ASK THE MUSHER Vol 7: Rohn Buser

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ASK THE MUSHER Vol 7: Rohn Buser

Postby Di* » Sat Nov 15, 2008 6:20 pm

Welcome to the forum Rohn! :)

Thanks so much for taking time from your busy schedule to chat with us!

This thread will be open for a week starting 11-17 so be sure to get your questions/comments in during this time and Rohn will answer them when he can.......Have fun!

Visit Rohn's page on his family website for info on his Iditarod efforts:
http://www.buserdog.com/rohn.php

Introducing Rohn Buser!
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Here is his race record in his own words....
Rohn Buser wrote:The Jr. Iditarod, 150 miles, two 2nds and a first place(beat Ellen).

The Kuskokwim 300, 4th place, rookie of the year, and 5th place

The Goose Bay 120, 2nd place

The Iditarod, 1100 miles, 37th place

During the winter of 07/08 I participated and trained for the Iditarod. It is the most difficult but most rewarding race I have ever done. Another difficult race was the K300 that year, due to the amount of water on the Kuskokwim River the race was called the Kuskoswim. I led about half the race, but ended in fifth place. At one point on the race I had to lead my dogs through almost waist deep water. During that winter I also helped with research looking into how sled dogs' muscles resist fatigue. During the Iditarod, Original Productions filmed me for the show The toughest Race On Earth, which is on the Discovery.


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Rohn at the Ceremonial Start of Iditarod '08-Note his bib number coincides with his placing-37th! Pretty cool Rohn! 8-)
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Rohn with his bro Nickolai
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Rohn Interview at Unalakleet
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BSSD Kids with Rohn
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All Pictures used with permission
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Re: ASK THE MUSHER VOL 7: ROHN BUSER

Postby MelanieGouldFanBrian » Mon Nov 17, 2008 6:49 am

Welcome Rohn. I can hear the ladies on our forum sighing and swooning now :D Trust me.
So a real easy question to start you off.
In graphic detail, just how is it being the son of 4 time Iditarod Champion Martin Buser?
Seriously, did you and your father train together for your run last March, or did you have some techiques and training of your own?
Again welcome to our forum. We're weird at times. But essentially a good group of fanatics.

MGFB
You ought to be thankful, a whole heaping lot, for the places and people you're lucky you're not."
Dr. Seuss
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Re: ASK THE MUSHER VOL 7: ROHN BUSER

Postby txbennett » Mon Nov 17, 2008 7:28 am

Hi Rohn -- thank you for agreeing to take the time to visit with us and to answer some of our questions. It was fun following your race last year on the internet, watching you and your dad run together for a while.

I have the DVD "Martin Buser: For the Love of Dogs" from your website BuserDog.com. It's very well done, and shows the bond, literally "from birth", between a musher and his or her dogs -- all of the dogs, not just those that make the Iditarod team.

Your schooling must interfere with the bonding and training that is shown on the DVD. Also, I assume you do not get the "picks of the kennel" for your team, but must choose between those dogs that are not running with your dad. This must make it difficult to develop the level of trust and confidence that exists with the most competitive teams.

How do you allocate your time between "growing up and getting educated" and training and preparing for The Last Great Race?

Adding in the time required for our "Ask the Musher" series is another demand on your time. Thanks again for making the effort.

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Re: ASK THE MUSHER VOL 7: ROHN BUSER

Postby sc-race-fan » Mon Nov 17, 2008 7:38 am

Welcome... Just got finished watching the first 4 of the "last Great race" episodes while keeping the grandkids this past weekend. I have been, and continue to be, impressed with your father's sportmanship and will never forget the fact that after winning the race a couple of years ago he went to the finishline and greeted all those who came in after him regardless of time day or night. He continues to be one of my favorites each year and in my TTPicks. His pride in you shows and I truly hope you realize that. There was a scene in the film where he said something like "he'll be along in 30 seconds or so if he is following his schedule, and I believe he will be". Just a few moments later you came into view. To me, that shows what kind of young man you are and how you were taught and your desire to succeed for the right reasons. Thanks for joining the forum so the idita-fanatics all over the world can chat. My question to you is one of team selection. How did/do you select your team? Did your dad say " pick any except "XXX" or "YYY" or "ZZZ" because I want them for my leaders", or did you build a training bond so strong with some of the lot, that your team picks were from that process? Thanks again for participating.
Proud PaPa of the triplet litter; Aidan (B), Bailey (G), and Cameron (B). Cameron is on top in picture; Bailey, of course, is the bowhead!!
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Re: ASK THE MUSHER VOL 7: ROHN BUSER

Postby BB Backer » Mon Nov 17, 2008 7:40 am

Rohn, welcome to the forum. We are thrilled to have you here. :D :D :D Congratulations on your Iditarod finish and being accepted at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. They are both huge accomplishments. As a big Buser family fan, I have a few burning questions.

