1,000 Miles Down, 1,000 Miles to Go

The Quest is over. 15 mushers crossed the finish line in Whitehorse. Lance Mackey won the Vet's Choice award and teared up as he spoke about the award and his dogs. Mushers like Lance are showing the way for the future of our sport.

Our sport's immediate future revolves around the big one, the Iditarod. Dubbed the "Last Great Race on Earth", the Iditarod runs from Willow to Nome with a ceremonial start in Anchorage. 96 mushers from around the world plan to make the starting line in Anchorage Saturday as well as the re-start in Willow Sunday. For many, getting to the starting line has been a life's dream. They have sacrificed family, money, sleep, and more to experience Alaska on the runners of a dog sled. For them completing the race is the goal. I hope they all achieve it.

For others, this is the culmination of their year and their careers. The elite group of professional distance dog drivers will push themselves, and their dogs, to claim the ulitmate prize. Last year Lance Mackey did it just weeks after winning the Yukon Quest. Can he do it again? It would be beyond belief, but not beyond possibility. The field contains a number of past and future Iditarod champions. This year's winner will definately earn his crown.

So who will it be? That's the question. They say it takes a magic ride. It's not always the best dog team. The best team in the race can catch a virus, fall ill, and fade back to the middle of the pack. It's impossible to predict who will experience the complete coming together of driver, dogs, equipment, etc. So I won't give you one name, but will instead predict the type of dog team to first cross under the Burled Arch in Nome. This year's winner will drive a team of predominately 50-60 pound huskies. Many will have pointy ears, most will have a decent coat, and all will look the part.

In the last few years, breeders have bred sprint lines consisting of different pointing breeds into their distance sled dog lines. It's said that sled dogs consisting of 1/8 pointer offer a combination of speed and durability. Many distance sled dog teams consist of short haired, floppy eared, 40 pound dogs. Recently others have gone back to teams more "husky" in appearance. Proponents of husky-type dogs say they are more durable and able to travel longer distances at the conclusion of the race.

Last year Lance Mackey and Paul Gephardt overtook Marten Buser and Jeff King at the end of a very difficult trail. They did it not by running faster, but by running longer and resting less. Running longer is the future of distance dog sled racing. Mushers have proven that it can be done safely. Team Norway and Robert Sorlie are credited with first mastering the style. Although some say it is the technique employed by Siberian Husky drivers in the early days of the Nome Kennel Club 100 years ago.

So this year's winner will maintain a conservative run/rest schedule early in the race staying with the front pack. After taking their 24 hour layover, they will begin running longer and longer and will finish the race with dramatic 100 runs combined with short rests until crossing under the burled arch with both dogs and musher exhausted and satisfied.

Follow the Iditarod at www.iditarod.com. The race is fortunate to employ the most gifted musher/writer of our time. You will find Jon Little's trail updates both insightful and entertaining.

Enjoy the race.