Scene Around The Iditarod Checkpoint
We are in a hard number data void at Iditarod checkpoint since we have no internet connection. The most successful communication tool is ham radio, which survives even when our generators sputter and die in minus 20F temperatures, a rubber oil line cracking in the cold.
But, we are rich in impressions. [...]
Author Archives: Joe Runyan
Mackey Leaves a Little after Midnight Tonight
Takotna
Takotna Welcomes Mackey and Steer
Lance Mackey continues to travel the Iditarod Trail with a full complement of 16 dogs and arrives first into Takotna at 22:52, Tuesday night. Our helicopter crew followed Lance out of Nikolai earlier this afternoon and watched his magical ride. He has the team into a smooth efficient trot. We interviewed [...]
Mackey and Buser Take Lead
Mackey and Buser Take Lead thru Dalzell Gorge
The Iditarod can now define a leader. Lance Mackey (”The Incredible Lance Mackey”) arrived in Rohn Checkpoint at the head of the Iditarod column of leaders at about 4PM Monday afternoon. Forty-five minutes later, Martin Buser arrived in gray dusk, the air almost misty with spindrift kept airborne [...]
Willow Restart
Willow, Alaska – Morning Staging Area
Our film crew departs Anchorage about 7:30AM and arrives at the Willow Restart Staging area at 9:10AM. The Staging area for parking for mushers is organized with spray paint spaces with musher numbers on the ice just below the Willow Community Hall. It’s a good set up with lots of [...]
Skwetna
Just a short impression after boarding our helicopter and viewing the trail from Willow to Yetna.
After watching teams from the vantage of a helicopter, one thing noticed is the symmetry and smooth running of the elite teams. It was no surprise when we saw Sorlie’s #50 team shortly out of Willow. Sorlie is a traditionalist [...]
The Restart – For Real
The update. Teams are now streaming out of Willow for real, so I take this time to give the reader an impression of the THINKING of our lead mushers, before we take -off with the helicopter for aerial views of mushers enroute to Yetna and then Skwetna.
First, arrival time for the very interested fan, should [...]
Saturday Ceremonial Start
Anchorage – Readers may have already checked out our complete video coverage of the Iditarod 2007 Ceremonial Start. The Ceremonial Start is a hold over from the early days of Iditarod when mushers actually departed Anchorage for Nome. Presently, the practical considerations of new roads, trails, make it impossible. The Solution? Preserve a tradition and [...]
Friday, A Day to Race Day
Anchorage Iditarod Headquarters
Circulating this Friday morning on the eve of tomorrow’s Ceremonial Start on downtown Anchorage’s 4th avenue, the fan will observe an early morning frenzy. While fans regard this Friday as a casual day of preparation, organizers, trail breakers, and volunteers are hustling to complete final arrangements for the start of the race.
Meanwhile, mushers [...]
Pre-Race Thoughts by a Former Champion
The Musher Meeting
Finally, the mushers arrive in one location for the mandatory 9:00AM 2007 Musher Meeting at the third floor conference room of the Millenium Hotel, Anchorage. 82 mushers, at last count, walk through a gauntlet of media reporters, some with notepads and voice recorders, and the ubiquitous cameras which will now document the 35th [...]
It’s Trail Time
The 2007 Iditarod, this amorphous idea of a sled dog race, is starting to take form as volunteers, media, organizers, and fans converge on Iditarod Race Headquarters at the Millenium Hotel in Anchorage.
Walking around the rooms staked out as temporary offices, conversations are overheard. Media gurus discuss the merits of formats, cameras, and editors. Volunteers [...]