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Iditarod and Mushing Internet Resources
See related pages:
http://www.adn.com/pf/mushing/index.html
http://www.adn.com/iditarod/
http://www.iditarod.com/
Familiar face or a new one? Repeat champion or changing of the guard? That is the core question as the 1999 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race begins at 10 this morning in Anchorage with a ceremonial start. The real racing starts at 11 a.m. Sunday in Wasilla. Defending champion Jeff King of Denali Park is chasing his fourth title in the 1,100-mile race across Alaska. Martin Buser of Big Lake is after his fourth crown, too. And past champions Rick Swenson of Two Rivers, a five-time winner; Doug Swingley of Lincoln, Mont., the 1995 champ; and Rick Mackey of Nenana, the 1983 winner, are also in the field of 56 mushers who will leave Fourth Avenue in downtown Anchorage and seek to be the first to reach Front Street in Nome. The purse of at least $450,000 - perhaps as much as $500,000 pending the results of a raffle sale - is the largest ever. The first-place winner will receive $50,000, and all top-20 racers collect prize money. In addition, every finisher will pocket $1,049. Weather - in the form of extreme cold, surprising warmth, or even ground blizzards - will help determine if the front-runners will challenge Swingley's race record of 9 days, 2 hours, 42 minutes, set on this same southern route four years ago. The past winners are being stalked by a fresh group of challengers - mushers who have lurked in the top 20 for a few years, but who made big leaps in their placings last year. Many eyes are on Charlie Boulding of Manley, third last year; Mitch Seavey of Seward, fourth in 1998; John Baker of Kotzebue, who was fifth; and Ramey Smyth of Big Lake, sixth. And many wonder if it is finally the turn of personable and popular DeeDee Jonrowe. Jonrowe, of Willow, has 11 consecutive top-10 finishers, including two runners-up. "I think it would be great for the race if DeeDee won," said former racer Bruce Lee of Denali Park, who's working as a judge this year. Jonrowe would like the experience. "I think my team is good enough to win," she said. Buser, who won in 1992, 1994 and 1997, said he doesn't think last year's results presaged any upheaval. Yes, Boulding, Seavey, Baker and Smyth made a splash, but don't read too much into it, he warned. "Those were just reflections of the usual top five not paying attention," said Buser, who placed seventh in 1998. "We raced for first until Koyuk or Shaktoolik. Then we might have taken the foot off the pedal a little too much." Perhaps Buser is just putting positive spin on what, for him, was an off-year. Or perhaps his take on how he, Swingley and Swenson lollygagged along the trail - playing possum at the end - is true. "Heh, heh, heh," said Buser. Most top mushers say they have top teams that can win. Those teams never stay the same as new dogs are shuffled in and out, but the mushers' optimism never wanes. Boulding wonders though. He said the temperatures during the frigid cold spell earlier this year were so daunting - down to 60 below at his Manley home - that he was forced to find fresh training territory. He went to Homer, and until a few weeks ago he said he was quite worried about his team's prospects. King, 43, who has wins in 1993, 1996 and 1998, said that while he's heard top mushers say it's a race for second, he doesn't believe he's a lock to win. "I have never felt like that," said King. "Some of my success has come from giving so much respect to my competitors. I know how good the competition is." He said he always feels like he can win if circumstances present themselves. "I know the opportunity will come along," said King. "But I have to grasp it." Mackey, 45, is a long-time competitor, whose father, Dick, won in 1978. But Mackey spent the last three winters concentrating on the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest, winning a championship in 1997. He and Joe Runyan are the only mushers to win both the Iditarod and the Quest. Swenson, 48, skipped the 1997 race and returned last year. "Rick stayed away and finished 11th when he came back," said Mackey, who has only one dog with Iditarod experience in his team. "I'm hoping I can do better."
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