Run/Rest Quick Hits
As the race reaches the Kuskokwim River, Sebastion Schnuelle at the Iditarod Insider gives a quick rundown of who’s resting and where. While early race leader Nicholas Petit’s led the pack on a marathon schedule, Schnuelle describes a different pattern for Dallas Seavey,
“Dallas Seavey has done 4 runs, of about equal length with with very rhythmic 5 hr beaks in between. His travel speed is around 9 mph on this fast trail coming into Nikolai.”
The Crud
Dogs get stomach bugs and sore wrists on the Iditarod Trail. But the mushers themselves often struggle with colds, fevers, or worse during 10 days of nonstop race. KNOM’s Emily Schwing in the Rainy Pass checkpoint chatted with Allen Moore, who was suffering from what he calls “the crud.”
The Two Rivers musher was parked next to Jeff King in the Rainy Pass dog yard.
“I tried to get Jeff to come over and hug me, but he’s keeping his distance,” said Moore.
Battle Dawgs
For Alaska Dispatch News, Tegan Hanlon tells the story of Rick Casillo’s Battle Dawgs initiative. Casillo helps veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder by taking them outdoors. He wants to end veteran suicides, and this year flew three veterans to Rainy Pass.
“When Casillo pulled into the Rainy Pass checkpoint, the veterans held up a camouflage flag that said “Battle Dawgs” in white print underneath a large paw-print. Casillo has a camouflage sled bag with a patch that had the number 22 crossed out. Each day, he said, 22 veterans commit suicide.”
Bonus:
What does trail reporter Zachariah Hughes pack for the remote checkpoints?
Alaska Public’s full Iditarod coverage is at alaskapublic.org/iditarod.
