There's been a winner! Lance Mackey crossed the finish line in Whitehorse at 1:23am local time trailed by only 15 minutes by rookie & second place winner Ken Anderson. This is Mackey's 4th win for this race, the most anyone has ever won it. It took more then 10days to complete. The race for 3rd, 4th, & 5th place is still tight with Michelle Phillips, David Dalton, & Brent Sass running close together. Kyla Boivin is currently running in the red lantern spot (the last racer in wins a red lantern which is a very honorable place).
Some highlights of the race this year:
*The jumble ice on the Yukon River on the Alaska side was a real challenge to all mushers. Julie Estey torn her ACL/broke her leg (?) on the ice and had to continue on until the next check-in point which was still miles away at Slavin Cabin. Slavin's Cabin is off the road system so they had to figure out a way to air evacuate her.
*Early in the race one of the rookie mushers was Withdrawn by race officials because veterinarians were concerned about the well being of his dogs. The Quest is a race that takes the well being of the dogs very much into account.
*Frank Turner, the oldest musher (60yrs) who has raced the Quest for 24 out it's 25 year existence (a real record), scratched early on citing that he was too old for this race anymore and the his wife should divorce him if he tries to run it again.
*So far we've had 8 mushers scratch (scratch is what it's called when you decide not to finish the race for whatever reason)
Some highlights of the race this year:
*The jumble ice on the Yukon River on the Alaska side was a real challenge to all mushers. Julie Estey torn her ACL/broke her leg (?) on the ice and had to continue on until the next check-in point which was still miles away at Slavin Cabin. Slavin's Cabin is off the road system so they had to figure out a way to air evacuate her.
*Early in the race one of the rookie mushers was Withdrawn by race officials because veterinarians were concerned about the well being of his dogs. The Quest is a race that takes the well being of the dogs very much into account.
*Frank Turner, the oldest musher (60yrs) who has raced the Quest for 24 out it's 25 year existence (a real record), scratched early on citing that he was too old for this race anymore and the his wife should divorce him if he tries to run it again.
*So far we've had 8 mushers scratch (scratch is what it's called when you decide not to finish the race for whatever reason)
*One of the racers had to give one of her dogs mouth-to-mouth
I'll give you at least one more final update (don't want to bore you too much with mushing news) but there is also the NEXT RACE to look forward to: The Iditarod starts March 1st in downtown Anchorage.
I'll give you at least one more final update (don't want to bore you too much with mushing news) but there is also the NEXT RACE to look forward to: The Iditarod starts March 1st in downtown Anchorage.
Have you ever tried to get Disreputable to pull anything?
ReplyDelete15 minutes difference after 10 days, that's incredible! It sounds like the Tour de France, where weeks of racing come down to mere minutes or even seconds between first and second place.
ReplyDeleteSo, do you think the Iditarod will be a repeat of last year? Two wins by Mackey in a row? It will be very interesting to watch!
ReplyDeleteI love the quote about Frank Turner. And yes, see if you can train not just one but both of the Disreputables (though I imagine the cat would end up being the musher and you and the dog doing all the work).
ReplyDeletechuck, indeed I have. He's a great skijoring dog and can also pull an amazing amount of firewood or toddler on a sled.
ReplyDeletecae, indeed, it was amazing, I love it when they're close like that at the end!
silver fox, thanks for commenting! I secretly hope someone else wins the Iditarod just because I like to see new faces win the race but I suspect he will be one of the top racers. It will indeed be interesting to watch.
tousers, I had a friend in Fairbanks who had a huge dog and a little itty bitty dog both of whom she skijored with. When the little one would get tired it would jump on the big dog's back who wouldn't even stop or seem to notice. Maybe I could get the Disreputables to do something like that.