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  • Iditarod Dog Race Comes To An End

    The Iditarod dog race ended on Tuesday with a close finish. Winner Dallas Seavey won by only two minutes, 22 seconds. His biggest rival, Aliy Zirkle, had been in the lead for most of the race but stopped 22 miles short of the finish line to wait out a storm. The storm put her nineteen minutes behind Seavey, and she almost caught up to him.

    Even Seavey was unsure if he had beaten Zirkle and couldn’t believe he had won until almost 2 minutes after he had finished the race. This is Seavey’s second Iditarod win.

    Jeff King had started out leading the race but was blown off course when he was only 25 miles away from the finish line. Seavey had come from third place to take the win. King was unable to get his dogs running again after they were blown off course by a huge gust of wind and had to hitch a ride with a snowmobile rider and scratched.

    While Seavey’s win over Zirkle was a close one, there have been many other close races in the past. In 1978, Dick Mackey beat Rick Swenson by only one second.

    Seavey has won the Iditarod once before and said that he thought he was racing for third place and assumed King and Zirkle had both beaten him.

    “I wasn’t in a big hurry. I was racing for third, and I was telling my dogs, ‘We’ve done our work here, you guys have done a good job, let’s go home,’” Seavey said. “‘No rush, guys, let’s take it easy.’”

    Seavey won $50,000 and a new truck for winning the race. He finished the race in eight days, 13 hours, 4 minutes and 19 seconds.

    Were you surprised by the results of the race?

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Bodies Found on Iditarod Route in Crashed Airplane

    It’s no secret that the Iditarod race can be dangerous. However, dog sledders are generally more prepared for disaster than others who may find themselves stranded in the harsh conditions along the race’s route.

    The Associated Press is reporting that three people have been found dead along the Iditarod’s route in Alaska. The pilot, age 59, a woman, age 48, and the woman’s daughter, age 10, all died in the crash of a small aircraft in an area called Rainy Pass. All three were from Eagle River, a town located just north of Anchorage.

    The AP report states that the plane took off from Anchorage earlier this week, bound for a small village named Takotna. A flight plan was not filed. A spokesman for the family of the passengers stated they were headed to the village to volunteer for the Iditarod.

    After the plane did not make its scheduled return to Anchorage, the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center began searching for it. With the help of the military, state troopers, and private citizens, the plane was found on Tuesday morning in Rainy Pass. The bodies have been recovered and taken to Anchorage.

  • Dallas Seavey Is Youngest Iditarod Winner

    Dallas Seavey Is Youngest Iditarod Winner

    The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is the most popular event in Alaska. It is an annual long-distance sled dog race run from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska in early March. The Iditarod began in 1973 as an event to test the best dog sled mushers and teams and has evolved into today’s highly competitive race. Mushers and a team of 12-16 dogs, of which at least 6 must be on the towline at the finish line must cover the 1,000 mile distance in 9-15 days.

    On March 4th, sixty-six sled dog teams began the race and 9 days, 4 hours and 29 minutes later, Dallas Seavey earned the enviable bragging rights to call himself the youngest musher to win the Iditarod. Ironically, Seavey celebrated his 25th birthday on March 4th, the start of the race. Rick Swenson was the previous youngest winner, who set the record in 1977 at the age of 26. He can also claim the fame of being a five-time champion of the great race.

    When Seavey won this incredible journey, he briefly greeted his friends and family at the famous burled-arch finish line and then immediately put his arms around the dogs that had brought him there. “They mean the world to me. I couldn’t be prouder of these guys. It’s hard to not come to tears when they finally crossed under this arch in first place.”

    Dallas Seavey is a former Alaska high school wrestling champion who also spent a year at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. Dallas is described by his father, Mitch Seavey as, “fiercely competitive.” Mitch won the race in 2004 and was racing in seventh place when Dallas crossed the finish line on March 13th. To make this a total family affair, this year’s race was the fifth Iditarod for Dallas’ grandfather, Dan Seavey.

    (image)@IditarodLive
    ADN Iditarod    Dallas Seavey, 25, just crossed the finish line in Nome to become the youngest #Iditarod champion ever.(image) 1 day ago via TweetDeck ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@lisamurkowski
    Sen. Lisa Murkowski    Congratulations to Dallas Seavey & his team on their remarkable victory in this year’s #Iditarod at 25, he’s the youngest musher to ever win(image) 1 day ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto