July 1, 2007

By MATT TUNSETH/ Frontiersman

WASILLA - There wasn't a red carpet, and Carharts were the predominant fashion choice, but Saturday's Iditarod sign-ups had all the elements of an Alaskan-style Hollywood event. “These truly are Alaska's celebrities,” said Alaska Governor Sarah Palin while signing autographs and mingling with superstar mushers and racing fans.

While Palin was a big attraction, she admitted even she was a bit overwhelmed by the collection of racing royalty in attendance for the sign-up event, which was held at Iditarod Headquarters in Wasilla.

“It's like, ‘I'm not worthy,'” she said.

Among the mushers who turned out for the event - which also doubled as the Iditarod's board meeting and a volunteer picnic - were reigning Iditarod and Yukon Quest champion Lance Mackey, four-time winner Martin Buser of Big Lake, 2004 champion Mitch Seavey of Seward and perennial fan favorite DeeDee Jonrowe of Willow.

In all, 71 mushers had signed up for Iditarod XXVI either in person or by mail by Saturday afternoon, including former champions Mackey, Buser, Seavey, Jeff King, and Rick Swenson. According to Iditarod Public Relations Director, the number is a record for the first day of sign-ups. The largest contingent of mushers hails from the Mat-Su area, with 27 Valley mushers already entered in the race.

Among that group at Saturday's event was Knik's GB Jones, who camped out for a week - despite recently undergoing eye surgery - at race headquarters in order to be the first musher to sign up for the race. Jones has made a habit of being among the first mushers to sign up, and said he's been the first or second musher to enter the race for the past seven years.

Jones said there's a practical reason he makes a point of rushing to the front of the line.

“I don't really like the publicity, but I like the advertising because of my Web site,” he said.

Because he runs his kennel on a limited budget, Jones said he earns money to run dogs by auctioning off mushing tours and racing memorabilia on his site, alaskanmusher.com.

“It's the poor man's way,” Jones said.

This year's Iditarod entry fee was increased to $3,000 from $1,800, and Jones said holding online auctions is the only way he can afford to race.

“That auction is to justify this,” he said, pointing to his race receipt.

Two mushers, Jim Lanier of Chugiak and Teller's Joe Garnie, won a drawing for a $3,000 entry fee waiver into this year's race. Mushers have until November 30 at midnight to sign up for the race, which is expected to have a purse of approximately $917,809. Prize money will be divided among the top-30 finishers, with each musher who finishes outside the top-30 receiving $1,049.

Unlike last year, this year's sign-up order has no bearing on the order in which mushers get to pick their starting positions. In 2007, Lance Mackey famously camped out for two months to get his pick of bib numbers, then rode the number 13 into the record books.

Getting the number 13 in his sixth race was a karma thing for Mackey last year, as both his father, Dick, and brother, Rick, won the race in their sixth attempt wearing the 13 bib.

Mackey was the 11th musher to sign up this year, and said the whole number thing is no longer an issue.

“It's irrelevant this year,” he said.

Since his Iditarod win, Mackey has been at the center of a media storm that has yet to subside. Next month, he'll head to Hollywood, where he's been nominated for an ESPY Award in the category of “Best Outdoor Athlete.”

Mackey said he's not quite sure what to think of his planned trip to Hollywood, where he's scheduled to play golf with Tiger Woods and rub elbows with some of the biggest names in sports.

“It's totally the world I'm not used to,” Mackey said. “To even mingle with Tiger Woods and LeBron James, that's just huge to me.”

In between posing for pictures with fans, the Fairbanks musher admitted the frenzy has taken him somewhat by surprise.

“It's been exciting, but I'm a little bit crazy,” he said. “At times it's a little bit overwhelming, but I'm dealing with it the best I know how.”

Mackey said he's had fun with the attention, but said he's looking forward to the day when he can get back to doing what he loves - running dogs.

“Once September first it's all about me again,” he said. “I still need a new truck.”

Saturday's picnic was part sign-ups, part volunteer recognition and part photo opportunity. Along with the mushers, hundreds of racing fans and tourists showed up at race headquarters to meet mushers and even take a ride through the woods behind a dog team.

Concord, California residents Bob and Sandy Himel, along with their two grandchildren, were among a group of tourists who got a sled dog ride. The Himels said the short trip through the woods was something they won't soon forget.

“That was a huge thrill,” Sandy Himel said.

Getting to see sled dogs and mushers up close, the couple said, was just another in a long line of highlights in their two-week Alaska vacation.

“Alaska is just awesome,” Sandy said before wandering off to mingle with the mushers. “There's just so much to see and do.”

