Looks like we got ourselves a race

Blame the long, cold, snowy winter for providing such good training conditions, or last year's detour to Fairbanks, or the ever-larger group of top-notch veteran racers, but the competitive atmosphere surrounding this year's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is supercharged.

And this year's winner will be ...

Ramy's turn.

Break's over for Garnie as mushing work makes way for racing

When dawn breaks over the Kig-luaik Mountains near Teller in the summer, Joe Garnie gathers netted salmon for his small 29-dog kennel.

Seeking an edge

Sled dog racers are constantly tinkering with their sleds and gear to discover some new competitive advantage, but their improvements are often invisible to the untrained eye -- slicker sled runners, hotter stoves or better booties.

2004 Iditarod Start List

1. Harry PitkaHonorary

Daily News inducts artist Jon Van Zyle

Back when the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race was little more than a dream into which supporters could throw money, artist and musher Jon Van Zyle was there in support.

Michigan man proves retiring is for the dogs

Jim Warren's crystal ball was cloudy the day his wife spotted a musher driving a truck down a Michigan road, the dogs peeking out from a box in the back.

Hedlund huskies with awesome reputation are on comeback trail

From the time he was old enough to stand on the runners of a sled, Bethel resident Nels Alexie was taught to treat his dogs with respect. Feed them well, his elders told him. Give them lots of attention. One day, it will pay off.

Iditarod teams brace for tough trail

The snow that grounded the Iditarod Air Force for days stopped falling in the Alaska Range on Wednesday even as the Iditarod Trail in Anchorage began melting.

Iditarod restart moves north

Sometimes it's impossible for Mother Nature to make everyone happy, especially mushers and spectators.

2004 Iditarod Entrants As of Feb. 12

Sue AllenWasilla *

Running with the big dogs

Lynda Plettner pays her bills by preparing prospective Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race entrants for the rigors of the trails at her mushing boot camp in Big Lake.

"I will win the Iditarod again"

Doug Swingley of Lincoln, Mont., holds many distinctions in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Champions few, far between

Among the record number of dog teams and mushers expected to stretch out along Anchorage's Fifth Avenue for the ceremonial start of the 2004 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday, only a handful will have any chance of winning the 1,100-mile chase over the Alaska Range, up the Yukon River and along the Bering Sea Coast.

One-two punch

FOX -- Most winters, dog mushers Ken Anderson and Gwen Holdmann can't leave Alaska fast enough.

"I made it"

Fresh off her 20th running of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, DeeDee Jonrowe unwound one day last March by laughing and talking with longtime friend Kathy Chapoton about the ups and downs life has dealt her in more than two decades of racing.

Gatt claims Yukon Quest three-peat

After making history Wednesday in the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race, Hans Gatt started thinking about that other race.

Comeback trail

BETHEL ---- DeeDee Jonrowe charged out of the starting gate of the Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog Race on Friday night with questions on her mind but a smile on her face as she began her cold, dark run up the frozen Kuskokwim River.

No race for blind musher

After pressuring Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race officials to allow her to run with special concessions, a legally blind woman from Oregon failed to show up for a mandatory rookies meeting Saturday and will not compete in next year's race.