WOW! - no other word can describe Mackey who is gunning for a 3-peat. Mackey's speed between Ophir and Iditarod was 9.06 mph - the 2 others were 6 mph. He gained 5 hours on this leg, rested more, and has a 3.5 hour lead. He has the only top team with all 16 dogs. He is between Iditarod and Shageluk. I have observed, listened to and talked with Lance many times. Listen to the interview (see videos) I did with him, a week ago Thursday, and look into his eyes. You will see and hear a driven man.  

Burmeister, who has 12 dogs, and Schnuelle have also left Iditarod. Neff, King and M. Seavey are in Iditarod. Dallas Seavey, age 22, is currently in 13th place and mushing his heart out.

I believe the rest of the field is hoping that Lance, who is the lead trail breaker, wears out. This didn't happen the past 2 years.  

Did you know? According to Dallas his team is 100' long, from the back of the sled runners to the tip of the lead dogs nose. I measured a team on Willow Lake and it was roughly 85'+. Each team has different lengths between each of the 8 pairs of dogs and between the sled and the wheelhouse pair. Anyway, this is as long as a semi tractor-trailer rig. Dallas said that on close turns and switchbacks the Musher loses sight of the lead dogs.

Check back tomorrow for a history lesson on the ghost town of Iditarod. Thanks for visiting our site. 

As mentioned this am, Buser and Lanier are taking their 24 hr layover in Ophir. 20 Mushers have completed their 24 hr layover and are in full race mode.

Burmeister, Neff, Mackey, Schnuelle, Anderson, King and M. Seavey are thru Ophir and only 3 hours separates them.

Dallas Seavey is in 15th, should be thru Ophir and might gain a few spots. Jen Seavey, with the puppy team, is 57th.

Bjornar Andersen (Bib #18), Norway's only entrant, scratched after injuring himself in a sled crash between Rohn and Nikolai. He made his decision 70 miles later in Takotna. He will be transported to Anchorage for medical assessment. 

Stay tuned to this site for updates and special reports as needed.   

Martin Buser is on top of the leader board as he mushed thru Takotna into Ophir but has not taken his 24 hr layover. Yesterdays top mushers are taking their 24 hour layovers in Takotna. While they are not listed as the leaders they will regain their positons shortly as they return to the trail.  

Dallas Seavey had a run in with 2 moose just before he reached Nikolai. Thankfully they ran thru the team and not head on. A few dogs were hit and rolled but Dallas said he was very fortunate that no dogs were seriously injured. This was the 1st time his team was ever hit by a moose.

Mitch Seavey rolled his sled but is ok. Jonrowe, Swenson and Gebhardt all have had sled damage but they can be repaired. No new Mushers have dropped out.

Snow, Snow and more Snow. Dallas said he trains for this and is very happy with the deep snow conditions. Dallas is currently in 14th place only a few hours behind.   

The trailbreaker is a hundred miles ahead of the Mushers and doing their best.

The closest finish was in 1978 and won by 1 second. Dick Mackey, Lance's dad, and Rick Swenson ended in a foot race, after 1,150 miles, with Mackey winning by a dog's nose.

Stay tuned to this site for constant updates. How long is a sled dog team (I measured one myself) ? Find out tomorrow.    

The top 5 Mushers at this time are Burmeister, Neff, Schnuelle, Mackey and King. The top 5 are in Takotna at MM 307. Mitch is 6th at MM 306. The race has started but the racing is still to come. Dallas is 18th at MM 282. Jen is 57th at MM 195.

Bob Hickel and Nancy Yoshida have scratched. There are 65 Mushers in the race.

The "Last Great Race on Earth" will certainly live up to it's reputation over the next week.

 Did you know? The Iditarod Trail Committee, Inc. is a public charity 501(c)(3). You can donate to the ITC the same as any other non-profit organization.

Check this site daily for videos, photos and blogs.

Note: Please check the next blog for details on the closest Iditarod finish ever!

All the veterans are in the lead and the rookies are trailing!! The current leader at mm 191 is Schnuelle (he won the 2009 Yukon Quest), followed closely by Mackey, Neff, Gebhart and Zirkle. Only 4 miles separates the top 5.

Mitch is at mm 183, Dallas at mm 169 and Jen at mm 136. Mitch and Dallas are within striking distance. Jen has the puppy team and is having fun !

All the mushers averaged about 11 mph going from Rainy Pass to Rohn, which is decending down the mountain. 

No one has taken their 24 or 8 hour mandatory layovers to date. All the mushers must also stop in White Mountain, 90 miles from Nome, for 8 hours. 

History lesson: The Iditarod was first run in 1973 to commemorate the 1925 serum run to Nome that saved the native people from diphtheria. The only mode of transportation was a dog sled!

Check out our latest videos and photos from Alaska. Stay tuned........... 

