The Iditarod is fast approaching and we are excited!
This week we are taking all the dogs on their final runs and making last minute preparations for the race. Just like any elite athlete training for a big event, their final runs are not long training runs, rather shorter stretch-out runs as they taper off ready for the race start on Monday.
Our timetable for this week is as follows:
On Wednesday afternoon Aliy and Allen fly to Anchorage and attend sponsor events that evening.
Thursday morning is taken up with sponsor events and then musher meetings, while the dogs and the rest of the crew drive to Anchorage. Even though the re-start is in Fairbanks, every dog must be present in Anchorage for the final vet identification checks and the ceremonial start (not all dogs run in the ceremonial start but must be present none-the-less, this makes it fair on all teams whether they are locals or have travelled far).
On Thursday evening we attend the Iditarod Bib Draw and Starter's Banquet at 6pm at the Dena’ina Center. At the same time the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame presents Aliy with the Trajan Langdon Award - we will split the crew between the two events.
On Friday we have some sponsor activities during the day then there will be a Meet and Greet with Aliy, Allen, a few dogs and the crew on Friday from 4.00-5.30pm at the Crowne Plaza. We look forward to meeting some of you there! After that, the crew then zooms off to attend another sponsor event in the evening.
Of course, in between all these events we feed, walk and spend quality time with the dogs!
Saturday morning is the Ceremonial Start on 4th Avenue. It starts at 10am but teams will be at their trucks in the surrounding area from about 8am. Drop by to say Hi! We always enjoy the Ceremonial Start as it is a celebration of the race and our dogs; fans, supporters and sponsors. We love to see everyone lining the streets waving and clapping and being as excited as we are about the start of the race.
On Saturday afternoon, once the Ceremonial run is complete, we all pile back into the trucks and head up the Parks Highway for home.
Sunday we'll close the kennel to all visitors, phone calls, emails and other contact as we stretch out the dogs for their final short run and pack the trucks and sleds. This is "game face" time for the entire crew. We'll give our canine and human athletes a nice dinner then let them get a good night's rest. This year we are looking forward to having everyone be able sleep in their own beds the night before the race.
The race Re-Start is on Monday morning at 10am on (or near) the Chena River in west Fairbanks. We'll maybe see some of you there!
The crew sees the team again at the Nenana checkpoint but after that Aliy, Allen and our canine friends are gone from us for a while. We will follow remotely by Iditarod Insider trackers and videos and from the reporters that are covering the race - just like you all.
Are you ready? We sure are!
Edit: we have just heard we do not have to take every dog to Anchorage for the ceremonial start. The ceremonial teams must be chosen from the 37 dogs we had vet checked but those dogs are not required to be in the re-start team on Monday. Once a dog has run for one musher on the ceremonial run they may not transfer to another musher - stay tuned as there may be some surprises in the Ceremonial squads! Team rosters will be posted the night before or the day of the race!