2021 Iditarod Race

[Fool]

Iditarod Download, Evening Day 7:

Current Top 10:

1. Dallas Seavey (Mile 677)
2. Aaron Burmeister (Rohn, Mile 676)
3. Brent Sass (Rohn)
4. Ryan Redington (Mile 673)
5. Wade Marrs (Mile 670)
6. Mille Porsild (Mile 656)
7. Richie Diehl (Mile 655)
8. Michelle Phillips (Mile 653)
9. Joar Leifseth Ulsom (Mile 642)
10. Jessie Royer (Mile 636)
11. Nic Petit (Mile 632)

As of this evening, Aaron Burmeister and Brent Sass were both camped in Rohn, and Dallas was charging ahead towards the Dalzell Gorge and Rainey Pass. On the run over to Rohn, Dallas passed Ryan Redington, nearly caught up to Brent Sass, and looked to be gaining ground on Aaron Burmeister as well. (It’ll be easier to tell once the standings update for the teams in Rohn.) But it’s safe to say that Dallas has the fastest or close to the fastest team among those leaders.

Surprisingly, Ryan Redington made the run from Nikolai to Rohn without stopping. It’s hard to say what Ryan is going to do from here. He’s due a good long rest in Rohn, especially in light of the challenging terrain ahead, but then from Rohn to Skwenta is a good 100 miles. He almost will have to break up that run into two shorter runs. Maybe he’s planning to do two 50ish mile runs with a shorter rest in between to try to cut into Dallas’s lead a little bit before Skwentna?

If you’ve been following the videos on Dallas Seavey’s facebook page, it’s eerie how accurately they’ve predicted how the race has unfolded. (Seriously. Is this man a wizard?) Watching today’s video (https://fb.watch/4df2PO37iq/), it’s likely Dallas will push through to Rainy Pass for one more 3-4 hour rest before making a long final push into Skwentna for his mandatory 8. So for anyone behind him, the only way they can beat him to Skwentna is by simply not stopping from this point on. Easier said than done.

Martin Buser’s facebook page has some good insight to what it’s like to be chasing a team at this stage in the race:

“At this point in the race it's not easy to make any "moves". Not impossible but very difficult. Only the BOLD will go for it. Most mushers out there are trying to maintain their position AND their dog teams in order to get to the finish with a healthy team.”

So who’s got a shot?

Joar Leifseth Ulsom camped out on the trail between Nikolai and Rohn, in a spot roughly 150 miles from Skwentna. Could he be setting up to put together 2x75 mile runs to get him to there? It would be a pretty bold plan, even if Joar is known for having a team that has the strength to do those long runs. But to get past Nikolai took a massive 13-hour effort, and another two 10+ hour runs back to back seems like it would be pushing it.

Brent and Aaron will likely leap frog past Dallas when he stops to rest in Rainy Pass. That will put them in the position of being able to see Dallas coming--and potentially cut their own rest short in an attempt to chase him into Skwentna.

Ryan Redington as mentioned before has potentially set himself up to give chase to Dallas. But watching his tracker speeds into Rohn, he has by far the slowest team right now, which does not bode well for either cutting rest or attempting a long, arduous run at this stage in the race.

It’s never boring on the Iditarod trail! Wade Marrs is right behind this top four and could very possibly chase down any stragglers who fall off the pace. And then there’s the chase pack of five, all bunched up within 30 miles, led by Mille Porsild and with Nicolas Petit bringing up the rear.

Nic Petit’s team is CHARGING after a conservative middle part of the race. I have a feeling he’s going to be chasing teams down all the way to the finish line. It would be great to see him have a strong finish after his mishaps on the coast these past couple of years.

In other news on the trail:

-Former champion Pete Kaiser scratched in McGrath today. His team has been dealing with a stomach bug for the last several hundred miles of the race, and that combined with the tough trail ahead made him pull the plug on the 2021 Iditarod. (https://kaiserracing.com/2021/03/in-the ... o-scratch/)
-It sounds like Joar’s team, along with several others, have been dealing with that same bug. Travis Beals, in particular, left Nikolai and then returned to the checkpoint after not liking how his dogs were moving. From an update from Sivo Racing Kennel:

“Some of the unpredictable rest and moves are coming from the fact that several of the teams have developed diarrhea. Joar reports that he thinks they got it in McGrath on the way out. He says - Kaiser, Royer and Beal’s teams have it. Joar thinks his team may have some of the worst. The vet in McGrath on the way back has given him some medication to try. As long as they keep eating they should be ok to continue.”
From Bruce Lee and Greg Heister: It sounds like a couple of the teams have been saving their speedy leaders for this late stage in the race. It’ll be interesting to see which teams are able to pour on the speed once they’re up and over Rainy Pace.