Thousands of race fans greeted the 67 mushers awaiting their turn to enter the chute and head north 1,100 miles. 

The weather was overcast, a balmy 20 degrees with no wind.

We met many friends we have made over the past few years.  We concentrated our time on the three Seavey mushers.  They left the ice between 2:30 and 4:00 p.m.

We met the producer for Versus TV.  They are again covering the race, and will be showing the race in a few weeks.  The are featuring the three Seavey mushers and mentioned that J. J. Keller is very visible and should be seen.  He said, Dallas spoke very highly of the relationship and sponsorship.

All the sleds have GPS trackers.  You need a subscription from the Iditarod Insider to receive the positions.

I will report out on a daily basis the positions of the Seavey's and the top five mushers.

We flew all night, and I will be in the office in a few hours.  I will issue a race report ASAP.  

Note:  Please check out all the new photos just added!

Thousands of Iditarod race fans packed 4th street, in downtown Anchorage, for the 37th running of the Last Great Race on Earth.

67 Mushers officially started, along with their ceremonial rider, the race they hope to win or at least finish in a few weeks ending at the Bering Sea town of Nome.

This 1,150 mile race re-starts tomorrow in Willow, on a frozen lake, which is 90 miles north of Anchorage. The Mushers will start leaving at 2pm, in numerical order, every 2 minutes. 

Last year there was 96 Mushers which was a record field. In 2007 there were 82 Mushers. I'm sure the economy has something to do with the smaller field this year.

The top mushers are still in the field which should make for a great race. Mitch wants his 2nd victory, Lance wants a three-peat, Jeff & Martin want their 5th championship and of couse Rick, which is the only 5 time winner, wants his 6th.

Dallas would love a top ten finish and a new face could emerge from the pack and steal a victory. With over a thousand miles of racing anything can happen !! 

We will be packing up and heading to Willow in a few hours to take in all the excitement for you. 

Stay tuned to this web site for daily coverage - tell your family & friends to take a look and discover what a unique sport this is. Thanks

The server and internet have some issues from AK so please be patient. My last few blogs have disappeared? We are working on a solution.

Tomorrow (Saturday, March 7, 2009) at 10 am the 2009 Iditarod ceremonial race starts from 4th and D streets in downtown Anchorage. 67 Mushers have a rider for 12 miles. Then its off to Willow, 90 mile north, for Sunday's re-start.

Rosanne Keller was quoted in the 2009 Official Iditarod Race Guide. This was a surprise and we will try to scan the copy and publish on J. J. Keller's K-line. 

Please check out www.badgerstatewrestling.com for 4 Dallas Seavey interviews - great stuff. #4 was just published today. Go to the wrestling room.

There is a WYLAND whaling wall just a few blocks from out hotel. We will be doing an interview in front of the wall tomorrow. We will send WYLAND a photo. This is one of his world famous 100 whaling walls done over 27 years. WYLAND was at J. J. Keller in December, 2008.

Rosanne & I met with Janine and Mitch Seavey today. Mitch is ready to compete for his 2nd championship.

Did you know that only 665 Mushers have finished the Iditarod.......... 

Please check out the videos and photos from yesterday.

Note: There is a carnival being held down the street - only in AK !!! 

The annual Iditarod banquet held at the Dena'ina Convention Center in downtown Anchorage hosted 2,000 people. 67 Mushers drew for their starting positions for Saturday and Sunday. The past 2 years the banquet ended about 11pm. This year the formal meeting was over at 8pm. 

Mitch drew #21, Jen drew #61 and Dallas drew #62. Post these numbers so you can keep track of these three J. J. Keller Teams. 

Mitch mentioned that there is over 12 feet of snow in the mountains so the race could take longer this year. He has added a few veteran dogs in the strength positions to better handle the terrain. Snowshoes will be used this year!

We met many business & personal friends again this year. It started at the airport in Appleton and lasted throughout the day as customers recognized the J. J. Keller Team.

Videos and photos will be uploaded soon so you can enjoy this unique race and evening.

It's been 21 hours so I need to hit the rack................................... 

Tomorrow at this time we will all be in Anchorage, AK. The J. J. Keller Team is looking forward to our 3rd race. We have a great plan, better equipment & knowhow, so the photos and videos should be awesome - the blogs won't be bad either. The 2009 DVD will be impressive!! 

I have processed dozens of E-mails the past few days from Individuals, Schools and Businesses cheering us on. We have sent out many DVD's and Extreme Reports. Over 5,000 schools and millions of children follow the race nationwide.

I also received a request to call in to AM 1570 the Score, Appleton's Sports Radio, with a live report from Nome. 

Janine Seavey, Mitch's wife, called this pm for a last minute update and said Mitch and Dallas are ready and have impressive teams. Mitch has published a new book so go to www.mitchseavey.com for details. He will be doing a few book signings on Friday before the race.

It's heating up, and we will bring our A game, so please stay tuned.................................