Junior mushers find experience on the trail

WILLOW — For some, racing in the Willow Jr. 100 Dog Sled Race could be a warm up for Iditarod dreams later down the trail.

The winner of Saturday’s event, Rebekah Ruzicka, will take it one race at time.

“I am not sure if I would compete in the Iditarod,” Ruzicka said. “I just don’t know right now. I am preparing for the Junior Iditarod that is in a couple of weeks, so who knows, maybe in a couple years I would do it.”

It was a sentiment shared by Ruzicka’s main competitor, Skeeter Stitt, the son of race creator and promoter Christine Stitt.

Skeeter Stitt finished only minutes behind Ruzicka.

“I would like to do the Jr. Iditarod and maybe the real Iditarod later on,” Stitt said.

Both Ruzicka and Stitt have plenty of race experience behind them to help prepare for a future in mushing, if that’s the trail they opt to follow.

Ruzicka, who previously won the Jr. Tustumena, has been mushing most of her life and has raced competitively since she was 9 years old. This competitive drive in dog sled racing is something that has passed down through years of family involvement in the sport, she said.

While Stitt also has a similar history in dog mushing, racing in the Jr. Tustumena and numerous other races in the past, he was thrilled to finish in second place this year and quick to praise Ruzicka.

“Oh, she is a great musher and does a really good job. I am just glad I was able to keep up with her,” Stitt said with a smile.

The cordial relationship between all the competitors is something that makes the race special, said Mary Keller, an observer and former mother of a musher in the race.

“All the mushers just go on and on about how much fun they have out here, and plus it is good training for other races,” she said.

That training for the youth mushers is an aspect of the Willow Jr. race that provides unique experience on some parts of the trail.

“It is a fun trail, but it is also challenging in some aspects and makes for a great lead-up training run for the Jr. Iditarod,” said Christine Stitt. “When they’re done with this race they will have experienced spending the night out on the trail, going up and down hills and running in close quarters.”

Although Stitt wants to provide a great learning experience for the young mushers, she wants them to have fun as well.

“You know they get to go out there and spend the night, have a bonfire and we give them hot food and soup. It is just a good time,” she said. “We only had three rules out there — no disrespecting other mushers or race officials, no help or coaching from adults, and last, no snowballing the outhouse.”

Willow Jr. 100

Final results:

1.Rebekah Ruzicka; 2.Skeeter Stitt; 3.Meredith Mapes; 4.Skipper Stitt; 5.Kay Tori Berg; 6.Grayson Bruton.