-On a related note: the last 150 miles of this race are going to have a very different feel than a normal year. For all the challenge of traversing back through the Alaska Range, once teams reach the top of Rainy Pass, it essentially is a downhill run to the finish line.

Quote of the Day:

“I'm calling the next section ( Nikolai to Skwentna ) Mr. Toad's Wild Ride!!!!! Hold on folks, this is going to be EXciting.” -Martin Buser’s Happy Trails facebook page

“Only get to hit the NO2 once.” -Mitch Seavey, in a facebook comment referencing Aaron Burmeister’s speedy run over to Nikolai.

“Kind of funny I had a conversation with my friends before the race started saying snowshoes aren’t worth much because you never use them. But that’s the first time I’ve been able to use mine, so it was nice to have them.” - Victoria Hardwick referencing a Mcguyver-esque fix she made to her sled after her front end broke from slamming into a tree. (https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2021/ ... duct-tape/)

“I got stuck waist-deep in the snow as I was trying to set up for this picture, and as they passed I could feel Richie Diehl's lead dogs judging me.” -Iditarod reporter, Zachariah Hughes (https://twitter.com/ZachHughesNews/stat ... 5915381765)

Odds and Ends:

-Interesting thoughts from mushers on the positive COVID test and challenges to cold and the sparse accommodations at checkpoints: https://www.adn.com/outdoors-adventure/ ... rod-trail/
-Someone made a Dallas Seavey’s Sweater twitter account: https://twitter.com/DallasSSweater
-If you haven’t caught the most recent post to Aaron Burmeister’s facebook page, and the hilarious nicknames given to some of the top teams in this race, please do so now: https://www.facebook.com/AaronBurmeiste ... tyleRacing

Dallas should be into Rainey Pass around 10:30pm AKST. A 3-4 hour rest and then a 9-ish hour run over to Skwentna puts him into Skwentna sometime tomorrow around noon. He can rest during the heat of the day and then hit the trail for the finish line tomorrow evening, putting the finish of this race as happening sometime in the early hours of Monday morning. Maybe. Math is hard. Don’t quote me on any of this.

[Moose]

Just a grateful high-five to everyone contributing here. And I mean everyone. But an especially high high-five to ElsieT and Fool. I don't now how you are able to gather so much information from so many sources and condense it all for consumption by the troops here. It's so much easier to simply drop in here several times a day than to hop, skip, and jump through all the other sources. Much much MUCH thanks, everone!

[klmobile]

Agree moose, we're lucky to have these wonderful wordsmiths sharing their race insights with us..

[fladogfan]

I also agree with you two. Many thanks for using your talents here elsietee and Fool.

[Fool]

I'm glad everyone is enjoying the updates! It's fun to have a group of people who are as equally obsessed with this race as me!

[Fool]

Iditarod Download, Evening Day 8:

Current Top 10:

1. Dallas Seavey (Mile 781, Skwentna)
2. Aaron Burmeister (Skwentna)
3. Brent Sass (Skwentna)
4. Mille Porsild (Mile 757)
5. Wade Marrs (Mile 754)
6. Ryan Redington (Mile 753)
7. Nicolas Petit (Mile 751)
8. Joar Leifseth Ulsom (Mile 741, Finger Lake)
9. Richie Diehl (Mile 735)
10. Michelle Phillips (Mile 734)

“I feel like this final stretch is about enjoying that team. And enjoying this group that you just accomplished an amazing thing with. And appreciating those dogs. And remembering, you know, how far they’ve travelled--both literally on this race and kind of metaphorically in their own development as a sled dog. And once you cross the finish line, this magical thing that is the Iditarod seems like it’s broken--not broken, just over. It ends. And that bond that you had, that so insane connection with each dog, with every aspect of this team, where if a dog moves over here you sense it more than see it or hear it...that is over. Once you come back to civilization...”

-Dallas Seavey, reflecting on what it means to come to the end of the Iditarod

For all that was different about this year’s race, in the end, where it really mattered--the mushers and their teams--it didn’t really feel that different at all.

And something else that feels similar--it’s another year with Dallas Seavey in position to win it all.

Aaron Burmeister put up a fight, making the long run from Rohn to Skwentna with barely an hour’s rest for his dogs. That hour is the difference in this race right now, as Dallas pulled into Skwentna 1 hour and 1 minute ahead of Aaron. Dallas has the faster team (he covered the stretch from Finger Lake to Skwentna 46 minutes faster than Aaron did) and has run a near perfect race--when he pulls out of Skwentna tonight to cover the final 61 miles of this race, he’ll do so with both the lead and the luxury of being on a trail that will make it very hard for anyone to sneak up on him. It’s flat, fast river miles to the finish, and mushers will be able to see the headlamps of teams behind them a long way in the dark.

