2021 Iditarod

bob the dog

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Aug 14, 2020
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Starts in willow, ends in Willow. Circles down past Iditarod from the northern route to come back on the southern route I believe. 816 total miles so more than just a stroll in the park. Sunday blastoff.

Hoping for good conditions and a fun race.
 
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bob the dog

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Aug 14, 2020
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Nic Petit at the front as per his usual. No Martin Buser.

Always tricky to follow with the mandatory rests and Iditarod.com doing everything they can to make you sign up for news.

Ally is there and don't count her out.
 

bob the dog

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Aug 14, 2020
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Martin Buser is there and running close to the front. Some mushers are taking the mandatory 8 early in Rohn. Won't really be clear until the 24's are over.

Conditions look good.
 

bob the dog

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Somewhere between Rainey Pass and Rohn musher Ally Zirkle is believed to have suffered a significant fall and sustained a concussion and upper torso injuries.

Details are sketchy but sadly her race is over. No harm to her team.
 

bob the dog

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Aug 14, 2020
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3 man race to the mandatory 8 hr rest in Skwetna. Aaron Burmeister, Dallas Seavey, Brent Sass all with a chance.

It's like 3 to go at Talladega at 7.5 mph.

Congratulations extended to all that participated.
 

bob the dog

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Sorry if I am boring anyone. Try it at home if you think it sounds easy.

03/14. Morning (CST) update. LEADERS! 5:26 am AKST. 6 days 14 hours.
1. Seavey 2. Burmeister 3. Sass
Sprint. Leapfrogging. Seavey is the only one who rested since Rohn (53 mile run). 54 miles to Skwentna and last mandatory 8 hr rest!
Discussion: Dallas Seavey passed Burmeister and Sass in Rohn. They rested there ~4 hours and left the checkpoint respectively ~3 and ~4 hours after Seavey.
All three climbed 35 miles from Rohn (elev 1,440 ft) through the Dalzell Gorge and into Rainy Pass (elev 3,160 ft!) without breaks. Dallas had the best runtime (~20 minutes faster than the other two). He reached the Rainy Pass at 10:05 pm and stopped to rest. While he was there, Burmeister arrived ~3 hours later. Burmeister blew through the checkpoint and regained first place. Dallas Seavey rested his team for 4 hours at the checkpoint and left it ~1.5 hour after Burmeister. Sass arrived at the pass shortly after Seavey left. He grabbed supplies and continued chasing the first two mushers.
Around 4:30 am Burmeister stopped on Shirley Lake. Around 5 am Seavey passed him and is again in 1st place. Burmeister pulled hook just 4 minutes later.
Seavey has 13 miles to Finger Lake and 54 miles to Skwentna where all mushers will take last mandatory layover of 8 hours.
 

bob the dog

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Aug 14, 2020
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It is hard to beat a Seavey when it comes to dog sledding. Dallas Seavey had to work for it but made it look easy in the end and gave the credit to his dogs. He now sits among Iditarod elite with 5 wins and at only 34 will continue to be heard from for many years to come. His father won the 2018 race but did not compete this year. Average winning speed was slightly less than 5 mph over just under 8 days.

For all the PETA enthusiasts, consider the 500,000 dog miles ran during the race and at least double that in training without an incident. More deserving of praise and promotion than criticism but it is what it is. Brent Sass finishing with 13 of the 14 he started out with was amazing.

Hats off to all mushers and race support personnel for a job well done once again. Year 50 coming up so don't see them stopping before then.