IditaProject Forum

Definitely missed Iditarod with my coffee this morning. However time for mushers and support people to,go,home for safety. With Iditarod loosing major sponsors, do you think it is sustainable? I am for good animal care but animal right groups are out of control.
Lesson to be learned—a tiny piece of RNA has brought world to it’s knees. It would be nice to think after all over we will have learned to put things in proper prospective. But cynical me thinks not.
Anyway what are thoughts about race continuing? I certainly hope so

I can see mushers wanting to continue the race despite the payout, but realistically I know how expensive it is to sustain their kennels etc.and there were a LOT of extra resources needed this year to support the race with the rescues and rerouting trail and checkpoints. Unfortunately none of that comes without a price. With all the change in the economy right now with the quarantines in place etc. it does look daunting. Might have to take a year off or rethink the way it is done. No matter what it costs a lot to ship all their drop bags to each checkpoint & I don't see any way around that expense? Yet things could turn around quickly on the upswing once the virus stuff is passed but who knows?!

The biggest hit to the sport might be the lack of cruise ships in Alaska waters this year. Many mushers count on that income from glacier tours to feed their kennels over the summer.

Gosh, I didn't think about the cruise ship "support" and how much that industry contributes to the kennels and, directly/indirectly to the race itself. Everything is so interconnected. When one domino falls, so go the others.

Did you all see Craig Medred's opinion piece? Love him or loathe him, he offers food for thought. Check out the the reader comments as well. It may already be posted here somewhere, but I'll slap it down here, too.

I do have high hopes that the "new guy" at the helm (whose name I simply cannot remember ) can maintain and improve the race. I loved the Insider this year. First time in many years I've been able to say that. And I loved his presence and energy at the arch for the teams coming in. Also hoping the partnership with Qrill can boost interest. Lots of dog people I know supplement their dogs' food with various krill oils, myself included. Many of them don't follow the races. Perhaps the partnership can focus on embracing those folks.

Here's the Medred article: https://craigmedred.news/2020/03/27/iditarod-future/

I do not agree with you on Craig Medred. Not a fan at all. His pieces are usually based on misconceptions and misinformation. Most in the sport will not speak to him anymore, so he just creates crap that he knows will stir people up.
I will not click on his articles.

Rob Urbach is the new CEO. I'm optimistic about what he can and will do for the race.

Having no opinion about Medred one way or the other I clicked on the article Moose. Holy cow he is long winded isn't he?
I can understand people who know him not wanting to read his stuff, and to be truthful, I did not read all of this article, just too long.

I did not endorse Medred, nor did I comment positively or negatively about anything in his article. It was offered, as I said, strictly as food for thought, and I recommended the reader comments as another perspective. Granted, I haven't read comments added since the day after the article was published, but I suspect there is food for thought to be found there as well.

Rob Urbach! Yes. Thank you. I'm looking forward to seeing/hearing what he plans going forward.

I read Medred regularly.
Although I think he is kind of a "glass half full" guy, he often gives a perspective not found elsewhere. (Danny Seavey is similar in this regard, in my opinion, but more "upbeat"). Medred is an outdoors person, has spent time with sled dogs and mushers and is intimate with many villages.
Although the comments can sometimes be difficult to wade through due to the same people peddling the same crap regardless of the topic, mushers, both recreational and "big time" usually chime in. Ramey and Jason Barron are insightful and in the latest article that Moose referenced Mitch and Shandelmeir posted.
Worth reading, whether you "like" Medred or not.