/ Archived Race Coverage / Race Headquarters Gears Up

Race Headquarters Gears Up

Behind the Scenes at Anchorage’s Millennium Hotel

by June Price

02/28/2006

There’s no mistaking Anchorage’s Millennium Hotel’s Iditarod connection. One of the first things you’ll spy as you pull into the parking lot is the oversized “I” logo and husky head on the outside that symbolize the race and remain in place all year.

Inside, it’s like entering a beehive. Normally a busy hotel, the activity of the Millennium only increases at race time. You’ll spy busy people everywhere, some wearing business suits, some pilots and flight crews on layovers, and a host of people in parkas, boots, and outdoor wear, some very obviously associated with the race.

After pausing a moment to take in the huge, golden eagle that greets you just inside the revolving doors, you’ll glance up and see: Iditarod volunteers ready to sell you t-shirts, stuffed huskies, books, jewelry, and, oh, just about anything you could imagine or want. You’ll see fans snapping photos of the huge moose head over the fireplace. You’ll see people at a counter arranging flights out to a checkpoint. You’ll see children posed in front of a stuffed grizzly and polar bear on display. Then, down one hallway, you’ll see people darting in and out of rooms at all hours of day or night. You’ve just found Race Headquarters, Anchorage style.    

Whatever I had imagined the scene of race operations to be like, this wasn’t it. The race office is simply a small room on the first floor with limited equipment, a computer and phone lines. It adjoins the phone room, a larger room with a u-shaped arrangement of tables in the middle and phones at each chair. A dedicated group of volunteers mans these phones and answers the thousands of phone calls that come in during the race.

Phone calls come in at all hours of the day and night and race followers on location are constantly in and out, chatting and checking on race updates. As updates are received upstairs in the Computer Room, they’re entered into computers and sent downstairs to the phone room. Volunteers there print out the information, which is then available to fans in print form. They’ll also update the race standings board located in the hotel lobby. No matter what time you happen to be going through the lobby, you’re likely to encounter someone standing there perusing the standings, a look of happiness, sadness, or even bewilderment on their face as they track favorite mushers. Press releases are also posted as issued, a handy source of info for those who can’t track the race by computer all day.

After you’re done browsing through the hotel, taking in the Alaskana displays and seeing what familiar faces you can identify, you may feel the urge for something to eat or drink. The Flying Machine Restaurant is one option, especially if you’re looking for a full meal, but make sure you visit the Fancy Moose Lounge. As you walk thru the double doors leading inside, a buzz of noise will almost inevitably hit you. This is perhaps THE social spot for race fans. Tables are often shuttled about, small groups of race followers becoming larger groups, with most followers periodically glancing out the windows that face Lake Hood behind the hotel.

Why? Because that is where the Iditarod Dog Drop is located. Dogs dropped along the first part of the trail are returned by plane to Anchorage and wind up here, in clear view of one and all. From the comfort of the Fancy Moose, you can watch as planes land and dogs disembark. Wander outside and you can see the dogs up-close and, who knows, you might even be handed a scooper and bucket. It’s all part of the Iditarod, doing whatever has to be done. I mean, after all, how many of your friends can claim they’ve scooped behind an Iditarod champion, which is exactly what these dogs are. This is what it’s all about. The dogs, the dogs of the Iditarod.