What did you learn from the Iditarod that has become valuable to you in everyday life?

Who are some of your favorite dogs and what makes them special?

What character traits have you inherited from your dad?

From what I understand, everyone has a time during the Iditarod that they feel like scratching. Where or when did it happen for you and can you elaborate on it?

Did you feel extra pressure as a rookie being the son of a 4-time champ?

I guess those are enough questions for now. :? Thanks again for joining us on the forum. It is soooooo appreciated. :D :D :D

By the way, BB Backer stands for Buser Boys' Backer :lol: :lol: :lol: I told you I was a big fan of the family. A few years back I visited Happy Trails Kennel and had a long chat with your dad and became a lifelong fan. :D :D :D

Go Team Buser!!!
When you’re happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
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Re: ASK THE MUSHER VOL 7: ROHN BUSER

Postby emwcee » Mon Nov 17, 2008 8:46 am

Rohn,

Thanks so much for participating. I know how busy you are with school. We are really looking forward to hearing from you. BTW, I"m Marcia, your Facebook friend, the one who originally contacted you to do "Ask the Musher." My screen name "emwce" stands for my initials (mwc).

OK, here are a few questions:

Can you remember the first time you mushed solo, or were you too young? What was it like to run dogs as a kid? Was it more like play or like work?

When you raced the Iditarod, what was your favorite spot on the trail?

Now that you are in college, far away from Alaska, do your friends ever ask you what your parents do for a living? How do you describe what your dad does, and how do your friends respond?

That's enough for now, but I may think of more later.
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Re: ASK THE MUSHER VOL 7: ROHN BUSER

Postby MotorWerk » Mon Nov 17, 2008 10:04 am

Hi Rohn.

Does it happen often that you get really afraid, or at least pretty nervous, out on the trail? Are there certain excercises for the mind you use to control those emotions?

In your experience - is mushing a chick magnet?

Thanks for your time and the best of luck this coming season.

S.K. Olsen/Norway
-exit body, exit mind-

""It's a mathematical certainty that somewhere among all the millions of stars, there is another planet where they speak Norwegian""
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Re: 11/17 ASK THE MUSHER VOL 7: ROHN BUSER

Postby Rohn » Mon Nov 17, 2008 1:46 pm

Hi Everybody, great forum here.

Brian,
I don't really know how to describe being the son of an Iditarod champion because its all I know. Last winter my dad and I trained pretty much together, I am lucky because I learned everything I know about mushing from a champion.

TXbennett,
School does interfere with training somewhat, but what I did last year was take a light schedule (3 classes) and graduated in December, allowing me to have much more time to work with the dogs. Throughout training, my dad and I both worked with all of our racing dogs so that they all got to know us. My dad got first pick of the teams (he is the one paying for college for me), but my team had lots of amazing dogs that could potentially be in this year's team.
About the bond of confidence, I believe that my team trusted me, but not necessarily on the level that my dad's team trusted him. This is because he has been running dogs for longer than I have been alive, and I still don't know near the amount of things that my dad knows.
Right now I'm "getting educated" at RPI in Troy, NY, so mushing is kind of out of the question. It was not too difficult for me to get the time last year because I took an easy school schedule, but balancing a full time job and training is one of the most difficult things for many mushers out there.

sc-race-fan,
When people would ask us that question, we would respond with "Ownership has its privileges." He got first pick, I still had a great team.

BB Backer,
What did you learn from the Iditarod that has become valuable to you in everyday life?
I learned patience and resolve on the Iditarod for sure. I'm sure I've learned much more that I don't realize yet too.

