Exciting, windy, cold, and loud, with standing room only, would describe the start of the 2008 Iditarod.
It all took place March 1, 2008 on 4th Ave. in
Anchorage. Ninety-six mushers and about 1,200 sled dogs left town
between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Each sled had an Iditarider and a
brakeman. The rear sled is used as a brake because there isn’t any
other way to control the speed of the dogs on the city streets.
Rosanne left town with Mitch Seavey at 11:10 a.m. and returned
about 1:30 p.m. She will write a blog, so please read about her
thrilling ride.
Twelve miles later, each rider is dropped off and bused back to Anchorage. One rider has done this for 14 straight years!
J. J. Keller associate Mike Goss’ sister flagged us down for a few
photos. Parents from a University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh football player
were instructed by head coach Pat Ceroni to look for the J. J. Keller
team. We were found, had a good time, and took some photos.
The Coca-Cola Iditarod Truck was here again, and we took some photos to send this very special customer.
Tomorrow at 9:00 a.m., we leave for Willow, 80 miles north of
Anchorage. This will be the Official re-start of the race. Tomorrow
will also be a travel day. When we return to Appleton at 9:00 a.m. on
Monday, we will have been on the run for 24 hours.
The J. J. Keller team spent four hours taking photos and doing interviews. Please check the images and videos from today.