It’s not over until it’s over, but it would take a shocking turn of events for Dallas to lose at this point. And Aaron Burmeister, with his bold move over from Rohn, has built up enough of a cushion over Brent Sass that it would be almost impossible for Sass to catch him at this point as well.

You have to wonder what it feels like to be Aaron Burmeister at this point. Is he tracking every detail of the race, obsessing over those lost minutes and moments that could have resulted in him reaching Skwentna with Dallas instead of just barely behind? Is he satisfied with a race well run and a team of dogs that have done such a good job to make it this far? Or it a mix of both?

There’s still plenty of good racing to be had. Positions 4-7 in this race are still very much in the air, as the foursome of Mille Porsild, Wade Marrs, Ryan Redington, and Nicolas Petit are spread out over only a scant couple of miles. It wouldn’t be a surprise if their current running order changes up on the trail to Skwentna.

Mille has run an awesome race, building on her Rookie of the Year finish a year ago. Her last substantial rest was in Rohn, with a brief hour-long stop past Finger Lake as well, and the big question at this point is if she can hold off the teams behind her on the long march to Skwentna.

Wade Marrs has quietly put himself in contention for a top-5 spot in this year’s race. He and Ryan Redington are neck and neck and it should be a good battle to the finish for them.

Ryan Redington is down to 7 dogs, which theoretically isn’t necessarily too much of an obstacle right now. They’re past the tough hills and have some fast trail ahead to the finish. But he’s been running a smaller team for a while--will that have put him at a disadvantage for this point in the race?

And Nicolas Petit has been putting in some great runs to work his way back up with this lead group. His last big rest was also in Rohn--is he going to push all the way to Skwentna, or stop to rest somewhere along the way? He might be faster than the teams ahead of him--does he have a shot of chasing any of them down?

There’s only one way to find out.

QOTD: (This is really just the Dallas Seavey show today. No apologies.)

“Gamble, you’re going to have to wear your clothes, buddy!” -Dallas Seavey

“Gamble! You done with your kibbles up there? You peeing? We’ll wait for you to pee, buddy…[Dallas spends some time fiddling with a gps unit] Gamble! Oh--are you still peeing, buddy? There you go! That was the world’s longest pee.” -Dallas Seavey, Iditarod champion (Gamble is clearly the problem child of this team.)

“I kinda feel like a mama duck around here.” -Dallas Seavey, coming into and then out of the checkpoint at Rohn.

[Dallas Seavey coughs leaving the Rainy Pass checkpoint.] “I just got tested-I’m negative, it’s not COVID, don’t worry. Gotta get out of here before I have another one of those tests.”

Odds and Ends:

-What do mushers store in their sled? (Read especially for the fun tidbit that Martin Buser has been drinking out of a pringle can for the last couple of days because his thermos has been frozen.) https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2021/ ... rod-trail/
-Some good quotes from mushers on the trail: https://www.adn.com/outdoors-adventure/ ... n-mushers/
-Check out Sean Maguire on Twitter. He’s a reporter who has been out on the trail during the race, and has some great pictures and stories about various dogs running the race. https://twitter.com/SeanBMaguire
-Colin McDonald is bringing the memes to this year’s Iditarod: https://www.facebook.com/colin.mcdonald.902 (How did I just find out about this guy now!)

It’s going to be a great night of racing!

[RAIMIS2]

should be a heck of a race for 4th!

also to be seen if Ramey Smith makes it into top ten again.

[Fool]

Iditarod Download, The Last:

The end of the Iditarod won’t come for another couple of days. As of this morning, the back of the pack was still in Rohn, meaning it will be at least another couple of days before Victoria Hardwick or Dakota Schlosser crosses the finish line. But all good things must come to an end…

Final Top 10:

1. Dallas Seavey
2. Aaron Burmeister
3. Brent Sass
4. Wade Marrs
5. Mille Porsild
6. Nicolas Petit
7. Ryan Redington
8. Joar Leifseth Ulsom
9. Richie Diehl
10. Ramey Smyth
11. Michelle Phillips

Yesterday was a fun day of racing! For all the close packs setting out from Skwentna, not much passing actually happened on the trail. (Reminding us all once again that these are dog teams, and are not equipped with a turbo button. Ramey Smyth, however, did manage to pass Michelle Phillips. Impressive...and classic Ramey.) But seeing the teams cross the line having accomplished this monumental task, seeing the trail hardened tiredness but also the encouragement and celebration with their team and hearing the fun (and not so fun) stories of the trail...the Iditarod is truly an event like none other.

