Junior Iditarod

Yes, there is a scaled down race for teenagers and it is going on right now. This year eleven young people are competing, six girls and five boys. This race is only a few years junior to the main race, having begun in 1978. It's way older than the youthful mushers who are now running it! Lots of tradition there.

Although it usually starts in Knik near the homestead of the late Joe Reddington, the lack of snow hit it as well as the big race. Last year it started and ended at the kennel of multi-Iditarod winner Martin Buser, just a bit north of Wasilla at Big Lake. I visited there last summer and it's a picturesque place with traces of Martin's Swiss heritage in evidence. I think one or both of his sons have competed in the Jr Iditarod and one now races and works with his father. Rohn was a rookie last year and is developing his own team. However there is not enough snow there either this time so they have moved the race north to the Denali Park. Here is the "Happy Trails" gate at Buser's place.

The race started today and tonight the young racers will take a mandatory ten hour rest at the Alpine Creek Lodge, sixty five miles into the park from the start at the town of Cantwell. Tomorrow they'll run back the same route over the highway, not open to vehicular traffic at this time. Several of the young mushers have reached the lodge already. I just checked!

In past years some well-known names have competed. This includes some of the Seavey clan and daughters of Jeff King and his wife, Donna for whom this year's race area is home but I think the King girls are now too old for this competition. Seventeen is the maximum. At eighteen one can enter the Iditarod. The only name I recognized in this year's group was Jim Lanier, whose father, of the same name, is a well know competitor in the main Iditarod and some of the shorter races.

While it lacks the fanfare, the Junior Iditarod is a great event and gives some teenagers a chance to compete as their family and some of their heroes do. Yes, it is only about 1/8 the distance and less than 25% of the time but it's still a challenge and some of them may get the bug bad enough that we'll see them in future Iditarods or Yukon Quests! You can check on this event at www.jriditarod.com. There is a link there to make a contribution to help support the event. I've done so!

Meanwhile, Aliy Zirkle's dogs --and those Allen will run also--had their pre-race vet checks a few days ago as she outlined on the SP Kennel website. Thirty seven dogs were tested and checked. They can each hitch a maximum of sixteen to start so there is one 'spare'. Just in case, I expect. Anyway, a week from tomorrow the official start will be taking place at Fairbanks! You can bet I will be there in spirit since it isn't possible to make it in person--this time.

One more pic, I can't resist. This is Aliy's Ginger and her litter mate Rodney, running in the snow, in perfect step with each other. Aren't they adorable? This is back in the early winter so they are already bigger and more mature now. They've probably been in harness a time or two by now but of course are not working seriously yet. Ginger is the lighter and slightly smaller pup on the left. He looks a lot like the dam, Chica, who ran the YQ with Allen this year and will probably be in Aliy's Iditarod team. She is a full sister to Quito.