A couple of former Iditarod Champions brought day light to Front Street in Nome on Thursday Morning. Kotzebue native, John Baker lead the Baker – Buser charge off the sea ice to fans waiting at the arch. The teams came onto Front Street about as far down the street as the eye can easily see big things. Of course we’re made aware that a team is coming by a brief wail of the fire siren but their real arrive is announced to the naked eye by the flashing red/blue lights of the squad car that escorts the teams from the eastern end of the street to the arch. Neither of these guy were under the arch in the place they had expected. When photographers asked Martin to pose with his leaders, he quipped about not being a picture of the champion and leaders but the pose would be practice for next year.
John Baker holds the distinction of being the first musher from northwest Alaska to win Iditarod and also the first Inupiat to win the Iditarod. Baker became interested in running dogs by watching Iditarod. Believer this or not, he began running dogs in 1995 and one year year later, he was at the start line of the Last Great Race. One thing Baker emphasized this morning was that a musher is continually learning. He claimed he made many foolish mistakes this year that cost him many places in the race. He really challenged himself to learn from these mistakes to be a better dog man. When asked about the route that took the race through Huslia, John said there were many things that impressed him. It was very cold. He was very complimentary toward the villagers in hosting the race. They put an enormous amount of time, energy and effort into welcoming all the mushers. Baker also said he saw one picture of George Attla, the legendary sprint musher. He asked about the picture and was told that when George first began racing, he was using dogs belonging to a number of the village mushers. It was the work of the whole village that gave Attla the foundation to build his own team and his reputation. Baker, a pretty quiet fellow, said that he was immensely proud to be a part of this group of mushers. They are very good people and they are very good with dogs. Baker’s words closely parallel the words of another former champion, Jeff King. Baker finished in 21st place covering the trail in 9 days 22 hours and 12 minutes. John’s dogs are big furry creatures capable of withstanding the harsh coastal winters.
Twenty-four minutes later, Martin Buser came to the arch wearing his trademark red/black checked wool musher’s hat. Martin’s showed speed at the beginning of the last but then slowed his pace. His remarks about echoed much of what Jeff King said about his race and the necessity to slow down. Like others, Martin talked about the need for the musher to continually evaluate and alter the race plan as needed. While the flags in Nome hung limply indicating calm winds, the opposite was true on the run in from White Mountain, especially at the Blow Hole. It’s strange how drastically different portions of the trail can be an these guys come into Nome looking like it’s all been the easiest 1,000 miles of their lives. For his 32nd Iditarod, Buser finished in 22nd place with a time of 9 days 22 hours and 36 minutes.
It was really an honor to stand with these two Iditarod icons. Together Baker and Buser have run the Last Great Race fifty-two times. Together they have amassed 32 top ten finishes. together they have five championships, Martin with four and John with one. Each of them has owned a record for the fastest time. Martin ran the race in 2002 with a time of 8 days 22 hours 46 minutes and 2 seconds. Johns bested Martin’s record in 2011 with a time of 8 days 18 hours 46 minutes and 39 seconds. User has put a string of 14 consecutive top ten finishes together. John has a string of seven top ten finishes. These guys both fall into the category of Iditarod superstars.
