Nanuq Posted March 2, 2013 Report Share Posted March 2, 2013 The dogs are on the way to Nome! Hike hike hike! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanuq Posted March 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 The dogs should reach Nome around midnight tonight and this could be one of the wildest finishes ever. The leaders left White Mountain 12 minutes apart with 9 hours of racing to the finish, and Mitch and Aliy's teams are BRUTAL competitors. This is gonna be good boys, probably a foot race to the photo finish line. GO DOGS GOOOOOO!!!http://nomecvb.com/nomecam/nomecam.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cc33 Posted March 13, 2013 Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 How do you follow the race? Is there a website that keeps everyone updated? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanuq Posted March 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 Here ya go cc33, the stats with links:http://iditarod.com/race/2013/standings/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fidhle007 Posted March 13, 2013 Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 http://iditarod.com/eye-on-the-trail-monday-afternoon-traffic-at-unalakleet-by-terrie-hanke/Ivy, the dog pictured is from my kennel! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cc33 Posted March 13, 2013 Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 Thanks N, close finish!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanuq Posted March 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 http://iditarod.com/eye-on-the-trail-monday-afternoon-traffic-at-unalakleet-by-terrie-hanke/ Ivy, the dog pictured is from my kennel! Outstanding! That's a fine looking racer. Do you keep a doglot? cc33, yes there were some close finishes. Raymie Redington and Dallas Seavey were neck and neck for days, and look how the Norsk rookie placed, 7th place ... sixteen seconds ahead of 8th place. With a finish like that the boys are off the sled and running, encouraging their dogs. The last stretch from Safety Sound to Nome is 22 miles, and Joar left one minute behind Jake, and passed him. He probably ran miles of that distance. But the closest finish ever? It was in 1978 when the winner beat the 2nd place team by one second. Here's the story........ For 800 miles, Dick Mackey and Rick Swenson rarely lost sight of each other. With a few others, they jockeyed for position along the length of Alaska. At the end, they found themselves out in front of everyone else and proceeded to stage the darnedest finish the race has ever seen. "By the time the two men reached the streets of Nome, they were virtually running side by side," Anchorage Daily News reporter Doug O'Harra wrote. "One hundred yards out, they were even. By the time they entered the 50-yard chute, Mackey had a slight edge. Both men were running. "Then Mackey's dogs trotted under the burled arch, the finish line." The dogs tangled. "His sled stopped just short of the finish line. Mackey collapsed. "Swenson ... kept going and dragged his sled under the finish line. Though his leaders crossed second, Swenson himself crossed under the arch ahead of Mackey. "Bedlam erupted." The decision about who won the 1978 Iditarod is debated today whenever race fans gather. But the rules and race officials said it was the lead dog's nose, not the musher's behind, that determined the winner. They awarded Mackey the victory by one second. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanuq Posted March 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 A final note, here's a Youtube someone put together of Alaska during the 70s. This is how I grew up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fidhle007 Posted March 13, 2013 Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 Outstanding! That's a fine looking racer. Do you keep a doglot?I used to but it's become more my parents thing these days. They have close to 40 purebred Siberians including some incredible dogs from the old Kodiak Kennel lines which is Ivy's breeding. I've never done a race over 60 miles and have no real desire to take it as seriously as Mike Ellis is (it looks like he's on track to break the purebred record on his first Iditarod!) but it is really, really nice to be out on the sled, trusting your dogs to get you home safely and them trusting you to do the same... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cc33 Posted March 13, 2013 Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 That's a great read. I happen to agree that it's the lead dogs nose that should have counted and did. Awesome video, it reminded me of being a kid, playing with my brother and the family dog. Must be special for you since you grew up right there. I think people who grow up without winters are missing out on something really magical Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fidhle007 Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 I'm happy to report that not only did my friend Mike finish the race, he finished in the top 30 with a team a purebred Siberian Huskies and absolutely demolished the previous record set by a purebred team, besting it by 28 HOURS! An my dog Ivy was with him for the entire journey so I can no say I own a record-breaking Iditarod dog! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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