Dallas Seavey’s team came charging into the finish. (Of the top 15 finishers, he had the third fastest run time from Skwentna, which is pretty dang impressive.) Greg Heister asked him, about winning a record-tying 5th Iditarod: ‘Number five, can you sum it up?” To which Dallas succinctly replied, “Comes after four, I guess.”

Aaron Burmeister was tearing up crossing the finish line. I think this race is going to stick with him for quite a while. In his post-race interview, he talked about how he worked up two schedules for the race: a conservative one and a more aggressive one. He ended up racing more conservatively...but the aggressive schedule matched almost exactly the race Dallas ended up running…

Brent Sass was enthusiastically cheering on his team entering the finish chute. It’s fun watching how excited and encouraging he is with them. "3rd place, one better than last year. We'll just keep going up, that's the plan!"

I am beyond impressed that Wade Marrs managed to pull off a 4th place Iditarod finish when he was a new father this year. (Maybe the sleep deprivation helped him prepare for the race?) And if you haven’t read this story about Wade’s lead dog, Mask, do it now: https://www.facebook.com/stumpjumpinken ... 1546269205 (Just be prepared to cry.)

Mille Porsild is just awesome. Tough, smart, positive, she’d been doing arctic expeditions with freight dogs for years before coming to the Iditarod. So even though this is only her second race, she’s definitely not a rookie, as both last year and this year proved. And she’s doing it all with a team of dogs put together from multiple different kennels--that’s incredibly impressive. (Also, it was hilarious hearing fans mimic the “trill” that Mille makes for her dogs to encourage them to run--and watching Dee Dee Jonrowe spearhead the de-bootying efforts for Mille’s team when they came in.) https://www.facebook.com/RunningSleddog ... 8977485366

I could go on. Every team had their own story coming in. Some mushers were focused on their dogs and ready to get out of the spotlight. Some mushers were eager to talk and share a little bit of their experience on the trail. (And then there was Jessie Royer--she was a little punchy and would have stayed out there sharing trail stories all day. AND WE WOULD HAVE LISTENED!!!) And it’s hard not to share that sense of accomplishment with them.

Basically, I spent yesterday stealthily watching the Iditarod live cam in my office and trying not to get too emotional in case my co-workers caught me.

Some final highlights:

-Jeff Deeter and Jessie Royer ran into a moose on the trail! https://www.facebook.com/blacksprucedog ... 772840507/ (And listening to Jessie tell the story when she came into the finish chute was hilarious.)
-Dallas Seavey’s planned rest in Rainy Pass got interrupted--by the semi-wild horses that roam that area. https://www.facebook.com/seaveysididari ... 435742909/ (Picturing the poor checkpoint volunteers trying to corral a herd of horses that just wanted the hay Dallas’s team was using is too much.)
-What happens after you win the Iditarod. A great insight into what goes on after you cross the finish line: https://www.facebook.com/seaveysididari ... 9322220587

Quote of the Day:

“It would have been scary as crap…” -Jessie Royer musing on what the run back would have been like if snow hadn’t fallen over the Burn before teams passed back through.

“All I’ve got to say is ‘Son of Mitch’.” -Jeff King’s comment on a facebook post sharing an old copy of Mushing magazine with the header, “Can anyone stop Dallas?” I died laughing.

Odds and Ends:

-Aliy Zirkle shared an account of what happened on the night of her accident. It’s pretty brutal. I still can’t believe she was able to get her team into Rohn with a severe concussion and separated shoulder. I would love to see her get the Most Inspirational Musher award this year, but maybe that’s just me. https://spkennel.com/2021/03/message-from-aliy/
-Dallas Seavey had some candid comments after winning the race about what his victory meant in light of everything that happened in the past with the scandal in the 2017 Iditarod where he was accused of drugging his dogs. https://www.adn.com/outdoors-adventure/ ... and+top+10
-An awesome collection of pictures from the 2021 race: https://www.adn.com/outdoors-adventure/ ... and+top+10
-Toni Reitter has a great recap of the finishes for the top 13 teams: https://tonichelle.blogspot.com/2021/03 ... l?spref=tw

Until next year!

[fladogfan]

Fool, thank you for all your sharing of info.
Please don't be a stranger, stick around for awhile.

[Fool]

Fool, thank you for all your sharing of info.
Please don't be a stranger, stick around for awhile.

I'll be sticking around for sure! (I mean, I at least have to see if my Fantasy Iditarod team cracks the top ten, right?)