Femundsløpet (Norway)

[mira]

Just a fun fact, Robert Sørlie was a rookie in the short class this year

Robert decided to stop racing after last Iditarod and sold the the team in Alaska.. but he has finished 27 (now 28) femundsløp so he aims for 30 before he quits. His son, Håkon, wanted to participate once, for a trip, just too see what his dad has been doing (Håkon has been handler in many, many races, but never been a musher). So, Håkon got the A-team, while Robert raced the toddler team. The "camping" trip went quite well, and Håkon claimed 11th place (62 teams finished), two minutes before Bjørnar Andersen.

Robert himself said he started a bit too competitive, but managed to adjust his head

[Moose]

Very cool. Father and son on the trail. I wonder if this will be a one-only for Hakon or if he's been bitten by the bug!

[txbennett]

Mira. What can you tell us about Geir Idar Hjelvik who is running the Iditarod this year with a team from Dallas Seavey's kennel. Is he a good value for Fantasy Iditarod at $1,000, which is the minimum cost for a team?

[mira]

Not much, he has ran Femundløpet several times (like 15 or 16), but just $1000? That sounds like an bargain. Last year he got ROTY.

He is running Dallas' puppy team, with four experienced leader dogs.

http://www.femundlopet.no/nytt/lever-drmmen-fullt-ut-i-alaska (in norwegian, you can try to use google translate, https://translate.google.com and just paste the link and you get an idea of what the article is about...

Oh, and yes, at the bottom there is something about rørospolk which is a traditional folk dance (google translates it to røros pole.. it has nothing to do with pole dancing.. honestly )

[txbennett]

It sounds like a bargain to me too! Thanks Mira.