Its Iditarod week and all of Alaska (and the internet) is abuzz with the intense competitive field that is Iditarod 35. When each musher leaves the re-start on Sunday afternoon it will be “game on†and we will immediately begin to see strategy and skill come into play in determining who will be the champion in 2007.
If you are new to the Iditarod, we’ll attempt to break down what will make the 35th running of this extreme race the most competitive in years, if not in the entire history of Iditarod:
This year we have two reigning defenders returning to reclaim their status as Iditarod Champion. Jeff King won his fourth career Iditarod in 2006, and Norwegian musher Robert Sorlie who is back after a one year hiatus after his win in 2005. Both are coming back winners and aren’t looking to go home empty handed. But they aren’t the only ones with high aspirations, Lance Mackey hasn’t ever won the “Last Great Race to Nome†but his dad and brother have…and they both won it on their sixth attempt, all wearing bib number 13, the same number Lance plans to be wearing as he starts the race for the 6th time this year as well.. While Lance doesn’t have any Iditarod wins, he is already labeled an Alaskan Hero. He has survived cancer and just a few weeks ago won another prestigious long distance race, the Yukon Quest for the third year in a row. Doug Swingley has four career wins under his belt, three of them consecutive (1999-2001). Before the race last year (in which he came in a close second) he gave himself three years to win two more championships before his permanent retirement. If that’s going to happen he has a lot of work ahead of him this year. Anyone else making that claim might just sound like a big talker, but when Doug says it he can back it up.
There are many others who have a really good shot at winning this year, so we’ll continue to break down the competitive field in Iditarod 35 over the next few days looking at a prospective top ten, and top twenty. That’ll take you up to the start, and re-start this weekend. Look for regular daily updates during the race, including our new podcasts.
I’d love to hear your prediction as to who will win this year, go ahead and email me: jerogers@radioalaska.org or leave a comment on this post.