‘Idita-families' cheer via Internet

Mat-Su mushers' spouses, children follow race through cyberspace

March 12, 2006

JOEL DAVIDSON/Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU - Iditarod families felt the pressure this week as they habitually checked Internet updates, night and day, to see how their family members were faring on the 1,100-mile dog sled race from Anchorage to Nome.

Phone access to mushers on the trail is rare, but as coverage of the Last Great Race increases - with constant daily updates and scores of online articles - mushers' families are spending considerable time under the glow of computer screens.

&#8220My computer is in my bedroom and I constantly hit ‘refresh' and hope for an update,” said Carol Tyler, a close family member of Iditarod mushers Cim and Ramey Smyth.

Tyler said following the Iditarod was a lot harder before the Information Age.

&#8220Back then, we used to call villages all up and down the race,” she said. &#8220Our long-distance bill used to be $500, easy. Now all I have to do is sit by the computer all day.”

Kathy Chapoton, wife of Big Lake musher and four-time Iditarod champ Martin Buser, has been following races over the last three decades. She said the race still causes her anxiety.

&#8220I check the computer in the evening and three or four times a day,” she said. &#8220You're always wondering what's happening.”

Official online standings don't tell the whole tale. Chapoton said the hardest part is not knowing what's happening on the trail. Sick dogs, injuries, slow run times, sleep deprivation - these are all intangibles that are hard to get from the computer.

Chapoton said Buser doesn't usually call unless something's going wrong, so no news from her husband is usually good news.

&#8220He usually leaves me his race schedule, but this year he decided not to because I worry when he's not on schedule,” Chapoton said. &#8220I usually don't talk to him at all during the race.”

Erin and Ryan Redington, grandson of the late Joe Redington Sr., founder of the Iditarod, just got married in November, which means this is the first year Erin will follow Ryan's progress as his wife.

&#8220The first time I followed Ryan was in 2004,” Erin said. &#8220We were just friends then and I was following on the Internet from Wisconsin.”

Now that they're married, Erin said the race is that much more meaningful.

&#8220There's a little more worry now, I guess,” she said. &#8220You really love the guy, so you hope he stays healthy.”

Unlike Buser, the younger Redington phones home from the checkpoints.

&#8220I guess it's for a little cheering up,” Erin said.

Many musher family members fly to Nome for the finish, where they can finally leave behind the virtual updates and celebrate with loved ones, face to face.

Every year, Chapoton heads north with her two sons, Nikolia and Rohn Buser, who are both Junior Iditarod mushers.

&#8220We go up Tuesday morning,” Chapoton said. &#8220The boys are totally confident in their dad.”

Ryan Redington's mother, Barb Redington, said this year's Iditarod has been a whirlwind of activity for her family. On the ceremonial start of the Iditarod, her mother-in-law, Vi Redington, died. The combination of grieving her loss and cheering on her son has taken a toll, but she hopes to make it to Nome for the finish.

&#8220By the time I get there, I might be able to catch my breath,” she said.

Contact Joel Davidson at 352-2266 or joel.davidson@frontiersman.com.