Catching Up –

It’s official! Tuesday, Dallas Seavey won the Iditarod sled dog race for 2014! Kudos to Seavey, running the fastest race ever – in 8 days, 13 hours, 4 minutes and 19 seconds! He comes from a family of Iditarod winners, like is grandfather, who helped organize the first official Iditarod race in 1973 and his father Mitch, who won last year. In fact Dallas has won before. In 2012 he became the youngest man ever to win the famous race. (Maybe it’s a another “family thing” – his father Mitch was the oldest ever to win the race.) Yes, truly the history of a family of great “mushers” as they call the people who “drive the sled dog teams.” It’s no small thing to finish the grueling 1,100 mile race through all kinds of weather conditions, they are well trained and conditioned athletes in their own right.

Did I say, in that first sentence, that he ran the fastest race ever?!? I meant, of course, his sled dog team ran the fastest race ever. That’s why they call it a sled dog race – because of the dogs! Check the news, they all refer to it as a sled-dog race in spite of the fact it’s promoted as “The Iditarod.”

• Annual Sled Dog Race Begins in Alaska
• Alaska’s Sled-Dog Race Starts With Ceremonial Jaunt
• Musher Comes from Behind to Win Iditarod Sled-Dog Race

We do know that it was a close finish, described by USNewsMax, as a “Mad Dash for Nome” (Nome, Alaska, the finishing line of the famous race). The leader, King, had dropped out at the last checkpoint and the race to the finish was between Seavey and Aliy Zirkle from there on. We’re told by the recap that Seavey had only 7 dogs left, Zirkle had 10. Not sure what that means, what happened to the other dogs? Frostbite? Snow blind? Too tired? Collapsed? Worse? The point is, general media, it’s a sled dog race and we know nothing about the dogs unless we really get into searching the web! It’s the dogs we want to know about! At least Seavey had the good sense to have his winning picture taken with a dog.

The Seavey family does have a great website and Facebook page to promote their business, Iditaride.com where, if you make the trek to Alaska, where you can learn to be a musher! Dallas Seavey (.com) also has his own website and is an inspirational speaker who talks about leadership, teamwork and adventure. Look for him on the NatGeo TV channel on the show, “Ultimate Survival Alaska.” Kids can also read his book, “Born to Mush.” Congratulations Dallas & Dogs!