Iditarod 2012: Dallas Seavey First; Aliy Zirkle Second

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That's Dallas Seavey arriving in Nome at 7:29 PM, ADT (11:29 PM ET) last night.  He was followed by Aliy Zirkle exactly one hour later, then Ramey Smyth, 35 minutes behind Aliy.  At the time of this post, only two other mushers (Aaron Burmeister, and Peter Kaiser) have reached Nome.

Seavey's winning time for the 975 miles was 9 days, 4 hours, 29 minutes and 26 seconds.  He is the youngest winner ever of the Iditarod.

You can read the Anchorage Daily News account of this year's race by clicking HERE.

And here's a video of Dallas greeting Aliy at the finish line.  That's Dallas's young wife, Jen, standing with him.

   

IIditarod 2012: Dallas Seavey First to White Mountain

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That's Dallas Seavey (son of Mitch Seavey, winner in 2004), who arrived at White Mountain about one hour ahead of Aliy Zirkle, and two hours ahead of Ramey Smyth.  They're only 77 miles from Nome so the race will be won later today.

You can click on the route map below to see where all the mushers are now.

http://www.adn.com/2012/01/18/2270467/iditarod-2012-map.html

Here are photos, courtesy of Google, of the three front runners:

That's Ramey Smyth on top, Aliy Zirkle, and Dallas Seavey.

Iditarod 2012: Aliy Zirkle Still In Front

That's Aliy Zirkle coming in to Nulato, and here's the story from the Anchorage Daily News.  She's now checked in at Kaltag, and said she'll rest a while.

You can check out Nulato and Kaltag at the below link:

http://www.adn.com/2012/01/18/2270467/iditarod-2012-map.html

GO ALIY!!

Iditarod 2012: John Baker Our Pick to Repeat

John Baker, who won last year's race in record time is the first Alaska native to win the Iditarod.  It might be a sentimental pick because he's such a good guy and a great role model, but he's our pick to win the 2012 Iditarod.

Below is a route map of the trail.  You can click on each check point to see which mushers have arrived there.

http://www.adn.com/2012/01/18/2270467/iditarod-2012-map.html

Iditarod 2012: Zirkle in Front Nearing Nikolai

It wouldn't be too surprising if Aliy Zirkle finishes first overall, but I'll still make my pick for first-place male tomorrow.  Here's the story from the Anchorage Daily News.


http://community.adn.com/?q=adn/node/160097

Iditarod 2012: Aliy Zirkle Top Female Pick

Aliy Zirkle is my pick to be the first woman finisher in Iditarod 2012.  She was my pick last year, but didn't quite make it.  She's off to a fast start, and determined, I think, to make this her year.

You can follow the race on the website of the Anchorage Daily News.

Tomorrow: my pick of the first male finisher.

Here's the route map.  You can click on each check point for more information.

Iditarod 2012 Starts Tomorrow

The 40th Running of The Last Great Race on Earth starts tomorrow at 10:00 AM AST, which is 2:00 PM EST.  You can follow the race on the official website, by clicking above, or by checking the sports section of the Anchorage Daily News any day during the race.

This is from an earlier post on Iditarod 2009:

Susan Butcher

It's impossible to talk (or even think) about The Iditarod, "The Last Great Race," without thinking of Susan Butcher. It was she who got me interested in the Iditarod, when I first heard her story in 1986. She ran in nine Iditarods before winning, and then won four out of five. She was an amazing person, and there is now a monument to her out on the trail. This video gives you a feeling for her specialness.

This Blog had its genesis when the blogger worked as a volunteer at Iditarod 2009, and was intended to interest the grandchildren in this spectacular one-of-a kind sporting event; it did.

Here's a story from the Anchorage Daily News about twins: Kristy and Anna Berington who will start tomorrow's race as the first twins to compete in the Iditarod.

And, here's a photo of the twins:

Iditarod 2012 Starts March 3rd: Stay Tuned

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The 40th running of The Iditarod: The Last Great Race on Earth starts in Anchorage, Alaska next Saturday.

The official (ceremonial) start, as usual, will take place in downtown Anchorage.  Then the dogs and sleds will be trucked to Willow Lake where the real race begins on March 4th; it's called the re-start.

Last year's winner, John Baker, is back to defend his title.  Since this is an even numbered year, the racers will travel the northern route:

The trail is composed of two routes: a northern route, which is run on even-numbered years, and a southern route, which is run on odd-numbered years. Both follow the same trail for 444 miles (715 km), from Anchorage to Ophir, where they diverge and then rejoin at Kaltag, 441 miles (710 km) from Nome. The race used the northern route until 1977, when the southern route was added to distribute the impact of the event on the small villages in the area, none of which have more than a few hundred inhabitants. Passing through the historic town of Iditarod was a secondary benefit.

Here's a map of the northern route:

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For more information on the Iditarod and its history, click HERE.