At the Iditarod Prizegiving and Finish Banquet each musher gets an opportunity to tell trail stories and thank sponsors, supporters and family. Here are a few snippets from Aliy’s and Allen’s speeches.
Snippets from Aliy’s speech
Snippets from Allen’s speech
Not sure how well you can hear Allen’s speech but he tells us about his interesting experience just before the Iditarod checkpoint where, in the course of catching up with his team, he pulled a hamstring! He completed the rest of the race, over 500 more miles, on just one leg!
Stay tuned for part two of Aliy’s speech where she tells us about a significant moment on the trail that changed the course of her race.
Half the human team and all the canine team are on the way home to Two Rivers. We loaded 23 dogs and two sleds onto an NAC flight bound for Anchorage this morning where Allen and Meghan, who flew out to Anchorage early this morning, will pick them up and drive them home from there.
You will see in the pictures each dog is in an individual crate and they are safely secured onto a pallet before being loaded onto the plane. Everyone was very calm and they settled in to their crates comfortably, even those that had never done this before. They will be in Anchorage in just a couple of hours.
Clockwise from top left: Bonita, Tatfish, Fang and Clyde get loaded, weighed and on their way
Aliy and Moira fly to Fairbanks later today and will arrive home about the same time as the rest of the team. Phew! Thanks Nome, it’s been great!
The Finishers’ Banquet and Prizegiving for the 2013 Iditarod was held this evening at the Nome Recreation Centre and there was a massive crowd. The major awards were given out and each finishing musher was given an opportunity to speak to thank supporters and sponsors and tell a few tales from the trail. The general theme for the evening was that this race was “challenging” and that there were many, many good teams out there. Congratulations to all of the award winners!
Allen and Aliy with Aliy’s second place trophy
The crowd at the Nome Rec Centre tonight
I’ll work on some video and get it to you in the next couple of days.
Soon after Aliy crossed the line in Nome she and Mitch Seavey were whisked away to a press conference to tell a few tales and answer some questions. I have pulled out a few snippets from Aliy – even sleep deprived and exhausted she is still gracious, funny and smiling.
The Prizegiving and Banquet is being held tonight and I will bring you some snippets from that as soon as I can.
Mary Beth from the Adirondacks estimated Allen would arrive at 9.04am on Thursday and Allen arrived at exactly 9.04am! Congratulations Mary Beth, Koyuk (the stuffed toy husky) is on his way to you from Nome.
We didn’t tell you about “Nome” – a fifth sibling in this toy litter. Everyone who entered the three competitions during the race was put into a random draw to win him. Here’s a picture of “Nome” under the Burled Arch.
Lourdes from Vermont is the lucky winner – we’ll get him on his way to you soon. Congratulations!
Thank you to everyone who entered. It has been fun.
Here are a few pics of the Black Team yesterday. Allen visited to say ‘Hi’ and they were so pleased to see him! They have had some good rest and today are very perky!
Tatfish is just… Tatfish, even at rest!; Bonita couldn’t wait for her crate to be set up and settled in to the extra straw next door
Fang relaxing and looking handsome; Spicy the Spice Girl getting some well earned rest
Yesterday Aliy went down to the dog lot to say ‘Hi’ to her team mates. I caught some of it on film:
Aliy spends time with Quito in the dog lot
Some of you are wondering about the dog lot? The dog lot is a secure, quiet and sheltered area just 100 yards from the finish chute. Iditarod volunteers man the secure dog lot 24 hours a day to ensure everyone is safe. We visit several times a day and during the night to check on them, feed and snack them, massage them or just to say ‘Hi’, happy in the knowledge they are safe and secure when we’re not there. It is a restful place to be, despite teams coming and going every now and again – there is a calmness about it as teams rest and mushers/handlers quietly get on with their tasks at hand. We’re all a little tempted to take our sleeping bags down there!
Note: update on our dropped dogs – Boondocks, Honda, Puppet, Waylon and Rambler have all arrived back in Anchorage and they’re all fine and happy to be around familiar faces having spent a few extra nights out on the trail. “Team Miller” picked them up from Dog Drop HQ at the Millennium hotel and they’re now with Margie in Wasilla along with Dingle and Kipper so they will all be enjoying her fabulous hospitality and taking time to catch up with their mates. Thanks Team Miller and Margie! We appreciate the great care you are taking of those so precious to us.
