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Hardcore Huskies Newsletter 08 Race Edition.pdf [ Archive ] |
| Macky Leads Iditarod 36 | Sun, Mar. 2nd, 2008 | |
The first mushers have gone through the Yentna Station checkpoint and Lance mackey was the first to arrive and leave staying for only five minutes. He made the trip from Willow in just over 3.5 hours. Jim Lanier was the second out of Yentna only one minute behind Mackey. One of Heathers traveling partners from last eyar, Bruce Linton, was shown in 5th place, 11 minutes behind Mackey.
Heather and the Hardcore Team should arrive in Yentna within the hour.
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| THEY’RE OFF! | Sun, Mar. 2nd, 2008 | |
Heather and the Hardcore Team are officially on their way to Nome. Just after 3:30 AKST (7:30 PM EST) Heather and the 16 member team left Willow and are on the way to the first checkpoint at Yentna Station.
Her dad, Jim Siirtola, with her at the starting line, said “She and the 16 dogs were grinning from ear to ear as they left.” Jim added that Heather was lined up near team Norway in the staging area.
We talked to Heather just a short time before she left the re-start and she seemed energetic but also at ease.
“I really want to improve my time from last year and I think I can do that,” said confident Heather. “I won’t be spending as much time in the checkpoints this year.”
Heather was also excited because she said that yesterday she was only passed by one team on the way to the Campbell Airstrip while last year lots of teams passed her during the 11 mile run from Anchorage.
“My team looks good and we are ready to get on the trail and get going,” said Heather
The 16 dogs selected for the race are:
Dolly, Kitty, Shadow, Wyatt, Fast Eddy, Tweaty, Piggy, Earp, SnoGo, Chewy, Diamond, Bruner, Dexter, Minnie, Dixie, and Koven.
The first leg of the race takes the mushers from the official re-start in Willow to the Yentna Station checkpoint, about 42 miles. The trail begins on Willow Lake and winds through typical northern forests, consisting of alternating birch woods and spruce swamps. Most of the trail is flat to gently rolling hills. Most of the hills are around the Susitna River. The Yentna Station Checkpoint is located at the confluence of the Susitna and Yentna Rivers.
Last year Heather took 4 hours and 11 minutes to complete this first leg of the race.
When the mushers arrive at the checkpoint, the veterinarians and checkers will meet the teams by the river. The checkpoint is actually the home of the Gabryczak family who has been running the lodge for many years.
There is cold water by the lodge kitchen and a warm plate of spaghetti waiting for those mushers who want to take a break. Last year Heather stayed at the Yentna checkpoint for nearly 3 and a half hours.
The race this year officially measures about 1112 miles. When Heather and the Team arrive in Yentna they will have 997 miles left to get to Nome.
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| Hardcore Team Sled dog profile - EARP | Sun, Mar. 2nd, 2008 | |
By the time the Iditarod restart gets under way later today, some 96 mushers should be on the trail, which means there will be more than 1,500 dogs loping and trotting northwest from Willow, on the same trail and within three hours of each other. (It’s enough to make you feel sorry for the checkers at the first checkpoint, Yentna, who have to cope with all these dog teams pretty much at once, roughly four hours into the race.)
There isn’t a musher on the Iditarod trail that weekend who doesn’t think at least one of his or her dogs is something special, or who doesn’t have some kind of friendship with one of those canines in harness, charging up the trail.
Throughout this year’s Iditarod, Iditarod reporter Jon Little hopes to post a few quick profiles of some of those dogs, selected from a mixed bunch of dog teams, from front runners to the back of the pack.
Seeing images of these dogs may burst bubbles for a few fans, those who imagine that all sled dogs look as magnificent as Karen Ramstead’s AKC-registered Siberian huskies. Jon says he hates to break it to those fans, but most racing huskies don’t look like Hollywood stereotypes. Most look like the skinny, flop-eared mongrels (by kennel club standards) that they are; or what lovers of these dogs have coined, “Alaskan huskies.” Do not misunderstand, Alaskan huskies are not pet dogs commandeered off the street. The breed has been developed over the last 100 years by racing mushers from all over the northern hemisphere, although the heart of the work was centered in Alaska. Much like a Chesapeake retriever will cheerfully dive into a lake for hours on end, these huskies love to run.
Today Jon unvails the profile of one of the members of Heather’s Hardcore Team, EARP
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| Heather is off and on the Trail! | Sat, Mar. 1st, 2008 | |
Just moments ago Heather and the Hardcore Team left the starting line of the ceremonial start of the 2008 Iditarod and are now on the way to Nome!
Just before her start, Heather talked with Megan Baldino, a reporter for KTUU TV, the NBC affiliate in Anchorage, Alaska. Megan asked Heather what she learned from running in last year’s race.
“I learned I need to get out of the checkpoints a lot faster and not to lollygag,” said Heather.
Heather was also asked about what surprised her about her team and she said “What surprised me the most was that they are in better shape that I thought. They can run further between breaks and are in great shape.”
From the starting line in downtown Anchorage the trail runs down the middle of 4th Avenue on a lane of snow about 10 to 20 feet wide brought in by the city street department. The biggest problem here is the crowds, which can unnerve inexperienced dogs. For the mushers, you`re also dragging one or two sleds and three people (you, your Iditarider, and your handler) with only 12 dogs.
Some drivers use one big sled instead of a regular sled and a `tag sled.` Regardless, you must have one other person besides yourself (not counting your Iditarider). With one sled, both drivers share the runners while the Iditarider is in the basket; after the Iditarider gets out, the second driver can hop in the basket if he or she wishes.
After a few blocks the trail makes a hard right turn onto Cordova Avenue; this is an easy place to spill the sled. The trail runs south in the center of Cordova Avenue for about 12 blocks, then drops down a half-block hill to Mulcahy Stadium, home to Alaska League baseball in the summer. Behind the stadium, the trail joins the 200-mile Anchorage bike/ski path network and greenbelt system, heading east along Chester Creek.
The trail is usually in good shape in the greenbelts, running through the woods and occasionally through culverts under major streets. Inexperienced leaders can balk at the culverts. At Northern Lights Boulevard the trail starts to swing south and crosses the busy thoroughfare on a pedestrian/bike bridge; there is a sharp left turn at the south end of the bridge.
The trail then winds through the woods past Alaska Pacific University. Here mushers look for the "muffin stop" run by local well-wishers on this stretch as the trail heads south along a power line behind a residential area. Some mushers will grab a couple of fresh-baked heavy-duty munchies as they go by. The trail will turn right (west) off the power line to follow the south shore of University Lake.
After the lake, the trail heads south under an underpass, past the new Alaska Native Medical Center, and then flies over Tudor Road on a big curved million-dollar pedestrian overpass.
Finally, mushers will run east along the south side of five-lane Tudor Road for part of a mile. After about eight miles from the start, the trail comes up a hill to a culvert under the Campbell Airstrip Road; this is where the Idita-Riders and the teams end the first stage of "The Last Great Race on Earth."
Heather and the Team will get one last good nights sleep before tomorrow’s 2 PM AKST (6 PM EST) official re-start when the fun ends and the real race begins.
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| Heather on KX Television | Sat, Mar. 1st, 2008 | |
Just before the start of today`s Iditarod, KXMB-TV in Bismarck, North Dakota talked with Heather yesterday afternoon about the race preparations by her and the Hardcore Team and what is going through her mind with the Iditarod starting in less than 24 hours.
To see the story, CLICK HERE.
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