March 15, 2006

Dear Students,

I spent the night in White Mountain so that I could see the leaders come in. Jeff King’s team was impressive. They rounded the corner, tails wagging and happily gulped down their food. Doug Swingley’s team also looked good but him being 3 hours behind doubt he can catch Jeff’s team barring some unforeseen circumstances. I have been renewing old friendships all along the trail and visiting families I have known 20 or more years. It has been nice for me to introduce Tekla to these people and for her to see what life is like in the other parts of the state.

Here are a few more answers to your questions.

About how much weight can the average sled dog pull?

On the average during the Iditarod they are each pulling 25lbs over the 1,000-mile race. If one dog was pulling a sled for a short distance say 100 ft or less they can pull over 1000 lbs.

Are you a part of the race in anyway? Anyway are you watching the race? What the most exciting part?

I am part of the race as a spectator however the news people on the trail are always asking me how I would evaluate the race and who I think has the best chance of winning.

How old do the dogs have to be?

Typical age for dogs in my team are 2-9 years old however older dogs have certainly raced in and completed the Iditarod.

What part of the Iditarod did you think was hard?

The hardest part from the sledding point of view is the Dalzell Gorge between checkpoints of Rainy Pass and Rohn. The hardest part from the musher point of view is dealing with lack of sleep.

Can you tell me the person’s name that is racing and blind and running with another person?

Rachael Scdoris is the blind woman who is being guided by the experienced musher Tim Osma..

My class has been wondering all about the Iditarod. Can you tell me a little about it?

It is 1000-mile race across Alaska. The best site to look for information is Iditarod.com

Is it hard raising your dogs by your self???

It is a lot of work having to feed, care for and train your dogs 7 days week but the joy of seeing them mature and becoming great athletes make it worth it

I wanted to know the school you went to when you were 8 9 10 11 and 12.

I went to Buckingham school in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

How many times have you won the Iditarod? Are you in the race this year if so what place are you in right now?

I won the Iditarod 4 times and then I decided to concentrate on raising a family.

What is one of the most interesting facts about your life? I drove a dog team to the top of Mt. McKinley.

How do you keep the dogs focused on such a hard race? The training that they have gone through before the race focuses them on the daily task from getting from one checkpoint to the next. They love to run so the enthusiasm for doing that comes from within.

What was the scariest part of the Iditarod race? Crossing RainyPpass and encounters with wild animals.

Is the Iditarod the hardest thing you have ever done? No, working to beat cancer is much more difficult.