The first weekend in December marks the annual mandatory Iditarod rookie meeting.  This year, 18 rookies attended the seminar.   

On Saturday, December 3, sessions were held at the Lakefront Anchorage. Iditarod Board Members Andy Baker and Aaron Burmeister were on hand to welcome the rookies.  Aaron provided an informative session with tips every rookie needs to know.  Dr. Stu Nelson, Chief Veterinarian for Iditarod, provided detailed information about dog care before, after, and during the race.  Clearly, the dogs are priority one.  Knowing the dogs on one’s team, keeping dogs hydrated and fed nutritionally, and proper training leads the musher to racing a healthy team.  Mushers also signed up for the prerace vet check – dog examinations.  Every dog on every team must pass extensive examinations and evaluations before being certified to race.  Other speakers and sessions throughout the day were designed to help the rookies gain general information about the trail, checkpoints, race communications, and the volunteers that will be in the checkpoints.  Alyi Zirkle and Allen Moore were special guest speakers who shared tips for successful training and racing as well as stories from their racing experiences. 

Sunday’s sessions were held at the Dream a Dream Dog Kennel in Willow.  Current Iditarod Champion Dallas Seavey kicked off the day  providing information about how he trains his dogs and what the racers could expect during the 2017 Iditarod.  Dallas stressed that the most important point any musher can do was to focus on the dogs.  Dallas stressed that the dogs are always top priority.  According to Dallas, the second important point to remember was to take good care of one’s self.  With healthy dogs and a healthy musher, getting to Nome was achievable.  Later in the day, a panel of mushers including DeeDee Jonrowe, Wade Marrs, Cindy Abbott, and Karin Hendrickson shared tips and advice.  Each speaker stressed how important good dog care and having the right mindset is to driving a dog team to Nome. 

With two full days of speakers and sessions, the 2017 rookie mushers have been provided with a great deal of essential information.  The goal is ultimately to have each of these rookies make it to Nome with a healthy team of sled dogs. 

View an Insider Video from the rookie meeting by clicking here.