Who are some of your favorite dogs and what makes them special?
I try not to have a favorite dog, and to focus on the team as a whole. All of my team was special to me, especially the finishers. I had some awesome young leaders Lance and Lionel, who were awesome. Marlin and Nemo were also some big guns in my team that were always ready to go. Electra and Hot Foot were great, Electra and Marlin made a great pair. Sam had such a good attitude, even though he got a little sick towards the end of the race his tail was always wagging.

What character traits have you inherited from your dad?
I feel like I have a similar attitude towards things as my dad, trying to stay positive as much as possible.

From what I understand, everyone has a time during the Iditarod that they feel like scratching. Where or when did it happen for you and can you elaborate on it?
I had a few "why am I doing this" or "this sucks" moments on the race, during a bad run or two, but I didn't pay that much thought because watching my dad finish every Iditarod he has entered kind of takes the thought of quitting out of my mind. In Kaltag I was feeling pretty low, I dropped 2 dogs there I think, making my team 8, which is pretty small for having 300 miles to go. I was worried I would not have a large enough team, but I had a few good runs to the coast, and everything worked out fine.

Did you feel extra pressure as a rookie being the son of a 4-time champ?
I went into the race knowing that I was doing it to see what my dad experiences every year, and to finish, so I don't believe I had any extra pressure.

Marcia,

Can you remember the first time you mushed solo, or were you too young? What was it like to run dogs as a kid? Was it more like play or like work?
I don't remember the first time I took out my own team, but I remember that it was always a great time training dogs. When we were little my dad, brother, and I would take 2 teams out, and my dad would switch which team he was riding on to give us both advice.

When you raced the Iditarod, what was your favorite spot on the trail?
Each spot had something unique. The beginning was nice because I was somewhat fimiliar with the area, the Alaska Range was exciting and an acomplishment, I had an amazing run on the Yukon, under the brightest Aurora I've ever seen. The coast was great, the terrain and the people.
My dad's philosophy, which I adopted is "If wherever you are at is your favorite place, you're always happy to be there"

Now that you are in college, far away from Alaska, do your friends ever ask you what your parents do for a living? How do you describe what your dad does, and how do your friends respond?
All of my friends know that my dad races dogs, everybody thinks it is pretty cool. Most actually know what the Iditarod is, so I just tell them my dad races sled dogs, has won the Iditarod, and has the record for fastest time.

S.K. Olsen
Does it happen often that you get really afraid, or at least pretty nervous, out on the trail? Are there certain excercises for the mind you use to control those emotions?
I never really get nervous or afraid on the trail because I know that if I take care of my dogs, they take care of me. They keep me company on the trail.

In your experience - is mushing a chick magnet?
Haha, if nothing else it is definitely a good conversation starter.



Thanks for all of the questions so far
-Rohn
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Re: 11/17 ASK THE MUSHER VOL 7: ROHN BUSER

Postby BB Backer » Mon Nov 17, 2008 3:05 pm

Rohn,
Great answers! :D :D :D Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule.

Did the Doratidi snowmachine trip you took with the family help you at all when it came to running the Iditarod...maybe visualizing the terrain or meeting people at the checkpoints? Did your dad give you a running commentary about his race when you stopped along the trail on that trip?

When you weren't racing and your dad was, how did you follow the race? Did you spend a lot of time online? Did you read forums like Cabelas, etc.? I suppose you knew your dad's strategy and could tell when things were going as planned and when he was struggling.

When planning the race, do you use lots of stats, spread sheets, etc?

I know your dad whistles along the trail to keep the dogs happy. What did you do? :D

With your dad being Swiss, have you been to Switzerland with him and did you ever learn to speak the language?

Thanks again for indulging us. :D

BB Backer
Go Team Buser!!!
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Re: 11/17 ASK THE MUSHER VOL 7: ROHN BUSER

Postby Rohn » Mon Nov 17, 2008 3:44 pm

The trip back in 2002 helped me a bit with the trail, although the distances and terrain definitely looks different behind a dog team.

Usually I just check the Iditarod website and maybe read a few articles from the paper or online.

I made some notes for distances, approximate travel times, and landmarks on the trail.

I whistle to my dogs also, or sing or talk to them.

I went to Switzerland with my family when I was about 8, and with my brother this summer. I never learned to speak German.
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