IditaProject Forum

My memory isn't really sharp on details, but I don't recall Brent ever scratching in a race. I remember when he was removed from the Quest for his TBI ( concussion), and when he was dismissed by ITC for his forbidden " device" he used for music on the trail.

I cannot imagine the amount of pain he must be in to scratch for his own sake.

The insider Guys gave an extended update on brent a little bit ago.
They mentioned he was having troubles as he was coming in to Eagle Island, and that a couple of their crew were helping him and keeping an eye on him. They said a plane was coming in to take them to Unalakleet where Brent could get some help and they would upload videos from eagle island.
We had a guy at work with a serious periodontal infection, he was falling asleep standing up and incoherent before he finally got help. Hopefully Brent will get through this quickly.

Thanks KL for the heads up. It does bite to be Brent today.
No, we don't have a dropped dog from Wild and Free, we have a dropped musher.

Breeze wrote:Thanks KL for the heads up. It does bite to be Brent today.
No, we don't have a dropped dog from Wild and Free, we have a dropped musher.

I applaud Brent for understanding the magnitude of what was happening with himself.

Sad to see, but Brent will be back... and better for this experience.

The TTP thread will be impacted almost zero... because a lot of us had Brent somewhere in the list.

The TTP thread will be impacted almost zero... because a lot of us had Brent somewhere in the list.

Too funny - silver lining

Poor Brent. Teeth problems can be so painful, I think a lot of us had him in first or very close in our TTPs. edit to add (20 had Brent in first place) quick count so may be off

So sorry to read of Brent's difficulties. He's a tough guy, and I wonder how long he's been ailing and experiencing discomfort--enough discomfort to end his race. Wishing/hoping/praying him well.

Gutted for brent, thats must be a hard decision. But i know what a bad tooth abcess is like and it’s absolutely agony, i can imagine with the cold, lack of sleep and probably not a lot of painkillers or antibiotics on the trail for humans (although often vets help the mushers out) then it must have been bad.

And Greg Vitello out at Iditarod has scratched:

Rookie musher Gregg Vitello (bib #29), of Milan, New Hampshire,
scratched at 3:34 p.m. today at the Iditarod checkpoint which was in best interest of his team.

Greg contacted Race Marshal Mark Nordman through a third party and asked for the Iditarod
trail sweeps to escort him and his dog team back to Iditarod. Gregg and his team are fine and
will be transported off the trail by the Iditarod Air Force.

Vitello had 12 dogs in harness when he scratched, all in good health.

From Brent on his Wild and Free Facebook page:

Hello all just want to let everyone know I’m doing ok and resting well in Unalakleet after having to scratch from 2023 Iditarod race.
Unfortunately I had been sick the entire race with a bad cold, chest pain ,body aches, sore throat all that progressively got worse as we traveled down the trail. I was giving everything I had to keep it positive and focus on my dogs so we could continued the race. Then 2 days ago some cracked teeth started giving me issues and over a 12 hour period turned into nearly unbearable pain. My body basically shutdown and for two runs I just hung on. Ultimately I couldn’t care for the dogs. Temps dropped to -30F and the combination of all that lead to some tough decisions.
I had been able push forward for the dogs for a lot of miles but my struggles were starting to affect them as well. The dogs were doing awesome and the colder temps were making them even stronger but unfortunately was making me weaker. After spending my 8 hour mandatory In the Eagle Island checkpoint and only feeling worse I had to make the decision to scratch in the best interest of my dogs and myself. I was flown to Unalakleet were I got the care I needed.
Thanks to race Marshall Mark Nordman and Dr. Jodie Guest I am being taken care of here in Unalakleet and have a comfortable place to stay. The dogs are in the great care of the Iditarod and making their way to Anchorage. My amazing support crew of friends and family are working on logistics to get me and the dogs home so I can deal with my health and teeth issues ASAP.
The pic is of me and the team at sunrise as we hit the Yukon River outside of Anvik. I was in some terrible pain but still right were I wanted to be.
Thank you to everyone for all the support all season this is not the ending to the Race that we wanted but I was forced to do what was in the best interest of my dogs and myself. It’s time to get well and focus forward!
“Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional”
Wild and Free Forever!