We flew  into Finger Lake today via the Iditarod air force and now have our Insider film crews  stationed along the trail at Skwentna, Finger Lake, and Rainy Pass.  I’m at Finger Lake so that I can meet the leaders that will be arriving here just before dawn.  We will try to send videos clips and impressions of the trail conditions from the lead teams once they arrive tomorrow morning.

As we flew along the trail today heading here we observed that the trail was well marked with a lot of fresh snow.  There has been a wind storm along with the snow and  we  expect slower traveling conditions than average through the Alaska Range.

We’ll bring you more reports tomorrow on how the lead teams look when they arrive.

With final preparations before the real  start of the race today in Willow, mushers are listening to reports about the trail and sizing each other up.

As we filmed our “Insider” interviews  Thursday night, a number of mushers reflected on their part in the Iditarod and on their hopes and plans for this year’s race.  Check out Jeff King’s interview by clicking on to the video section of the “Insider” coverage as he talks about his last competitive running of the Iditarod.

Jeff made it clear that he isn’t giving up sled dogs or even racing, just taking a break from his past Iditarod focus.  None the less, he said he has one of his best teams ever and isn’t going out on a “camping trip” this year.  As always, we can bet he’ll get to Nome as fast as his team can gracefully get there.

A number of the top mushers we talked to reported having the best team of dogs they have ever put together including Jeff, Mitch Seavey, Hans Gatt and John Baker.  The talk within the mushing community here is that everyone that has seen John Baker’s team expects him to have a great run and to be one of the teams to beat.  We know that there are a lot of strong teams coming off the Yukon Quest race as well.  Hans Gatt reported that he will take 13 of his 14 winning Yukon Quest dogs in his Iditarod team.

Zack Steer reported having a hardy team of well rounded strong dogs that he has picked for this years race.  He is hoping for a hard fast trail that will help equalize his large size, being over six feet tall and weighing more than 200 pounds.  With fast hard trails the dogs can pull the sled with less energy output than when they have to pull it through soft deep snow.

With the style of run/rest cycles that mushers have been running the last few races most mushers have been training with longer runs and many more training miles.  Hans Gatt and and Mitch Seavey reported having 3,500 training miles under their belts for this year’s race.

Martin Buser stated that he has gone back to the training style that he has had the greatest success with, and most importantly, that he enjoys the most.  Martin is focusing on keeping his dogs and himself happy and wants to take his race from the technical game plan to the “artistic”.  To see more of Martin’s reflections check out his video clip on the Insider.

If the trail is as fast and hard  as is being reported, we can expect  that to work in favor for Martin.  He still holds the record for the fastest race ever, so a fast, hard trail is one that he knows how to use to his dogs advantage.

Dallas Seavey reported buying out Aaron Burmeister’s top 10 race team from last year so he should have a lot of depth in his team this year.  In addition he has set a goal for himself to be the youngest musher to ever win the Iditarod so we can expect him to be at the front of the pack with a strong team.

Reports about the trail are that there are light snow levels running up into the Alaska Range but enough for a safe, manageable trail. Snow continues to fall up in the Finger Lake, Rainy Pass area.  On the north side of the range there are reports of snow on the areas out of Rohn that often have some of the toughest trail conditions, but there is a short area of trail on the way to Nikolai that is reported to have no snow, just grass and frozen bare ground.

The experienced Iditarod mushers aren’t too concerned.  There is always something challenging out there and they have the experience to deal with all trail situations.  You can take in Dee Dee Jonrowe’s view on these trail reports on her video clip on the “Insider”.

For rookies there might be more concerns but they are always going to have butterflies and worries before their first race.  That’s the fun and adventure of running this race, to see how you and your dogs handle the different trail conditions and challenges that get thrown at you.

Dick Wilmarth won the first Iditarod in 1973 with a time of 20 days 0 hours and 49 minutes. In 1974 Emmitt Peters took the Iditarod into the world of faster racing with a time of 14 days, 14 hours and 43 minutes. Rick Swenson was the first to break the 12 day time with a winning run in 12 days 8 hours and 45 minutes. After that there was talk within the mushing community about whether or not the Iditarod could be run in 10 days. Martin Buser answered that question for us in 1992 with a winning time of 10 days 19 hours and 17 minutes. It is worth noting that since 1992 the Iditarod has always been won in ten days or less. Doug Swingley broke the nine day barrier. And in 2002 Martin Buser ran the fastest Iditarod ever with a winning time of 8 days 22 hours and 46 minutes.

A thousand miles traveled by sled dogs in 20 days, down to 8 days and 22 hours.

How is that possible and how was it done? We always hear things like we’ve learned more about dog nutrition, mushers know the trail better and the equipment has improved. What most people outside of dog racing don’t know is that most of the inventions and improvements have come from within members of the mushing community and the Iditarod mushers themselves.

