|
Iditarod web sites
See related pages:
http://www.adn.com/pf/mushing
http://www.iditarod.com/
http://www.adn.com/iditarod/
NOME - There is no shame in scratching. No stigma. The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is an often-humbling challenge and there are times the elements and rugged trail conspire to overwhelm the best mushers and the gamest dogs. It has been proven repeatedly that the trip to this Bering Sea Coast gold rush community is a hazardous one. There are no guarantees that just because you set out from Anchorage well-trained that you will make it here, 1,100 miles across the barren terrain. The most-coveted Iditarod honor of all may be the finisher's belt buckle, a symbol of endurance. That is why mushers take dropping out hard. They torment themselves with whys and might-have-beens. A 17-time racer, DeeDee Jonrowe of Willow placed in the top 10 every year since 1988. She was one of the least-likely mushers to scratch. But even the elite can find trouble. She pulled out of the race Saturday when her dogs lost their desire to run. Jonrowe, a two-time runnerup, has raced in good company for more than a decade. When she grudgingly pulled out of the 27th annual race, scratching kept her in good company. Four-time winner Susan Butcher scratched in 1985 when her dog team was kicked to pieces by an enraged moose. Iditarod founder Joe Redington of Knik scratched four times. In 1980, Redington, Dick Mackey, the 1978 champion, and Sonny Lindner, a three-time top-three placer, scratched together in Unalakleet. They talked themselves into it, said Redington. They were in the top 10, but the going was slow and they thought the conditions were about to change to their disadvantage. "Just because it was going to get fast," said Redington. "Two or three times I did it (scratched) for no reason." The trio in 1980 just psyched one another out, said Redington on Sunday. To this day he kicks himself for dropping out of that race. In another Unalakleet scratch, Redington said the rough ice of Norton Sound discouraged him. "I thought it was too tough for the dogs," he said. "I said, 'I'm not going.' The next day my mind and the dogs were better." Redington said he gives all mushers - especially beginners who might be susceptible to the rigors of the trail - the same advice about scratching. "You shouldn't do it on a moment's notice," he said. Not long before Jonrowe, then in fourth place, scratched, veteran John Barron of Montana Creek, a 20-year competitor who was in eighth place, did the same thing. Barron, 50, thought he had a top team. He agonized for 12 hours over his decision to quit the race. "You have a tendency to lose sight of the fact you're not driving a car," said Barron. "They're (dogs) not a machine. It's a real shock when they don't go." Unlike marathon runners, who push their bodies to extraordinary extremes to complete their 26.2-mile races, mushers' will is only part of the equation. Their dogs' will is part of the partnership. The dogs can tell the human it's time to go home. This has been a difficult Iditarod. The trail was jolting between Finger Lake and Rainy Pass. Snowstorms roared in. Temperatures plummeted to 40 below. This is just the Iditarod being the Iditarod, Alaska being its temperamental self. So there were casualties. The surprise is that the misfortune struck some of the best. It reminds us that top mushers can prove just as vulnerable as the inexperienced. What sets the best mushers apart, though, is that they come back with a vengeance with top finishes or championships. Redington did. So did Butcher. Few would bet against Jonrowe and Barron doing the same thing next year. Lew Freedman is the Daily News sports editor and an opinion columnist.
|
