35th Iditarod starts Sunday

March 4, 2007

By MATT TUNSETH/ Frontiersman

WILLOW - A total of 83 mushers - including 18 from the Mat-Su Valley - are set to hit the trail today for the 35th running of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Teams headed down Fourth Avenue in Anchorage Saturday for a ceremonial start witnessed by thousands of screaming onlookers.

&#8220This is our Super Bowl of ice and snow,” race announcer Dave Stroh said.

Before heading out on a makeshift trail made of trucked-in snow, mushers had plenty of time to mingle with curious race fans anxious to brush shoulders with their heroes.

When asked how many autographs he'd signed during the morning, Big Lake's Martin Buser just shrugged his shoulders - then signed another fan's program.

Plenty of dignitaries were on hand for Saturday's festivities, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Wasilla Mayor Diane Keller, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich and Nome Mayor Denise Michels.

Absent was Gov. Sarah Palin, who was grounded in Juneau by weather.

&#8220She's not happy about it,” Palin's husband, Todd, said before the start.

The governor was scheduled to ride along with Buser for the start. Instead, Todd Palin got the honor - although the 2007 Tesoro Iron Dog snowmachine race champion said he expects some good-natured ribbing for his latest mode of transportation.

&#8220All my Iron Dog buddies are going to give me a hard time about riding in a sled,” he said.

Piping-hot reindeer sausage and fresh-brewed coffee mixed with the aroma of excited sled dogs gave Fourth Avenue a uniquely Alaskan smell Saturday morning for an event that has become the state's signature wintertime event.

&#8220Iditarod really represents Alaska,” Todd Palin said.

Visitors traveled from within Alaska and around the world for the race start, and plenty of foreign accents could be heard in the crowd as well.

Also on hand was Alaska's most well-known song man, &#8220Hobo” Jim Varsos, who said he's been attending the Iditarod for 25 years.

Varsos thrilled a group of curbside fans by braving the 7-degree temperatures to sing his &#8220Iditarod Trail Song” on the sidewalk.

Two of Varsos' fans included Glenn and Brenda Vice of Los Angeles, who made the trip north specifically for the race start.

&#8220 It's a very different lifestyle from what we're used to, but we love it,” Brenda Vice said.

Before the race began, organizers took time out to honor four-time Iditarod champion Susan Butcher, who died in August following a bout with cancer.

Butcher's husband, David Monson, was in attendance for the race, and accepted an honorary number No. 1 bib in her honor.

To honor Butcher, Todd Palin read a proclamation from Gov. Palin in which she called Butcher &#8220an ambassador for Alaska.”

Wearing a bright red &#8220W” letter on his jacket, Wasilla High School junior Rohn Buser then led mushers out of the starting chute. Buser earned the honor by winning the Junior Iditarod last week.

Following a short run around downtown, mushers packed up their dogs for the trip to Willow, where the official race start will be held today.

Mushers will begin hitting the trail from the Willow Community Center at 2 p.m. Some parking is available at the Willow airport for $10 per vehicle. Race officials are expecting in excess of 10,000 fans for the event, and parking is limited.

To accommodate spectators, a free shuttle will run between Wasilla and Willow continuously between 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m., with pick-up points at Wasilla High School, Wasilla Middle School, Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex and Houston High School. The shuttle will return to the pick-up sites continuously between 2:30 and 6 p.m.

Additionally, a shuttle for southbound race fans will have pick-ups at the Sunshine Tesoro at the Talkeetna cutoff and the Mile 73 Parks Highway parking area. The southbound shuttle will pick passengers up between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

From Willow, mushers will leave the road system and head for the first official checkpoint at Yentna.

This year's race features a strong field that includes former six champions: Robert Sorlie or Norway (2003 and ‘05), Martin Buser of Big Lake (1992, ‘94, ‘97 and 2002), Jeff King of Denali ('93, ‘96, ‘98 and ‘06), Doug Swingley of Montana ('95, ‘99, ‘00 and ‘01), Mitch Seavey ('04) and Rick Swenson of Two Rivers ('77, ‘79, ‘81, ‘82, and ‘91).

King won last year's race in a time of 9 days, 11 hours and 11 minutes - three hours ahead of Swingley.

Nine of last year's top-10 finishers are back this year, and any of around two dozen elite teams could end up challenging for the more than $70,000 that goes to the winners.

&#8220It will be ultra-competitive,” Martin Buser of the field.

Cold, windy conditions are expected for the race start, and this year's trail is reportedly hard and fast. That means the winner likely will be the musher whose strategy pays off the best. Sorlie demonstrated he's a master at that by winning in 2003 and 2005 by making long runs with shorter rest.

Mushers have caught on to the Norwegian's style since then, and all of the front-runners likely will have their own strategies mapped out long before the race begins. Which teams can best adapt their game plans to the course and weather conditions likely will end up crossing under the burled arch in Nome.

&#8220Us older guys, we know enough to ignore everyone else and just do what we need to do,” Buser said.

Veteran racers traditionally have an edge in the Iditarod, and last year was a prime example, as four mushers in their 50s - King, Swingley, Paul Gebhardt and DeeDee Jonrowe - were the first four across the finish line.

Despite the dominance of older mushers, Iditarod public relations director Chas St. George said there's a group of younger mushers that could be on the verge of breaking through.

That group includes past contenders like Lance Mackey (36), Aliy Zirkle (37), Jason Barron (35), Ramey Smyth (31) and Jessie Royer (30).

&#8220Our young guns are all in their 30s,” St. George said. &#8220We have a young guard that I think is ready to make their move.”

Mushing fans looking for Mat-Su racers will have plenty of opportunities to see their neighbors hit the trail this year. 18 Valley mushers are expected to start this year's race. They include: G.B. Jones, Knik; Cim Smyth, Big Lake; Randy Cummins, Big Lake; Martin Buser, Big Lake; Ramey Smyth, Houston; Gerald Sousa, Talkeetna; Dan Huttunen, Wasilla (r); DeeDee Jonrowe, Willow; Scott Smith, Willow; Richard Hum, Talkeetna (r); Ellen Halverson, Wasilla (r); Dave Tresino, Talkeetna; Melanie Gould, Talkeetna; Ryan Redington, Wasilla; Matt Hayashida, Willow; Heather Siirtola, Talkeetna (r); Rick Casillo, Willow; and Linwood Fiedler, Willow.

Nine foreign mushers are entered in this year's race, including four from Canada, two from Norway and one each from Serbia, Argentina and Germany.

Alaskans make up the largest contingent of mushers with 57 entrants. 17 mushers hail from Outside, including four from Wisconsin, three each from Montana and Colorado, two each from Washington and Wyoming and one from Ohio, Vermont and Michigan.

The race has its roots in the Valley, having been founded by Dorothy Paige of Wasilla and Joe Redington, Sr. of Knik in 1973. Since then, tradition has dictated a Wasilla start, but rampant growth in the area has made that largely impossible in recent years.

This year's restart was moved to Willow from Wasilla due to a lack of snow and poor trail conditions in the Wasilla area. St. George said that since there is no dedicated trail out of the Valley's largest city, safety conditions were an issue with the Wasilla start location.

Moving the restart to Willow cost the Iditarod trail committee approximately $30,000.

Contact Matt Tunseth at

352-2265 or matt.tunseth@

frontiersman.com