It’s called “The Last Great Race on Earth” for a reason; teams of human and canine athletes following a thousand mile long trek on a trail that is as old as time itself, and simply known as the “Iditarod.” The thirty-eighth running of the Iditarod is made up of a field of teams that reflect the true toughness it will take in order for them to travel from Anchorage to Nome Alaska. This is big country. There’s glaciated ice that, when combined with just the right bone chilling wind, can carry you and your whole team sideways in a way that reminds those venturing this journey that the significance of Mother Nature’s wrath and fury should never be taken lightly. The consequences of even the most calculated risk can end in disaster or it can literally propel you to Iditarod legend and fame. Just ask three- time Iditarod Champion Lance Mackey from Fox Alaska who took his team from Takotna to Iditarod leaving the rest of the 2009 field flat on their feet and miles apart from the front runner with a healthy team of fifteen canine athletes finishing the race looking like they could easily run another thousand miles. For Mackey the decision to “gamble” on a run to Iditarod was simple.
“The dogs were unbelievable… I could have done things differently, but the fact was that team’s attitude had everything to do with that particular run. Yeah… it was a gamble… but that’s how I am… it’s all or nothing.”
“All Or Nothing” Four Times in a Row?
Mackey’s 2010 start will begin with a plethora of “what if’s”. He has a very special opportunity in front of him; to become the very first athlete to win four straight Iditarods. It’s always been considered complete domination to win three Iditarods in a row and only two others have done so; Montana’s Doug Swingley and Alaska’s Susan Butcher. And Mackey is considered by many to be the front runner.
Lance Mackey will have a number of Iditarod “legends” to contend with. One of those legends almost broke his chain of victories in 2008; four time Iditarod Champion Jeff King from Denali Park Alaska. The difference that year was a power nap that King took in Elim Checkpoint while Mackey snuck out of the checkpoint under the cloak of darkness. Joining King in an effort to thwart the four-peat will be another four-time Iditarod Champion from Big Lake Alaska, Martin Buser. Both King and Buser have their sights set on more than winning. A 2010 Iditarod Championship for either of them would mean joining the ranks of the King of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, five-time Iditarod Champ Rick Swenson, from Two Rivers Alaska who will be running his 34th Iditarod. There’s another champion who will be running with this pack, coming off a 4th place finish in 2009: Sterling Alaska’s Mitch Seavey. Seavey captured the Iditarod Championship in 2004.
When you get beyond all this Iditarod Royalty with sixteen Iditarod wins between them the 2010 field looks like a pack of wily, seasoned, hungry for victory canine athletes. This is a field that is so deep it looks like a bottomless pit. At the top of the list is the 2004 Iditarod Champion Mitch Seavey from Sterling Alaska. Mackey, King, Buser, Swenson and Seavey will be running this marathon side by side with some of the toughest teams on the planet.
This is a Mouth Watering Field for Race Fans…
Think about it: The 2010 Iditarod field includes 27 of last year’s top 30 finishers. Canada’s contingency led by 2009 second place finisher Sebastian Schnuelle and tenth place finisher Hans Gatt, include Warren Palfrey (19th in 2009) and Gerry Willomitzer (24th in 2009).
But when it comes to the top thirty, Alaska still rules. Take into account that Kotzebue’s John Baker matched his best finish ever in 2009 (3rd place). He was followed by Mitch Seavey (4th place), Cim Smith (5th place) Dallas Seavey (6th place), Jessie Royer (8th place) and Ramey Smyth (9th place). They are all returning with a very real burn to be the 2010 Iditarod Champion. And they’re joined by some very proven, very capable competition.
This year, the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race will follow the Northern Route. It’s a route that rolls through Ophir, Cripple, Ruby, Galena, Nulato and Kaltag Checkpoints. The trail is traveled more than the Southern Route, and it makes for different strategies for those seasoned teams that are familiar to the Iditarod. Paul Gebhardt has been in the top 10 five of the last six years. He’s no stranger to being within a hair of victory. He finished 2nd in 2007 and 3rd in 2008. There’s also Sony Lindner, Dee Dee Jonrowe, Ken Anderson, Hugh Neff, Aliy Zirkle, and Ray Redington Jr (all Alaskans) who rounded out last year’s top twenty.
If you look at the 2010 roster you’ll find a few teams that weren’t in the wind howling, bone chilling fray of 2009’s race, and yes, they are seasoned. Jason Barron from Lincoln Montana is back. He finished 8th on this trail in 2006. Then there’s the Z factor…Zack Steer from Sheep Mountain Alaska. Zack last ran the Iditarod in 2008 when he finished in 11th place… the year before that he placed 3rd. He too is a bona-fide contender.
Twenty seven out of last year’s thirty top mushers are a part of the depth of IDITAROD XXXVIII. That’s deep. They’ll be joined by twenty- two rookies who are focused on the finish. And all twenty-two of them like the rest of the 2010 field are as anxious as we are for the thirty- eighth edition of “The Last Great Race on Earth” to get started.