A view of the world from the eyes of a
human being...
Reporting in from the 2009 Iditarod in Anchorage, Alaska, where our
very own reporter calls home, we welcome Robin Rosay.
Final Iditarod Report #20
In a way, this Iditarod was like races of days gone by. This year it
was hard for the trail groomers to stay ahead of the huge amounts of
snow western Alaska received this year. They don't have snow plows,
after all, just snowmachines (snowmobiles) to pack the trail down.
Towards the end of the race, the psychological element as it relates to
the dogs really came into play. It was reported that sometimes the
headwinds were so strong that if the team wasn't pointed directly into
it, the dogs would get blown off course. One musher reported the wind
so strong that he had to make sure the one pound salmon steaks his dogs
were getting fed were in their mouths and not just tossed on the ground
because they would blow away.
This year 42 minutes separated 4th through 7th place, which is nice when
you're standing around in Nome in sub-zero weather waiting for mushers
to come in. Mitch Seavey took 4th. Cim Smyth took 5th. Dallas Seavey
took 6th. Aaron Burmeister took 7th. Jessie Royer took 8th. Ramey
Smyth took 9th, and within the next half hour or so, Hans Gatt will come
to a halt under the burled arch in Nome as the 10th place finisher.
We'll be seeing some race favorites fill out the 11th through 15th
positions. Sonny Lindner will take 11th. Jeff King will be in 12th
place. DeeDee Jonrowe will be the 13th place finisher. Ken Anderson
will be in 14th place and Hugh Neff will be in 15th place.
Rookies Harry Alexie and Chad Lindner (yes, that's Sonny's son) had been
battling most of the race for the rookie of the year spot. Looks like
it will go to Chad, as he is currently in 33rd place and Harry is in 39th.
Once again, it has been my pleasure to share one of my mania's with you
and give you a little taste of what living in Alaska is like. My
congratulations go out to all the mushers who entered the race, whether
they finished or not. To subject yourselves to the rigors of the race
and the vastness of parts of Alaska that rarely see human beings is
commendable to say the very least. Lead on . . . and hope to see you
back at the race start again next year.
In our first last photo, Jen Seavey is easily recognized by her big
smile as she travels along the Native Hospital portion of the coastal trail.
In our last second photo, Tim Hunt travels along the Campbell Airstrip
portion of the ceremonial route. Tim is a veterinarian from Marquette,
Michigan and has volunteered as an Iditarod race vet before. This is
Tim's rookie race.
In our last third photo we see Mike Suprenant getting ready to make the
corner from 4th Avenue onto Cordova Street. This is Mike's rookie race
and he lives in Chugiak, Alaska, just outside of Anchorage.
In our very last photo we see Lance Mackey at the ceremonial start of
the race. Lance's step-son, Cain Carter won the Jr. Iditarod this year,
and in doing so, was the first musher out at the ceremonial start.
Coincidently, Cain's Iditarider was Rod Udd, the owner of Anchorage
Chrysler Dodge.
Robin
Sledding anyone?
(Photos courtesy of Robin Rosay.)
Who are these 2 teams from the Afterburners Flyball Club in Ottawa,
Ontario -- Formula 1 and Pit Crew? Find out here.
What is Flyball? Find out more about this interesting sport by clicking here.
A view of the world from the eyes of Robin Rosay continues on the
next page...
(Copyright,
2010. Used with permission from Robin Rosay.)
Keep an eye open for different topics of interest such as: profiles on
people and their dogs, to name but a few interesting topics...Also, have a look at what Rita Susanto and "Justin" have been up to these
days.
Why not be part of "out and about" and send in your canine
companion's accomplishments to us. To do so, please send us a brief description of how you
both did in the event(s) along with the location(s) you and your canine were both in to: NK Concepts - Dog Supply Training Specialist.
