1998 Iditarod finish times
2 more dogs die, Iditarod reports
Two dogs that became ill during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and were dropped from a rested, back-of-the-pack team at Ruby on March 14 died several days later in Anchorage while under private veterinary care. A third dog dropped at the same time with the same symptoms has since recovered, said the musher, Jim Lanier of Chugiak. Red lantern Not as red as it used to be Seventeen years ago, Iditarod musher Larry "Cowboy" Smith stood under the burled arch on Front Street in Nome and said, roughly, "You give me good trail and cold weather and I'll get to Nome in 10 days." Smith's words prompted people to shake their heads. A 10-day race? Even some top-flight mushers of the day thought 11 days was about the limit, and even that unlikely unless conditions were ideal. Red lantern awarded to Pozarnsky The slowest musher in this year's Iditarod crossed the finish line Sunday afternoon, winning the red lantern but thinking first about a shower and some shut-eye. Brad Pozarnsky of Bottineau, N.D., crossed the finish line at 4:42 p.m., turning in the fastest last-place time in the race's 26-year history. His time of 14 days, 5 hours and 42 minutes would have won nine of the races.
Dog's death mars race for three-time rookie ELIM - Trim was the sled dog that always jumped up and down in excitement. He was always lunging forward, overcome with the passion to pull. He kept his tugline taut and loved the adventure of mushing the Iditarod Trail. "This dog always wanted to see what was around the corner," said Willow musher Linda Joy, "and what was over the next hill. He had all the spirit that a sled dog should have."
Heavy Load Sorrow, setbacks interfere with a dream GALENA - With the lights of Galena glittering on the far bank of the Yukon River, Fairbanks musher Ramy Brooks was minutes away from arriving in 10th place Friday night during the 26th Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race when a dog suddenly collapsed in its traces. Brooks rushed forward. Down was Bird, a 2-year-old reddish husky with blue eyes and floppy ears, a veteran of the Yukon Quest and descendant of the family's breeding line.
Lead dogs deal with a difference kind of endurance Thought is a heavy burden to carry. Few people understand this better than a handful of mushers vying to win this year's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. They know about the heft of thought because their success depends on the ability of a couple key dogs to carry the burden. Garnie embodies spirit of dog mushing's roots Joe Garnie is the past come back to life, a figure from Iditarod history trying to recapture the glory of a decade ago using dog-raising methods that date back a century. Dogs run in Garnie's family. His father mushed dogs, his grandfather mushed dogs. In Teller, on the Bering Sea Coast, Garnie mushes on, the dogs his partners in daily life. They help with the hunting. They haul fuel. They work. And they're off - again Brother, sister to give each other room on trail WILLOW - The restart of the 26th annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race here Sunday morning featured 63 mushers, more than 1,000 dogs and a range of emotions - including, for the first time in 26 Iditarods, a touch of sibling rivalry. Matt and Maria Hayashida are the first brother-sister duo to race in the same Iditarod. While there's not exactly a family feud under way, there won't be many Hallmark moments on the trail, either. More than a dream Halter joins elite and is real threat The man whose spic-and-span dog truck has the words "Dream a Dream Dog Farm" written on the back seemed as calm as still waters before what may be the grandest adventure of his life. You couldn't walk five feet down Fourth Avenue Saturday morning without someone telling you how great Vern Halter's 1998 Iditarod team is, how he's the man to watch. The buzz spread faster than flu germs. Nothing like being an overnight sensation after 20 years of hard labor. Musher runs with angels Sponsor puts her back in great race With an angel on her shoulder and another in her sled, five-time Iditarod veteran Lynda Plettner was back on the trail to Nome on Saturday after a three-year absence. Thousands of fans lined Fourth Avenue to cheer on the 63 mushers and their 756 dogs for the ceremonial start of the 26th annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. The number of dogs will grow by about 250 today when drivers increase their team sizes for the 11 a.m. restart in Willow. Savvy veteran with a dream Chugiak musher wants to build a dog team of all white huskies Like other mushers training for the 26th Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, Chugiak musher James Lanier put his team of young, white huskies through all kinds of tests. They raced the Tustumena 200 and other shorter races. They spent long cold nights in the Susitna Valley forests. Over more than 1,000 miles, Lanier says, they proved themselves exceptionally calm and steady - a pleasure to drive. Another outdoor adventure Iditarod pilot trades volunteer duites for dogs and a racing bib Most in the crowd will be cheering for the favorites as the field of 63 mushers takes off from Fourth Avenue this morning. But favorites aside, thousands of eyes will be watching a rookie named Sam Maxwell. He's the most well-known Iditarod "unknown" in town. Maxwell, 40, is one of four Anchorage mushers running in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Born and raised here, he seems to be everyone's acquaintance or friend-of-a-friend. Swenson return spices up Iditarod A lot of unfinished business In the plush hallway of a Spenard hotel, 63 dog drivers hefted dainty crystal full of sparkling cider and champagne. They shook hands with fans, grinned and chattered as they lined up Thursday for the official group photograph of the 26th Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race to Nome. Redington runs his own race Musher's toughest trail lies beyond Iditarod Joe Redington sipped a can of Ensure through a straw and rocked gently in a chair at his Knik home. He wore gray winter overalls and light gray lobben boots. The 81-year-old musher, who's known wind chills of more than 100 degrees below zero, should have been too warm, but he wasn't. Tough and tougher: Iditarod vs. Quest It's one of Alaska's great debates: Which 1,000-mile sled dog race is tougher -- the Yukon Quest or the Iditarod? A serious answer isn't simple, according to Nenana musher Rick Mackey, one of the most experienced dog drivers in the world and one of only three people to win both races (the Quest in 1997, the Iditarod in 1983).
Kotzebue musher always finds time for kids "Why bother running a team of huskies when you can fire up a snow machine?" That may be one of the most fundamental questions for the sport of dog mushing. But when Kotzebue musher John Baker put it to about 40 fifth-graders in Cindy Perry's class at Sand Lake Elementary, he got a pragmatic, Alaska-style answer.
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