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WASILLA - Judy Currier has the theme for her first Iditarod: "Home to Nome." That's because she lives just down the trail from the Wasilla Municipal Airport, site of the official start of the 27th annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. "I'm gonna pass right by my house," said Currier before taking off Sunday. Currier, 37, is one of 11 rookies who entered the 1,100-mile mush to Nome, though there were only 10 left after Robert Moore scratched. It is always a different experience for rookies. They have heard the stories, but they don't know the trail. Everything is new. Even the annual prerace mushers' meeting. "I felt totally like an outsider," said Currier. Sunday, Currier, who raises and races Siberian huskies, had her sled flipped over for last-minute work, affixing new plastic runners. "I'm too busy to be nervous," said Currier, who grew up in New Hampshire and participated in horseback riding, skiing, bicycling and golf before she took up mushing. Russell Lane, 31, an Inupiat from Point Hope, said it was time to finally get in the Iditarod. "I figured I had dogs," said Lane, who has raced the Kobuk 220 and 440. "Here I am representing my people. It's always been in my mind." Lane said he trained some with John Baker of Kotzebue, last year's fifth-place finisher and a championship contender in the 1999 race. "He's the one who motivates and encourages me," said Lane. "He told me I had a team that could be rookie of the year." The top rookie is awarded a trophy and $1,500 by former racer Jerry Austin and his wife, Clara, of St. Michael. Veteran competitor DeeDee Jonrowe of Willow said the soundest advice she could give a rookie is to pass on what was said to her in 1980 before her first Iditarod - block out everything but immediate business, and everything else will fall into place. "Take good care of your dogs, and they'll take care of you," said Jonrowe. "Don't worry about who is where or what is up or down." The other rookies in the race are Dario Daniels of Bird Creek, Jon Little of Kasilof, Ken Anderson of Fairbanks, Jim Gallea of Seeley Lake (whose parents have done the Iditarod), Dan Dent of Baltimore, Steve Crouch of Eagle River, Shane Goosen of Wasilla and Harald Tunheim of Norway. Since his racing has all been in Europe, Tunheim's capabilities are somewhat of a mystery. Daniels, 33, is originally from Germany. He did some trapping, but got interested in the Iditarod working on a support crew for the Iditarod Challenge, the tourist trip that traverses the trail operated by race founder Joe Redington. "He's responsible for making me into a trail junkie," said Daniels. "When I told him, he just nodded." Daniels said his goal is just finishing. "I look at this as a journey," said Daniels. "I don't look at it as a race." Little, a newspaper reporter, said he has been working toward this race for 10 years as a dog handler and musher in shorter distance events. "I'm thinking now, 'Do I have the self-discipline for a 1,000-mile race?' " said Little. "I don't ever race people. I just want dogs to do their very best." Anderson, 26, beefed up his mushing experience by taking "a major tour of Canada." A former handler for three-time Iditarod champ Jeff King, Anderson actually became intrigued by the Iditarod as a seventh-grader when he saw a picture of the race. This past year he not only ran the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon in Minnesota, where he grew up, but took dogs to Canada and raced in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories; in the Trail of '98 Stage Race between Skagway and Whitehorse, Yukon Territory; and in villages. He thought spending so much travel time with the dogs was wonderful. "They enjoy being together," said Anderson. "You get so in tune with them." Anderson said his race plan is simple. "I just want to run a smart race," said Anderson. "Start slow and finish strong. That's my strategy." Words to live by.
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