While most of the big names in mushing Saturday spent much of the afternoon chatting with fans, many rookies were content to chat with veterans and get their first taste of the Iditarod experience.

“I'm just really planning on running to finish,” said Big Lake's Rohn Buser.

Martin Buser's youngest son, Rohn said he plans to graduate from Wasilla High a semester early this winter to concentrate on his Iditarod training. But while mushing is in his blood, the younger Buser said he likely won't follow in his dad's sizable footprints. After running this year's race, Rohn said he'll likely take a break from competitive mushing to focus on going to college - which means he'll simply be running the race for the adventure.

“It's something I have the opportunity to do, so I might as well take advantage of it while I can,” he said. “I'm looking forward to it.”

But while Buser said he doesn't plan on being competitive, mushers are a notoriously cagey lot with their race predictions. And the 17-year-old Junior Iditarod champion and last year's fourth-place Kuskokwim 300 finisher seemed to already have the veteran's standard line down pat Saturday.

“I think I might just be running a puppy team,” he said.

Indeed, with the 2008 race still more than eight months away, mushers at Saturday's event weren't ready to pick any favorites for the next running of “The Last Great Race.”

“There's a lot of good ones out there,” Lance Mackey said. “Whatever happens this year remains to be seen,” he said.

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com

Iditarod XXXVI sign-ups as of June 30

1. GB Jones, Wasilla; 2. Jake Berkowitz, McMillian, MI (rookie); 3. Wayne Curtis, Wasilla; 4. Jason Barron, Lincoln, MT; 5. Joe Garnie, Teller; 6. Mike Williams, Aniak; 7. Jessica Hendricks, Two Rivers; 8. Eric Rogers, Eagle River; 9. Hugh Neff, Skagway; 10. DeeDee Jonrowe, Willow; 11. Lance Mackey, Fairbanks; 12. Jerry Sousa, Talkeetna; 13. Jessie Royer, Fairbanks; 14. Michael Suprenant, Chugiak (rookie); 15. Gerry Willomitzer, Whitehorse; 16. Deborah Bicknell, Juneau (rookie); 17. Melanie Gould, Talkeetna; 18. Heather Siirtola, Talkeetna; 19. Becca Ross, Trapper Creek (rookie); 20. Matt Calore, Trapper Creek; 21. Gary Paulson, Willow; 22. Sue Allen, Houston; 23. Warren Palfrey; 24. Joe Gans (rookie); 25. Kirk Barnum, Seeley Lake, MT (rookie); 26. Matt Hayashida, Willow; 27. Silvia Willis, Deshka Landing; 28. Ray Redington, Jr.; Wasilla; 29. Ken Anderson, Fairbanks; 30. Laura Daugereau, Port Gamble, WA (rookie); 31. Karen Ramstead, Perryville, Alberta; 32. Mitch Seavey, Seward; 33. Kent Kaltenbacher, Wasilla (rookie); 34. Bruce Linton, Kasilof; 35. Art Church Jr., Willow; 36. Aliy Zirkle, Two Rivers; 37. Clint Warnke, Two Rivers; 38. Rohn Buser, Big Lake (rookie); 39. Martin Buser, Big Lake; 40. Lynda Plettner, Houston; 41. Rick Holt, Willow (rookie); 42. Sigrid Ekran, Fairbanks; 43. Cim Smyth, Big Lake; 44. Hans Gatt, Atlin, BC; 45. Ed Iten, Kotzebue; 46. Ramey Smyth, Big Lake; 47. Kjetil Backen, Norway; 48. Jim Lanier, Chugiak; 49. Kelly Griffin, Wasilla; 50. Aaron Burmeister, Nenana; 51. Rick Casillo, Willow; 52. Scott Smith, Willow; 53. Jason Mackey, Kasilof; 54. Rob Loveman, Seeley Lake, MT; 55. Zack Steer, Sheep Mountain; 56. Jeff King, Denali Park; 57. Al Hardman, Ludington, MI; 58. Gene Smith, Omak, WA (rookie); 59. Ryan Redington, Wasilla; 60. Jeff Deeter, Wasilla (rookie); 61. Cliff Robertson, Corvallis, Ore.; 62. Meliss Owens, Nome (rookie); 63. Rudi Niggemeier, Salzkotten, Germany (rookie); 64. Tim Osmar, Ninilchik; 65. Bill Pinkham, Glenwood Springs, CO; 66. Steve Madsen, Cougar, WA; 67. Rachael Scdoris, Bend, Ore.; 68. Lachlan Clarke, Buena Vista, CO; 69. Jennifer Freking, Finland, MN (rookie); 70. Blake Freking, Finland, MN; 71. Rick Swenson, Two Rivers