Baker may be breaking the mold…

March 10th, 2010

…or running into trouble…

(UPDATE: 11 p.m. March 10, rumors circulating that John Baker didn’t blow through Cripple on purpose, but may have somehow bypassed the checkpoint, according to a statement on the Insider video coming out of Cripple. I’m not sure what all that could mean, or if it is accurate. If it is, what about Dallas Seavey? He’s past Cripple, too, if the tracker is correct.)

… or none of the above

It is highly possible that the white dot on the GPS tracker page is not placed at the correct location, and that Baker just finally showed up at Cripple (actually Wolf Kill Slough) after a really, really long run. Morning reports will answer these questions. Back to the original post …

While the bulk of the front-runners in Iditarod 38 cleaned up their sleds and tossed their dogs a last light snack at the tail end of their 24-hour layovers in Takotna, John Baker’s dog team pushed steadily on, some 15 hours and at least 90 miles up the trail.

It appeared as if Baker was headed to Cripple, Ruby, or farther, to take his 24 hour layover. It seems as if Baker ran nonstop from Takotna before calling it a night at race mile 393, if my 10-fingered calculator is working right.

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Lanier is the iron man of Iditarod

March 10th, 2010

This article really sums up Jim Lanier, one of the most amiable mushers on the trail as well as toughest. He is laconic, and you’d never know he was ever in pain; and he always seems at peace and happy no matter what is going on.

Iditarod Live: The Sled Blog : 69-years-old on the Iditarod trail | adn.com

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Quick Q&A on all-male teams

March 10th, 2010

Bert from Belgium writes…

Good morning for you !  you are probably sleeping now as I am writing from across the globe. (Belgium) Or do you also (as in the race) don’t get much sleep these days ! Great coverage again!

I have a question, what’s your opinion on Mitch Seavy’s all male team? On his pre-race video he told he thinks this 2010 team is his best team ever. All big strong males.
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Layover time, with adjustments

March 10th, 2010

This useful article gives the actual times mushers must stay when taking their “24-hour” layovers. Times are adjusted at this time to compensate for the staggered start at two minute intervals. This is also a good source of race info in general.

24-hour Layover Rest times | Iditablog.com – Iditarod 2010 News and Coverage

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Tweeting on the trail

March 10th, 2010

(This post is a short diversion from race coverage to help readers get better race coverage.)

A lot has changed in the technology used by the media to cover Iditarod since I started getting sent up the trail to cover the race in 2004. Take Twitter, for example.

I signed up for Twitter several months ago, and the thing mystified me. It seemed like e-mail, only I was forced to write 140 characters or less. What was all the buzz about? The answer best lies in what Alaska Public Radio Network is doing with Twitter up the trail.

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While the leaders push on…

March 9th, 2010

… the back of the pack has its own struggles. This story is not anything I would wish on anyone, and I’m actually surprised it doesn’t happen more often. Sounds like he is going to be OK…

Musher Moon injured, flown to Anchorage for treatment: 2010 Iditarod 38 | adn.com

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King seizes lead as race hits Takotna

March 9th, 2010

Jeff King seized the lead and showed his team has the speed to build on it as he led John Baker, Mitch Seavey and Sebastian Schnuelle out of Nikolai and outpaced them to claim the PenAir Spirit of Alaska Award in McGrath.

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Good writing on bad stuff at back of pack

March 9th, 2010

Craig Medred, former Anchorage Daily News outdoors writer, is following the back of the pack via snowmachine this year for something called Alaska Dispatch. I’m new to this electronic newspaper, but impressed that they have Medred and another reporter on the trail this year. Here’s a link to Medred’s article on an unfortunate decision to scratch by Karin Hendrickson…

Broken sled, broken dreams for one Iditarod musher

I liked the looks of her team at Knik 200 and gave her an encouraging word at the time. They were very steady, and looked like they could trot forever.

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Suprenant, DeNure scratch…

March 9th, 2010

Suprenant, DeNure scratch for medical reasons: 2010 Iditarod 38 | adn.com

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Winds, glare ice for two miles…

March 9th, 2010

‘Fleet-footed Mercury’ and Zack Steer in Nikolai

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