So how many of you know the name Mitch Seavey? He's a pretty famous guy. You see, Mitch just won the Iditarod - the famous 1000 mile Alaskan sled dog race which has been run officially since 1973. There were certainly races before then - but the Iditarod race from Anchorage to Nome began in 1973. As I understand it, there are actually two main routes, which sometimes change because of the weather and ice conditions and they even change in even and odd years. This year, Mitch was not only the oldest guy (at 57) to win the race, but he and his dogs finished in record time - around 8 hours faster than anyone before. He has actually won the race three times before - and get this - his son came in second place, who is, himself, a four time champion, and his father also raced in five Iditarods. Clearly it's a mushing family. The total race time for Mitch was 8 days, 3 hours, 40 minutes. His dogs usually went at a pace of 10 to 11 miles per hour. I didn't know this, but mushers carry their dogs on the sled in rotations - to give them a break. My human watched him as he was being interviewed after the race and she couldn't help but note the emotion in his voice when he talked about his dogs. The dogs must be well cared for and they are checked by veterinarians - because honestly, tragedy can and unfortunately, does occur. But with careful planning and an ever-vigilant musher, dogs finish the race tired and healthy - they are well conditioned athletes. They are doing what they were bred to do. The two lead dogs in Mitch's team were Pilot and Crisp. I like the names. In fact, I may start calling myself Crisp. It's catchy. Actually, the word crisp is synonymous with potato chips. And dogs are like potato chips - you know you can't have just one!
So cheers to Mitch and Pilot and Crisp. Have a crispy day!
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