Iditarod Fever!

Saturday was the start of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race. I don’t ever remember being into the Iditarod when I was growing up here. I remember when Susan Butcher was winning and some of the other big names, but we didn’t follow it. Then we moved back to Alaska. In 2006, I took our two oldest, Will and Gwen, downtown to see the start of the Iditarod race. I don’t even remember why we went. It was probably just something to do on a Saturday morning or to give Rebecca a break. Either, way I packed up the kids and a stroller. I was surprised by how exciting it was to see the dogs and the mushers get ready. It really is the dogs that set the tone. They are all riled up, barking and pulling at their traces. The kids loved seeing all those dogs and the sleds. There is just something really fun about dog mushing.


While we were watching a musher prep her dogs--she was putting booties on the dogs’ feet--she started talking to Gwen who was sitting in her stroller. Gwen was really cute and chatty. When she was done she handed Gwen one of the doggie booties and told her it had been on the Iditarod trail. Gwen clutched that bootie the rest of the day. She was really proud of it when she showed it to Rebecca.


For the past three years, we have tried to go the Iditarod start, but for one reason or another we never did. This year we put it on the calendar in advance and kept the day open. Last Friday night, I brought home a huge map of the Iditarod Trail. That night we each picked a musher.



I chose Ed Iten of Kotzebue, AK. I met him this summer in Selawik. I got to know him a little and he is a really nice guy.


Rebecca chose Sven Haltmann of Willow, AK. She liked his name and the fact that he was from Willow.


When William was asked who he wanted he shouted Lance Mackey of Fairbanks, AK. He is the Tiger Woods of sled dog racing. No really, he is.




It came as no surprise to us that Gwenna chose DeeDee Jonrowe of Willow, AK. She is the top female competitor and one of the most well known mushers. She also seems to like pink a lot. It was an easy sell for Gwenna.


Benjamin chose Ray Redington Jr. of Wasilla, AK. Ben picked him because as Ben put it he is the son (actually grandson), of the King of the Iditarod.




Timothy chose Rick Larson of Montana. It was a tough pick for our four-year-old, with several other mushers being picked then dropped.


Xianli chose Judy Currier of Fairbanks, AK because I have worked with her husband. He races in even years.


Ransom, at six months, played it safe and went with Martin Buser of Big Lake, AK who holds the current record for the fastest Iditarod run ever.


So once we picked our mushers, we headed off to the race on Saturday to cheer them on. We had a great time walking around downtown and watching the dogs. We tried to track down our mushers. William and I got to shout “Good luck!” to Lance Mackey. I don’t think he heard. There were too many groupies in front of us. Gwenna got to see DeeDee’s team but not DeeDee. We saw several others too. In all, it was really fun and now we are tracking them as they race towards Nome.

Heart Run 2007

Saturday was the annual Heart Run. It is a 5K run sponsored by the American Heart Association and helps raise money to fight heart diseases. This is our second year participating. We have had so much fun, that it is quickly becoming a family tradition.

So Saturday morning we piled all five kids and the jogging stroller in the car and headed out to the race. We had to park at Providence Hospital and walk the half mile over to the starting area. We were glad we got there early so we had plenty of time to take a detour and climb all over the UAA art building’s sculpture. You have got to love modern art that seconds as a really cool jungle gym.

Since we got to the start area around 9 AM and the non-competitive event didn’t start until 10 AM we walked around sampling all the booths. Our favorite was the Great Harvest Bread Company’s booth. William was first in line, bouncing up and down with excitement, waiting for the ladies to open up shop. Their cinnamon chip bread really is that good.

After start of the competitive event started we headed over to the starting area. They announced that over 6,500 people were participating year. It seemed like most of them were in the non-competitive event with us. We hung out in the back with the rest of the strollers. Rebecca was carrying Xianli in her baby sling while pushing Ben and Tim. I was assigned William and Gwenna. This didn’t seem fair at the time, but Rebecca insisted. She said someone needed to run ahead with those two. While waiting a reported from the Anchorage Daily News came by and interviewed Rebecca for about five minutes. I think he was just awed by the five kids. In the end we didn’t make the cut for the article.

At 10 AM the horn sound and with a cheer from the crowd the race started. Ten minutes later we crossed the starting line. It was pretty slow going at first then the competitive spirit hit and Will and Gwen decided to take off. Their little bodies were quickly dodging and weaving through the crowds of people. Then I started earning my keep. Rebecca was right; it was all I could do to keep up with them while not knocking anyone over.

Once things thinned out they really took off. I was impressed at their stamina. Then Gwenna at the three quarter mile mark wanted to be carried. So I tossed her on my back and trotted ahead to keep up with William. I ended up carrying her on and off for about half the race. Most of the time I carried her after one of her several falls so she could recoup. William stayed ahead of us by about 100 feet or so, always slowing down to stay in sight of us. At the last corner, he slowed down to wait for us when we passed him on the other side. We lost sight of him and crossed the finish line just ahead of him.

Gwenna, William, and I finished the 5K run in 37 minutes. I was feeling pretty good having done half of it with 45 pounds on my back, especially since those pounds like to swing her legs a lot. Rebecca and the other kids finished around 45 minutes, not bad for pushing 100 extra pounds. Rebecca told me that Ben had acted as her horn. Anytime they had people in front of them, he would shout, “Get out of the WAY!” Ben and Tim were especially proud of their medals.

To celebrate the race we all when out to Subway for lunch. As a sponsor Subway had given out coupons for free 6-inch subs, which we eagerly took them up on. After lunch, Rebecca and I just about crashed, while the kids all ran outside to play to get so more exercise.