For sure, there have been major improvements in the trail since that first Iditarod with better trail markers and general trail knowledge. Mushers have learned more about caring for sled dogs and canine nutrition by working together and sharing knowledge and with the help of dog food manufacturers and veterinarian researchers who have helped develop better foods and feeding practices over the years. The importance of this alone is a major factor and can’t be overlooked. Mushers have worked hand in hand with these researchers towards the goal of better canine nutrition.

Most all of the changes in sledding equipment used on the trail has come from the mushers themselves. In the early Iditarods mushers carried their gear in their sleds wrapped in a canvas tarp tied down with ropes. Then someone came up with the idea of using a “sled bag” which saved time from tying down a load and also made easier access to ones gear. By simply unzipping the top of the bag, mushers have access to everything inside.

Early Iditarod sleds had steel shoes or runners on the bottom like historical freighting sleds used because it was available and was durable. It also caused a lot of “drag” which slowed dog teams down. Then came the use of plastic runners made from an UHMW type plastic that had a fair amount of longevity and slide over the snow with less friction.

Tim White, who ran an early Iditarod, created one of the largest innovations in sled technology with his quick change runner plastic system. This invention uses an aluminum dovetail device to quickly slide different types of runner plastic on to the runners of the sled. Not only was this a faster way of changing runner plastic to keep a slicker running surface but it also allowed mushers to change to different types of plastic for different trail and snow conditions. This alone was a major innovation in racing technology.

Rick Swenson and friends worked on improving headlamps so that mushers would have better night vision for finding the trail markers. Rick also worked on numerous other small details improving sleds, cookers, ganglines and other endless items used in racing.

The listing of mushers that have worked with dog food manufacturers to improve commercial dog feeds would a very long list. Needless to say this has increased the energy level available to racing dogs but also has improved canine nutrition world-wide.

Charlie Champaine, though not an Iditarod musher but a champion sprint musher developed a line of packaged meats and meat mixes and had them available for racers for their food drops and training. Something that wasn’t available to early Iditarod mushers. He also had lightweight freeze dried meats packaged and available for racers so they could carry lighter loads over longer distances.

Cold weather clothing has improved with newer material and is quicker drying and light weight. The early Iditarod’s saw a lot of canvas and wool.  The cookers that mushers have used to melt snow and ice for water, both for themselves and their dog food have changed as well. In the first Iditarods everyone built wood fires and “cooked” in larger metal wash basins and buckets. Then “someone”?? came up with using Coleman camp stoves which helped on the coastal areas of the trail where there is little firewood. Then mushers started taking Coleman stoves apart and used the components to build hotter burning stoves which had less issues starting in cold weather.

Then they did away with that type of “pump priming” stoves and started using stove fueled by alcohol that would light in any conditions without a pump. Those stoves have been improved on over and over again and are the type of stove most all mushers use now. Fast heating, lightweight and no maintenance issues.

Dog harness in the early days of the Iditarod were made of materials that froze once wet and some were even made of leather. Mushers worked with harness designers to develop harness made of materials that didn’t freeze and were more comfortable for the dogs. This process is still going on today.

Changes in dog booties has definitely led to faster race times. When the Iditarod started booties were primarily used to help a dog that had developed a food problem. The booties themselves were hard to use and made from materials that sometimes caused as many problem as they helped. As with other items used on the trail, mushers started experimenting with new materials. Canvas and pack cloth types of material started being used but were attached to the dogs legs with electrical tape. This took a lot of time and effort. Then entered Velcro and a small strap was added at the top of the bootie for attachment and electrical tape was a thing of the past. When pile cloth became available it then became the primary material for making booties because of it’s soft texture. They however collected snow in warm conditions and would freeze if wet. Iditarod mushers John Cooper, Robin Jacobson and Doug Swingley started working with newer “high tech” materials to come up with a bootie that didn’t collect snowballs and that were lightweight so as to not slow the dogs down. Lots of musher tested these booties for them to help find the best materials. Even the use of booties changed from a way to help a dog with a sore foot to a pro-active foot care tool. Now all mushers use booties to keep a dog’s foot from ever getting sore and to protect it from abrasive trail conditions. It’s common sense, a healthy dog runs faster. Could you walk, hike or run at your fastest with a sore or blistered foot?

Iditarod veterinarians have worked to develop new foot ointments to better take care of dog’s feet as well.

Hans Gatt has been developing durable lighter weight sleds for the trail.

Martin Buser brought ski poles to the race so that the musher could help the team power down the trail.

Jeff King just recently developed the sit-down sled so that the mushers themselves can be more rested. We have reached a point where we know that the dogs aren’t the weak link in the team, they seem to have an endless amount of energy. The musher on the other hand often is the weaker link and if a mushers stays more rested they think clearer and have more energy to put into caring for their team.

The basics from the earliest Iditarod are still the same, it’s still about the dogs. But we’re learning more about how to take care of dogs and to help them reach their top performances. If you add all of the changes that have been developed over the years into today’s Iditarod, it’s easier to understand how they get from Anchorage to Nome so much faster.