Weather heats up race before it starts

BIG LAKE — With temperatures hovering in the mid-40s for much of the past week in the Valley, trail conditions for the 36 professional class teams competing in 2010 Iron Dog snowmachine race could be an issue.

But Laura Bedard, executive director for the race, believes the weather will not be a large factor for world’s longest snowmachine race.

Possibly.

Starting today in Big Lake and finishing Saturday in Fairbanks, the professional class racers will follow the recreational class that set out Thursday morning.

If anything, the recreational class is more of a fun endeavor than a speed race, Bedard said. But having the recreational class out first will be an added bonus, as those riders can provide firsthand feedback of trail conditions and temperatures.

“In some places we have new snow and some places there is not any,” she said. “I would say now the trail conditions are stable. It is a wet snow, and if the warm weather continues it will make for interesting conditions.”

Tyler Aklestad, who finished second in the 2009 Iron Dog, thinks the warmer temperatures will create some issues for the racers, but will not be overwhelming problem.

“It is obviously a factor, and yeah, it is pretty abnormally warm, but we will deal with each task at hand as the race presents them, but also each rider will have to deal with effects of the temperature too,” he said.

But varying weather condition is nothing knew to Iron Dog racers and should be considered more regular than irregular.

“A couple of years ago it was raining when they started and the racers had to adjust with what was going on,” Bedard said. “In Alaska, the weather can change overnight, so we cannot really help it.”

She believes the warmer weather can bring advantages and disadvantages to snowmachiners.

“The warmer temperature can provide some benefits for the racers, as nobody likes to ride in 30 below temperatures,” she said.

But as it warms up, the racers face a constant threat of overheating and getting wet.

“The riders are going to have all that protective gear on and many will simple get hot if the temperature remains warm,” she said.

It is a concern many racers are taking to heart.

“I am taking the overheating seriously both for myself and my sled,” Aklestad said. “For me, I am wearing different gear that is a lot lighter and hoping that will keep me cool. As far as the sled goes, you can only do what you can out there and try use the snow to keep the sled cool.”

But keeping the sled from overheating can prove difficult while making runs of 100 miles and more at a time, as Aklestad said he has had to stop in previous races to let his snowmachine cool down.

“Sometimes there is just no snow out there to keep the sled cool and you just aim to keep the sled in the snow, but at times you have to stop for a couple minutes,” he said.

In addition to overheating, overflow on lakes and rivers remains a concern for riders as freestanding water is more apt to puddle in with rising temperatures.

But Bedard is not overly concerned about rider safety as scattered checkpoints and the helping nature of the riders in the race can reduce dangerous situations.

“I have never heard of a rider leaving someone broke down or crashed without stopping to help,” she said. “In fact, in a previous race, a team picked up a fellow racer that crashed and broke their pelvis, which took them out of the race as well.”

The racers rely on good communication and teamwork to run safely and finish strong as the team’s rank is determined by where the second rider crosses the finish line.

Although teams usually finish only seconds apart, a couple years ago a team lost first place due another team finishing before the second rider of the first team, Bedard said.

Finishing first this year for Aklestad is something he hopes to accomplish by “running faster than everybody else; but seriously, I hope to have clean race, no accidents or issues out on the trail and stay focused on the race. As soon as you lose your focus is when something bad happens like a wreck.”

Staying focused and competing for the top spot is something Aklestad has trained for by spending several thousand hours on the snowmachine.

“There really is no substitute for having sled time. I try to eat healthy and work out at the gym a couple times a week, but spending time on the sled is the best,” Aklestad said.

For updates on the racers’ positions, visit the Iron Dog website at www.irondog.org.

Contact Lanier Hutcheson at lanier.hutcheson@frontiersman.com or 352-2265.

2010 Iron Dog starting order

1. Team No. 2

Jeremy Neeser, Anchorage

Ryan Scottosanti, Wasilla

2. Team 15

Louis Miller III, Anchorage

Louis Miller IV, Anchorage

3. Team 8

Tyler Akelstad, Wasilla

Tyson Johnson, Eagle River

4. Team 30

Kenny Johnson, Wasilla

Andy Lachinski, Palmer

5. Team 7

Doug Dixon, Anchorage

Stephen Spence, Wasilla

6. Team 19

Brandon Baxter, Windber, Penn.

Micah Huss, Anchorage

7. Team 11

John Bahnke, Nome

Brad Reich, Kiana

8. Team 4

James Sweetsir, Anchorage

Mark Tope, Anchorage

9. Team 25

Bradley Helwig, Anchorage

Eric Quam, Eagle River

10. Team 5

Curtis Cherrier, Anchorage

Bill Wilkes, Wasilla

11. Team 18

Tommy Krista, Fairbanks

Tre West III, Nome

12. Team 33

Aaron Bartel, Anchorage

Jason Wichman, Wasilla

13. Team 3

Shane Barber, Willow

Aaron Loyer, Willow

14. Team 17

Jeffery Dyer, Fairbanks

Tracy Dyer, Ft. Collins, Colo.

15. Team 14

Marc McKenna, Anchorage

Dusty VanMeter, Soldotna

16. Team 36

Harvey Farley, Nome

Howard Farley, Nome

17. Team 21

Joe Fullwood, Nome

Morgan Mike, Nome

18. Team 27

Michael Fuller, Anchorage

Eddie Kinn, Eagle River

19. Team 16

Todd Minnick, Wasilla

Nick Olstad, Wasilla

20. Team 9

Darrick Johnson, Coeur D’ Alene, Idaho

Kurt Steiner, Bismarck, ND

21. Team 10

Tyler Huntington, Fairbanks

Chris Olds, Eagle River

22. Team 22

Scott Davis, Soldotna

Todd Palin, Wasilla

23. Team 29

Jeremiah Jones, Anchorage

Robbie Muir, Anchorage

24. Team 13

Scott Richter, Big Lake

James Spikes, Wasilla

25. Team 20

Tammy Barber, Willow

Jana Pevan, Willow

26. Team 6

Daniel Lowrie, Albuquerque, NM

Raymond Rapp, Phoenix, Ariz.

27. Team 31

Chad McClurg, Wasilla

Charlie Potter, Wasilla

28. Team 23

Fred Smith, Anchorage

Kelly Smith, Noorvik

29. Team 28

Scott Miller, Anchorage

George Woodbury, Big Lake