The official sign-up for the Iditarod dogsled race is neither formal nor dramatic. It is certainly not glamorous. There is no red carpet, no limos, no ceremony of any kind. The setting is outdoors at the Iditarod Headquarters in Wasilla, AK. There is a tent pavilion with a couple of tables under it. A few officials sit on folding chairs behind the table and the mushers come up one at a time to sign in and pay their entry fee. It could be your local road race. About the only real drama is generated by the morning drawing of two musher’s names-those drawn from the rotating barrel have their entry fee waived, no small amount of savings ($4000!). More about that later.
But it is exciting just to be there. These mushers are the stars of their sport, the best in the world. They come not just from Alaska, but also Norway, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, Japan, and of course, the lower forty-eight states (as far south as Tennessee!). They seem almost superhuman because what they manage in the course of 1,000+ miles is an endurance feat few of us can even imagine from the confines of our cozy lives: we who are challenged by getting our car started in the morning, its windshield scraped and the interior heated up before we can drive a few miles to work in the morning. And even if we like 20 below zero, well, there are all those dogs to care for-the training, the feeding, the veterinarian bills, the pooper-scoopers… You don’t have to be hardy, you have to be a frontiersman (or frontierswoman)-a pioneer. You have to embrace hardship and savor adversity the way most of us view a good game of tennis or a 5K run.
And so, while these mushers look enough like ordinary people, standing around, laughing and talking to each other and the officials, mostly old friends by now, they are remarkable men and women made of sterner stuff than most of us. Being around people like this has a way of making us all feel the possibilities, the potential that we have, but seldom tap.
Plus, there they are! You can talk with them, pose with them, sometimes actually hang out with them: Rick Swenson, Jeff King, Martin Buser, Lance Mackey, Dee Dee Jonrowe, Mitch Seavey, Aliy Zirkle…All the stars, the winners, the heroes. Sometimes your real flesh and blood hero is standing right there, talking to you. Try that with Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods…
One of the mushers whose career I have followed is Martin Buser, four time winner and course record holder. He originally hails from Switzerland and now runs a beautiful kennel in Willow, where he gives tours and instruction. In fact, Martin happened to be there leading a tour when the $4000 drawing was made Saturday morning. The first name out of the barrel was-yep, Martin Buser. Oh, boy! Except that you have to be present to win the fee waiver. Oops… From out of the crowd, Dee Dee Jonrowe voiced aloud what everyone else was thinking: “I hope that was a good tour…”
But these things have a way of working out. The name drawn in his place was Mike Williams, a well-liked and respected community leader from Aniak, Alaska who is deeply involved in the affairs of Native Alaskans. I know he is thankful that Martin chose to honor his commitment at his kennel!
But more importantly, a total of sixty-eight mushers signed up for the race today. Many more will sign-up before the November 30th deadline. Organizers expect the entries to approach one hundred teams again this year.
Please check in next week for news from North Carolina. I will be sharing information and lessons from Get Up and Play! and Mush! Iditarod Quest, two day camps that I teach at Carolina Day School’s day-camp, Summer Quest. These lessons are great for both camp and classroom!
Drawing for the $4000 free entry fee
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Drawing for the $4000 free entry fee
