Hi Boys and Girls,

It’s getting close to race time.  Are you ready?  Many of you will be picking a musher to follow in the race. In some classes, you’re assig ?ned to a musher or you pick a name from a hat. If you are able to make the decision yourself, I thought I’d give you some tips on how to pick the best musher for you to follow.

1. Look for similar interests- Read the musher bios on the Iditarod site.  Pick someone who has similar interests or hobbies that you do.  Find someone who’s from the same state you live in. Or maybe their non-mushing job is something you would like to do some day- teacher, be in the military, pilot, etc.  Really read the bios and find something the says “this person is for me”.
2. Look for something familiar- Pick someone with the same name as yours or who looks like a family member.
3. Take a chance on a rookie.  You never know which Rookie will be the “Rookie or the year” or a future top finisher.  Most rookies have been planning for years to run the Iditarod and have set goals for themselves.  Try to find out what their goal for the race is.
4. Pick for a musher with a website- If you are going to have to write a biography, or a report about your musher, this is a good way to make sure you have enough information to write a good report.  You will also be able to see pictures of your musher and the team.  Many times, someone will update the website during the race so you can get up to the moment stories about your musher and how the race is going for them.
5. The middle and back of the pack- Some of the best stories along the trail come from the middle and the back of the pack.  Most of these mushers do not intend to win the race.  They have set finishing the race as one their goals.  If they have run the race before, their goal is probably to finish in a better position and time than before.  These are certainly mushers to look at when picking someone to follow.
6. Picking a winner-  Everyone loves a winner and loves to win.  You need to remember that just because someone has won or placed high in the race before doesn’t mean the same will happen this year.  This is a race where anything can happen and anyone can scratch- even the best.  A plus to picking a past winner or top placer, is that they probably have a website and/or there is lots of information about them that you can use for your any reports you might have to write.

I hope that helps you pick a musher that is right for you. Most important thing is to have fun, enjoy learning about whoever you pick,  always be positive- even if your musher isn’t doing as well as you want him/her to do, they may be running the race they want to and accomplishing the goal they set for themselves.  Once you pick a musher, write me and let me know who you picked and why.  I can’t wait to hear your stories.

Have fun,

Gypsy