also the first time many of them will see each other since this time last year, or meet some of the rookies for the first time.

Thursday afternoon/evening the humans head to the Denina centre for the Musher Meet and Greet then the start banquet and bib draw. This will be where Aliy will draw her start bib number and we’ll know what time the team will leave the start chute on Saturday in downtown Anchorage and then on Sunday in Willow.

This year the Iditarod’s poster is of Aliy’s team on the Norton Sound near the Koyuk checkpoint in 2018. It’s a spectacular shot by Jeff Schultz (as are all of his images). This will be available to everyone coming to the Meet and Greet so make sure you pick one up if you are coming! (Note: These are not available by post)

Friday

Friday is something of a down day for the dogs – they will eat and rest and walk around. They’ll also get their race tags which is kind of a big deal. It’s a fairly quiet day for the humans also.

Saturday

Saturday is Funday (I know that doesn’t rhyme but I couldn’t think of an appropriate phrase. Any ideas? Let me know in the comments below and I’ll use the best one on Saturday night when I update you on the festivities).

The Ceremonial Start kicks off on 4th Avenue in Downtown Anchorage at 10am. Thousands of spectators, fans and supporters line the streets in a celebration of the amazing dogs and this wonderful event. The teams mush about 11 miles through streets and trails, ending at Campbell Creek airstrip. Aliy will have her Idita-rider in her sled and Allen will ride the tag sled.

If you are in Anchorage on Saturday stop by the truck to say ‘Hi’.

We will let you know the roster for the 12 dog team for the Ceremonial Start on Saturday morning.

Sunday

Sunday is all business. As fun as Thursday evening and Saturday are when we get to meet so many fans and supporters, Saturday night and Sunday are when Aliy enters race mode. Sunday morning we travel in convoy to Willow Lake and ready the team for their grand adventure to Nome. The re-start in Willow kicks off at 2pm.

We will let you know the final race roster for the 14 dog team to Nome on Sunday morning. Note: we are bringing 16 down to Anchorage so the final make up may be different to the Ceremonial Start team from Saturday.

Coverage Guide

We have SP Kennel focused coverage right here, also on our Facebook page and Instagram. We may have some Twitter activity also, can’t promise anything though. We will write a morning and evening update, then if anything significant happens during the day we’ll do extra posts, particularly near the end of the race.

If you can, we do recommend getting an Insider subscription to follow the GPS and videos from the trail. We will try to update you all but the GPS will keep you up-to-the-minute. We check the current standings frequently also, although that doesn’t show the full picture and mushers often rest outside of checkpoints. The Iditarod Facebook page will have some content as well as their Instagram and Twitter. Their website has lots of useful information including blogs from several people following the race with different perspectives, maps, history and some great resources for classrooms. It is worth taking a look around.

Local TV news channels and media will also be covering the race with reporters travelling the trail to bring us stories and news. I’ll link stories when I can. There are a bunch of Iditarod forums on Facebook, there are so many so I won’t link but you can take a look and find one that you like.

We’re looking forward to getting our team out on the trail and following along with you all. Go team!